Microbial mechanisms related to the effects of bamboo charcoal and bamboo vinegar on the degradation of organic matter and methane emissions during composting.

Abstract

In this study, functional microbial sequencing, quantitative PCR, and phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) were employed to understand the microbial mechanisms related to the effects of bamboo charcoal (BC) and bamboo vinegar (BV) on the degradation of organic matter (OM) and methane (CH4) emissions during composting. BC+BV resulted in the highest degradation of OM. BV was most effective treatment in controlling CH4 emissions and it significantly reduced the abundance of the mcrA gene. Methanobrevibacter, Methanosarcina, and Methanocorpusculum were closely related to CH4 emissions during the thermophilic composting period. PICRUSt analysis showed that BC and/or BV enhanced the metabolism associated with OM degradation and reduced CH4 metabolism. Structural equation modeling indicated that BC+BV strongly promoted the metabolic activity of microorganisms, which had a positive effect on CH4 emissions. Together these results suggest that BC+BV may be a suitable composting strategy if the aerobic conditions can be effectively improved during the thermophilic composting period.