Search

In order to identify the phosphorus species and concentration in animal manure, we comparatively characterized phosphorus in dairy manure, swine manure, and broiler litter, using a sequential procedure, a simplified two-step procedure (NaHCO3/NaOH+EDTA), and a solution Phosphorus-31 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (31P-NMR) spectroscopy procedure. In the sequential procedure, deionized water extracted 39, 22, and 32%; NaHCO3 extracted 48, 26, and 37%; NaOH extracted 8, 9, and 13.8%; and HCl extracted 3, 42.8, and 17% of the total phosphorus in dairy manure, swine manure and broiler litter, respectively. Total phosphorus extracted by the NaHCO3/NaOH+EDTA procedure was 7.5, 32.4, and 15.8 g P kg−1 for dairy manure, swine manure, and broiler litter, respectively. The solution 31P-NMR procedure detected that 9, 34, and 29% of total phosphorus was phytic acid in dairy manure, swine manure, and broiler litter, respectively. These results show that phosphorus forms, availability, and quantities differ between animal manures, which provides valuable information for P characterization of animal manures in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composting industry has been growing rapidly in China because of a boom in the animal industry. Therefore, a rapid and accurate assessment of the quality of commercial organic fertilizers is of the utmost importance. In this study, a novel technique that combines near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with partial least squares (PLS) analysis is developed for rapidly and accurately assessing commercial organic fertilizers quality. A total of 104 commercial organic fertilizers were collected from full-scale compost factories in Jiangsu Province, east China. In general, the NIR-PLS technique showed accurate predictions of the total organic matter, water soluble organic nitrogen, pH, and germination index; less accurate results of the moisture, total nitrogen, and electrical conductivity; and the least accurate results for water soluble organic carbon. Our results suggested the combined NIR-PLS technique could be applied as a valuable tool to rapidly and accurately assess the quality of commercial organic fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) as affected by farming practices is imperative for maintaining soil productivity and mitigating global warming. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of long-term fertilization on SOC and SOC fractions for the whole soil profile (0–100 cm) in northwest China. The study was initiated in 1979 in Gansu, China and included six treatments: unfertilized control (CK), nitrogen fertilizer (N), nitrogen and phosphorus (P) fertilizers (NP), straw plus N and P fertilizers (NP+S), farmyard manure (FYM), and farmyard manure plus N and P fertilizers (NP+FYM). Results showed that SOC concentration in the 0–20 cm soil layer increased with time except in the CK and N treatments. Long-term fertilization significantly influenced SOC concentrations and storage to 60 cm depth. Below 60 cm, SOC concentrations and storages were statistically not significant between all treatments. The concentration of SOC at different depths in 0–60 cm soil profile was higher under NP+FYM follow by under NP+S, compared to under CK. The SOC storage in 0–60 cm in NP+FYM, NP+S, FYM and NP treatments were increased by 41.3%, 32.9%, 28.1% and 17.9%, respectively, as compared to the CK treatment. Organic manure plus inorganic fertilizer application also increased labile soil organic carbon pools in 0–60 cm depth. The average concentration of particulate organic carbon (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) in organic manure plus inorganic fertilizer treatments (NP+S and NP+FYM) in 0–60 cm depth were increased by 64.9–91.9%, 42.5–56.9%, and 74.7–99.4%, respectively, over the CK treatment. The POC, MBC and DOC concentrations increased linearly with increasing SOC content. These results indicate that long-term additions of organic manure have the most beneficial effects in building carbon pools among the investigated types of fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]