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Waste Management & Research, Vol. 12, No. 4, 305-314 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/0734242X9401200403

Kinetic Study of the Composting of Evergreen Oak Forestry Waste

M.-J. Martinez-Iñigo

Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales (CSIC) Serrano 115 bis, E-28006 Madrid, Spain

G. Almendros

Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales (CSIC) Serrano 115 bis, E-28006 Madrid, Spain

The successive stages in the composting process of forestry waste from evergreen oak (Quercus ilx sbsp. ballota) were studied under controlled conditions (initial) carbon to nitrogen ratio = 30, T= 27°C). The original material was composted for 6 months and sampled every 15 days. The variables measured on the oak biomass in the course of the experiment showed different kinetics: the weight loss and germination index underwent a monotonic increase whereas the reducing sugars, phenols and E465/ E665 extinction ratio of the water-soluble fraction stabilized at their lowest values after the first 2 weeks. Other variables, such as alkali solubility, water repellency, pH and particle size, showed maximum or minimum values at intermediate stages of the experiment. In contrast to the adverse agrobiological effects of the direct application to soil of the original waste, germination biotests and greenhouse experiments showed that plant response improved from the 2 first weeks of composting. The kinetics observed for the parameters studied suggested that the less favourable effect on plant yield may come from phytotoxic substances in compost but also from the microbial use of soil N required for the transformation of the most biodegradable compost fractions in special hemicelluloses.

Key Words: Forestry waste • evergreen oak • composting • humification • germination index • plant yield.


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