Biogeosciences
Biogeosciences
Biogeosciences
Articles | Volume 13, issue 4
Articles | Volume 13, issue 4
Biogeosciences, 13, 1341–1349, 2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1341-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Biogeosciences, 13, 1341–1349, 2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1341-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 13, issue 4

Research article 02 Mar 2016

Research article | 02 Mar 2016

Isotopically enriched ammonium shows high nitrogen transformation in the pile top zone of dairy manure compost

Koki Maeda1,2, Sakae Toyoda2, Midori Yano2,a, Shohei Hattori3, Makoto Fukasawa2, Keiichi Nakajima1, and Naohiro Yoshida3,4 Koki Maeda et al.
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  • 1NARO, Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center, Dairy Research Division, 1 Hitsujigaoka, Sapporo 062-8555, Japan
  • 2Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502, Japan
  • 3Department of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8502, Japan
  • 4Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
  • anow at: Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 509-3, 2-chome, Hirano, Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan
Received: 13 Apr 2015 – Discussion started: 20 May 2015 – Revised: 08 Feb 2016 – Accepted: 14 Feb 2016 – Published: 02 Mar 2016

Abstract. Nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N) of NH4+ in dairy manure compost piles with and without bulking agent (10 % w∕w) were compared to understand the effects of the use of bulking agent on nitrogen conversion during manure composting. The δ15N–NH4+ values in each of three pile zones (top, side and core) were also compared. At the end of the process, piles with bulking agent showed significantly higher δ15N values (17.7 ± 1.3 ‰) than piles without bulking agent (11.8 ± 0.9 ‰), reflecting the significantly higher nitrogen conversion and NH3 loss in the former. The samples from the top zone, especially in the piles with bulking agent, showed very high NH4+ concentrations with significantly high 15N (δ15N: 12.7–29.8 ‰) values, indicating that extremely high nitrogen conversion, nitrification–denitrification activity of the microbes and NH3 volatilization occurred in this zone.

How to cite. Maeda, K., Toyoda, S., Yano, M., Hattori, S., Fukasawa, M., Nakajima, K., and Yoshida, N.: Isotopically enriched ammonium shows high nitrogen transformation in the pile top zone of dairy manure compost, Biogeosciences, 13, 1341–1349, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1341-2016, 2016.
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Short summary
Nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N) of NH4+ in dairy manure compost piles were studied. The δ15N–NH4+ values in different pile zones (top, side and core) show that extremely high nitrogen conversion, nitrification–denitrification activity of the microbes and NH3 volatilization occurred in pile top zone, which has very high NH4+ concentrations and significantly high 15N (δ15N: 12.7–29.8 ‰) values.
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