Influence of Recycled Waste Compost on Soil Food Webs, Nutrient Cycling and Tree Growth in a Young Almond Orchard

Composting is an effective strategy to process agricultural and urban waste into forms that may be beneficial to crops. The objectives of this orchard field study were to characterize how a dairy manure compost and a food waste compost influenced: (1) soil nitrogen and carbon pools, (2) bacterial an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agronomy (Basel) 2021-09, Vol.11 (9), p.1745
Main Authors: Hodson, Amanda K., Sayre, Jordan M., Lyra, Maria C. C. P., Rodrigues, Jorge L. Mazza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
16S
Agricultural wastes
Ammonium
Animal wastes
Bacteria
bacterial community
Biodiversity
Carbon
Composting
Composts
Cycles
Dairy products
Fertilizers
Food chains
Food waste
Food webs
Leaves
manure
Manures
Municipal waste management
nematode community
Nematodes
Nitrogen
Nitrogen cycle
Nutrient cycles
Orchards
Organic matter
Organic soils
organic waste
Pools
Productivity
Relative abundance
Soil microorganisms
Soil organic matter
Soils
Trees
Urban agriculture
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Summary:Composting is an effective strategy to process agricultural and urban waste into forms that may be beneficial to crops. The objectives of this orchard field study were to characterize how a dairy manure compost and a food waste compost influenced: (1) soil nitrogen and carbon pools, (2) bacterial and nematode soil food webs and (3) tree growth and leaf N. The effects of composts were compared with fertilized and unfertilized control plots over two years in a newly planted almond orchard. Both dairy manure compost and food waste compost increased soil organic matter pools, as well as soil nitrate and ammonium at certain time points. Both composts also distinctly altered bacterial communities after application, specifically those groups with carbon degrading potential, and increased populations of bacterial feeding nematodes, although in different timeframes. Unique correlations were observed between nematode and bacterial groups within compost treatments that were not present in controls. Food waste compost increased trunk diameters compared to controls and had greater relative abundance of herbivorous root tip feeding nematodes. Results suggest that recycled waste composts contribute to biologically based nitrogen cycling and can increase tree growth, mainly within the first year after application.
ISSN:2073-4395
2073-4395
DOI:10.3390/agronomy11091745