58 / 2021-06-30 09:44:22

Biochar improved the composting quality of seaweeds and cow manure mixture and altered the bacterial community

Composting; Biochar; Seaweed; Cow manure; Bacterial community.

The beneficial effects of biochar addition during composting have been proved for many feedstocks, like manures and crop straws. However, the effect of biochar on the quality of composting product with seaweed as the feedstock and the bacterial response has not been investigated. In this study, the wheat straw biochar addition on the quality of the composting product and the bacterial response was explored at the rate of 0-10%. The results showed that biochar addition at the optimal rate (5%, w/w) could increase the germination index and E4/E6 value of the composting product, which indicated the decreased biotoxicity and enhanced compost maturity. The significant increase of the NO3-N content of the composting product proved the improvement of N cycling during composting process with biochar addition. The bacterial community of composting product was shifted and abundance of some beneficial taxa (e.g. Marinilabiliaceae, Saprospiraceae, Sandaracinaceae, propionibacteriaceae) were significantly increased with biochar addition. The results of our study provided the positive effect of biochar addition on the composting of seaweed and could help to produce high quality seaweed fertilizer by composting with biochar addition.