Changes in nitrogen resources with increases in temperature during production of mushroom compost

Abstract

The rise in temperature is an important event during the composting of lignocellulosic materials and has to be controlled and regulated to improve the biodegradation. Phase I mushroom composts were incubated under environmentally controlled conditions. When the temperature was pre-set at 65°C and then later at around 80°C, the microbial respiration and the biodegradations were hardly affected. However residual activities due to thermoresistant bacteria were still measured after 68 h at a constant temperature of 80°C. Significant changes in nitrogen resources were observed: loss of nitrogen from microbial products, an increase in the proportion of nitrogen in non-hydrolysable and stable forms, and an increase in volatilisation of ammonia. These changes were mainly due to physico-chemical mechanisms associated with disturbances in the structure of the microbial community.

An Exploration into the Bacterial Community under Different Pasteurization Conditions during Substrate Preparation (Composting–Phase II) for Agaricus bisporus Cultivation

“…Different from a conventional manure or waste composting, with the goal of making a stable soil organic amendment, substrate preparation for A. bisporus is an extremely controlled, high-temperature system that occurs for a much shorter period of time. The microbial ecology of this system is not well understood and can be influenced by temperature management during phase II [23][24][25]. Since the conditioning step is recognized as fundamental to compost preparation, the adjustment of temperature at the beginning of phase II (pasteurization), in theory, can modify the bacterial community for the subsequent conditioning step and ultimately affect the compost selectivity for A. bisporus cultivation.…”

Development of Compost using EM Technology for Organic Farming from cotton dust waste

“…After 30 days, a gradual decrease to 25 ±2 °C was observed. This increment in temperature is a good indicator of microbial activity in the compost pile, (Savoie 1996, Miller 1992). This might be because of the chemical breakdown of the molecules triggered by the action of enzymes produced by effective microorganisms, (Girvan, 2003).…”

Composting: A Potentially Safe Process for Disposal of Genetically Modified Organisms

“…The degradation patterns in composting can be monitored by CO 2 evolution and NH 4 -N to NO 3 -N ratio (Nakasaki et al, 1998;Paredes et al, 2000). At high temperatures a loss of nitrogen from microbial components is observed, increased volatilization of ammonia occurs, and an increased proportion of acid non-hydrolyzable and other stable nitrogen forms develop (Savoie et al, 1995(Savoie et al, , 1996. A significant positive correlation has been observed between acidhydrolyzable-N and CO 2 -C evolution.…”

“…Heat liberated through respiration increases the temperature within the compost ( Figure 2) and sometimes can lead to a deleterious temperature of 80-90 • C, which can inhibit the growth of most organisms present and retard the composting process (Palmisano et al, 1993;Tuomela et al, 2001;Savoie et al, 1996;Peigne and Girardin, 2004;Vargas-Garcia et al, 2005). Mesophilic bacteria, with temperature optima of 20-45 • C, initiate decomposition, with a temporary pH decrease due to organic acid formation.…”