Impact of Composting Methods on Nitrogen Retention and Losses during Dairy Manure Composting

Xiao Yang, Enke Liu, Xinmeng Zhu, Hongyuan Wang, Hongbin Liu, Xiu Liu and Wenyi Dong
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Xiao Yang: Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Enke Liu: Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Xinmeng Zhu: Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Hongyuan Wang: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Hongbin Liu: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Xiu Liu: Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Wenyi Dong: Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: Currently, composting is one of the most effective methods for treating fecal waste on large-scale livestock and poultry farms, but the quality effects of different composting methods are different. In this study, we implemented four composting methods, including farmer compost (FC), anaerobic compost (AnC), mixed compost (MC), and aerobic compost (AC), to study the effects of different composting methods on nitrogen (N) losses while composting dairy manure. Our results showed that the germination indexes (GIs) of three of the composting treatments (AnC, MC, and AC) exceeded 80%, which met the maturity requirements for composted products. Ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions were the main contributor to nitrogen losses, while accumulated nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions accounted for the lowest proportion of nitrogen losses. The cumulative N losses via the leachate of the AC treatment were the lowest and accounted for 0.38% of the initial total nitrogen (TN). The accumulated N losses of the AC, FC, AnC, and MC treatments accounted for 13.13% 15.98%, 15.08%, and 19.75%, respectively, of the initial TN. Overall, the AC method significantly reduced N losses via leachates, further reducing TN losses. This observation suggests that AC might be an appropriate method for highly efficient nitrogen management during dairy manure composting.

Keywords: dairy manure; composting methods; nitrogen losses; nitrogen emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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