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Effects of loess additions on carbon and nitrogen retention in manures
Received:November 09, 2015  
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KeyWord:loess;animal manure;carbon and nitrogen;nutrient loss
Author NameAffiliationE-mail
SHI Qian-yun College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling 712100, China
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling 712100, China 
 
LI Xue-song College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling 712100, China
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling 712100, China 
 
MENG Yan College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling 712100, China
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling 712100, China 
 
CAI Miao College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling 712100, China
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling 712100, China 
 
ZHOU Jian-bin College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling 712100, China
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling 712100, China 
jbzhou@nwsuaf.edu.cn 
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Abstract:
      With rapid development of animal production in China, more and more manures have been generated. Nutrient losses from the manures result in severe environmental problems. Therefore, how to conserve nutrients in the manures deserves further study. An incubation experiment was carried out to examine the influence of adding different rates of loess on CO2 and NH3 emissions from two manures(pig manure & cow manure) and retention capacities of carbon and nitrogen in the manures. Results showed that the addition of loess significantly reduced the emissions of CO2 and NH3 gases from pig manure,and increased C and N retention in the pig manure. For cow manure, adding loess reduced the NH3 emissions during the incubation, whereas it did not affect CO2 emissions. Such different effects of loess on CO2 emissions between two manures were due to the differences in manure properties. Compared with pig manure, cow manure was higher in cellulose and semi-cellulose and in C/N ratios, but lower in soluble substances, thus having very slow decomposition rates. However, increased addition of loess might reduce the content of nutrients in the mixture because of dilution effect. It is concluded that adding loess to manures has positive roles in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and nutrient losses.