Changes in bacterial and fungal communities across compost recipes, preparation methods, and composting times.

ABSTRACT: Compost production is a critical component of organic waste handling, and compost applications to soil are increasingly important to crop production. However, we know surprisingly little about the microbial communities involved in the composting process and the factors shaping compost microbial dynamics. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing approaches to assess the diversity and composition of both bacterial and fungal communities in compost produced at a commercial-scale. Bacterial and fungal communities responded to both compost recipe and composting method. Specifically, bacterial communities in manure and hay recipes contained greater relative abundances of Firmicutes than hardwood recipes with hay recipes containing relatively more Actinobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes. In contrast,

SUBMITTER: Neher DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3836849 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature