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Humic substances formation during poultry litter composting and its influence on the structural characteristics of the compost

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Abstract

This study aimed to elucidate the formation process of humic substances (HS) during poultry litter (PL) composting and its influence on the structural characteristic of the formed compost. Fresh PL was composted, and samples were collected at seven time points (0, 7, 21, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days). At each time point, the compost and its humic fractions were characterized by elemental composition, FTIR spectroscopy, and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C-NMR CP/MAS) and analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate curve resolution (MCR). The compounds solubilized during composting were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectroscopy (1H-13C HSQC). The results showed that PL composting started with the decomposition of nitrogenous compounds (CAlkyl-O,N) followed by the decomposition of carbohydrates (CAlkyl-O e CAlkyl-di-O). However, part of these peptide and carbohydrate fragments act as HS precursors and are selectively preserved in the humic acid (HA) structure. Thus, HA structures evolve from lower molecular weight fulvic acid. The preservation of labile and nitrogenous structures in the HA contributes to the preservation of these structures in the final compost. Carbohydrates and peptides are also solubilized and leached, producing liquid humus rich in monosaccharides and amino acids.

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Data availability statement

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Fundação Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ, Brazil) under Grant no. 20128010, 1998025395; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil) under Grant no. 306867/ 2018-4-PQ2; 303656/2015-8; and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil) under Grant no. 88882.332158/2019-01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Soil Chemistry, Soil Department, Institute of Agronomy, Universidade Federal Rural Do Rio de Janeiro, Rodovia BR 465 Km 7, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil

    Camila da Costa Barros de Souza, Erica Souto Abreu Lima & Nelson Moura Brasil do Amaral Sobrinho

  2. Laboratory of Soil Biological Chemistry, Soil Departament, Institute of Agronomy, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Rodovia BR 465 Km 7, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil

    Andrés Calderín García

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by CCBS, ESAL, ACG and NMBAS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by CCBS and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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de Souza, C., García, A.C., Lima, E.S.A. et al. Humic substances formation during poultry litter composting and its influence on the structural characteristics of the compost. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 25, 2232–2244 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01676-x

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