Microbial dynamics and nitrogen retention during sheep manure composting employing peach shell biochar

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2023-10, Vol.386, p.129555-129555
• Main Authors: Liu, Hong, Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar, Zhang, Zengqiang, Syed, Asad, Bahkali, Ali H, Sindhu, Raveendran, Verma, Meenakshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: biochar; Firmicutes; flora; nitrogen; nitrogen retention; peaches; Proteobacteria; sheep manure; technology; total Kjeldahl nitrogen
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129555

In this study, the effects of peach shell biochar (PSB) and microbial agent (EM) amendment on nitrogen conservation and bacterial dynamics during sheep manure (SM) composting were examined. Six treatments were performed including T1 (control with no addition), T2 (EM), T3 (EM + 2.5 %PSB), T4 (EM + 5 %PSB), T5 (EM + 7.5 %PSB), and T6 (EM + 10 %PSB). The results showed that the additives amendment reduced NH emissions by 6.12%∼32.88% and N O emissions by 10.96%∼19.76%, while increased total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) content by 8.15-9.13 g/kg. Meanwhile, Firmicutes were the dominant flora in the thermophilic stages, while Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Bacteroidota were the dominant flora in the maturation stages. The abundance of Bacteroidota and Actinobacteriota were increased by 17.49%∼32.51% and 2.31%∼12.60%, respectively, which can accelerate the degradable organic materials decomposition. Additionally, redundancy analysis showed that Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Bacteroidota were positively correlated with NO -N, TKN, and N O, but a negative correlation with NH and NH -N. Finally, results confirmed that (EM + 10 %PSB) additives were more effective to reduce nitrogen loss and improve bacterial dynamics.