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Turnover of Manure 15 N‐Labelled Ammonium during Composting and Soil Application as Affected by Lime and Superphosphate Addition
Author(s) -
Tran Tien Minh,
Luxhøi Jesper,
Jensen Lars Stoumann
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj2012.0200
Subject(s) - compost , manure , mineralization (soil science) , straw , lime , chemistry , agronomy , incubation , zoology , ammonium , nitrogen , biology , paleontology , biochemistry , organic chemistry
To determine N turnover and losses during aerobic composting of animal manure, a 41‐d laboratory study was performed on pig manure composting with three additive treatments (Straw: pig manure + straw only; Lime: pig manure + straw + quick lime; and SSP: pig manure + straw + single superphosphate). The NH 4 –N pool in the pig manure was initially labeled with 15 N to determine the fate of manure NH 4 –N during composting. The composts were subsequently applied to soil to investigate the effects on soil mineral N and to trace the 15 N during 60 d of incubation at 25°C. Of the initial manure 15 NH 4 –N, approximately 30, 90, and 20% was lost by NH 3 volatilization during composting in the Straw, Lime, and SSP treatments, respectively. Concurrently, 62, 16, and 41% of initial 15 NH 4 –N was immobilized in the respective treatments. When the composts were applied to soil, the mineral N in soil with SSP compost was higher throughout the incubation than in soil with Straw and Lime composts. This was because of higher mineral N content in the SSP compost on application and higher net N mineralization from that compost in the soil. In soil with Straw compost, N mineralization and immobilization were slow or effectively in balance. In soil with Lime compost, net N immobilization was strong in the first 10 d, but then net N mineralization dominated the remaining period of soil incubation. Overall, adding lime before composting reduced the NH 4 –N content in the compost and the amount available in soil, while adding superphosphate increased the NH 4 –N content in both. Therefore, superphosphate addition increased the potential fertilizer value of composted pig manure.