Bioresource Technology 98 (2007) 3221–3227

A review of composting as a management alternative for beef

cattle feedlot manure in southern Alberta, Canada
Francis J. Larney *, Xiying Hao
Environmental Health Program, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Research Centre, P.O. Box 3000, Lethbridge, Alta., Canada T1J 4B1

Available online 5 February 2007

Abstract

Composting is gaining increased acceptance as a management alternative for the large volumes of manure produced by southern
Alberta’s beef cattle feedlots. Research on windrow composting of feedlot manure was initiated at the Lethbridge Research Centre of
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 1996. Early studies looked at physical and chemical changes during composting. Studies have also
been conducted on greenhouse gas emissions during composting and the effect of composting on reduction of pathogens, parasites and
weed seed viability. The quality of commercially-produced composts at southern Alberta feedlots has been examined as has the miner-
alization rates of soil-applied composts. This paper reviews results from our feedlot manure composting research program.
Crown Copyright Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Compost; Manure; Nutrients; Greenhouse gas emissions; Pathogens

1. Introduction southern Alberta, several large feedlots are composting

The County of Lethbridge in southern Alberta is one of
the most densely populated livestock regions in North
America. In 2000, the County had a licensed capacity of
almost 700,000 head of cattle in open feedlots, with some
individual feedlots having >25,000 head. Due to its high
water content (70% w/w), it is uneconomical to haul
raw manure more than 15–20 km. Therefore, most manure
is land applied close to source at high application rates.
This diminishes its traditional role as a soil amendment
and it is often viewed as a disposal problem rather than
the utilization of a valuable nutrient source. In the long
term, high manure application rates are unsustainable,
leading to degradation of soil (Hao and Chang, 2003),
water (Chang and Entz, 1996; Chang and Janzen, 1996)
and air (Chang et al., 1998) quality.
Recently, composting has gained increased attention as
a means of reducing the environmental impact of manure
(Peigné and Girardin, 2004; Larney et al., 2000). In
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 403 317 2216; fax: +1 403 317 2187.
E-mail address: larneyf@agr.gc.ca (F.J. Larney).
their manure for the agricultural market. In light of this
increased adoption, and subsequent questions from farm-
ers and growers, a composting research program was initi-
ated at the Lethbridge Research Centre of Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada in 1996. Several aspects of the pro-
gram’s findings are reviewed in this paper. Composting
projects have been fully integrated in a multi-disciplinary
approach, using manure generated by a 1500-head research
feedlot.
Physical changes (Larney et al., 2000) and nutrient
dynamics (carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P)) dur-
ing composting (Larney et al., 1999, 2002, 2006) have been
investigated. A relationship between C, ash and organic
matter (OM) contents has been developed (Larney et al.,
2005). We have also examined the effect of co-composting
phosphogypsum (a by-product of P fertilizer manufacture)
and feedlot manure (Zvomuya et al., 2005).
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are associated with
livestock and manure production. The effects of aeration
method (Hao et al., 2001), pen bedding material (Hao
et al., 2004) and phosphogypsum addition (Hao et al.,
2005) on GHG emissions during composting of feedlot

0960-8524/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2006.07.005
3222 F.J. Larney, X. Hao / Bioresource Technology 98 (2007) 3221–3227
manure have been examined. Sommer et al. (2004) main-
tained that accurate estimates of emission of GHGs from
manure are sparse due the lack of suitable measuring tech-
niques. Therefore they compared different methods of esti-
mating GHGs from composting manure.
Although pathogen reduction is a recognized benefit of
composting (Rynk, 1992), the lack of definitive relation-
ships between reduction and composting duration, sub-
strates, or temperature conditions prompted a study on
the fate of coliform bacteria during open-air windrow com-
posting of beef feedlot manure in southern Alberta (Larney
et al., 2003). We have also looked at the reduction of the
parasites Giardia and Cryptosporidium (Van Herk et al.,
2004), the plant pathogen Fusarium graminearum (Turking-
ton et al., 2005) and viable weed seeds (Larney and Black-
shaw, 2003) during composting.
Compost quality varies depending on the amount of
bedding used, the degree of contamination with soil and
composting method (e.g. turning frequency). Moreover,
the definition of what constitutes compost differs widely,
from manure which is simply stockpiled to material which
has been turned many times. Carbon and N forms and con-
centrations are important qualities of compost (Bernal
et al., 1998; N’Dayegamiye et al., 1997; Parkinson et al.,
2004). Larney et al. (2004) sampled compost from eight
southern Alberta feedlots and measured quality-related
parameters.
With the increased popularity of composting and com-
post application to land in place of fresh manure, there is
a need to ascertain the mineralization rates of nutrients
in compost compared to fresh material. Since composting
stabilizes OM, it also slows the release of nutrients once
land applied. Information is required on prediction of
compost mineralization rates, perhaps from a few simple
measurements of compost properties. This would aid in
decision-making to comply with best management prac-
tices. To address this issue, experiments looking at the min-
eralization of C (Helgason et al., 2005) and P (Zvomuya
et al., 2006) after addition to soil, from a selection of 8–9
commercially-available feedlot manure composts from
southern Alberta have been conducted.
2. Composting research methods in southern Alberta
Our composting experiments were carried out on a con-
crete pad under an open-sided roofed structure at the Agri-
culture and Agri-Food Research Centre, Lethbridge,
Alberta (49°42 0 N, 112°50 0 W). This facility precludes water
inputs from precipitation. Cereal straw is traditionally used
as a bedding material in open feedlot pens, to mitigate win-
ter cold stress on the animals. Recently, however, wood
residuals (shavings, wood chips) from Alberta’s forest
and lumber industry have been used as an alternative bed-
ding source. At pen cleaning, the material had an approx-
imate manure:bedding ratio of 4:1 (dry weight basis),
regardless of whether it was straw-bedded manure (SBM)
or wood-bedded manure (WBM).
Manure was generally scraped into piles in the feedlot
pens several days before loading into a truck. Truckloads
of manure were then deposited into individual compost
windrows. At formation, windrows were about 10 m in
length, 2.5 m wide at the base and 2 m high. Windrows
were generally turned 7–9 times with a tractor-pull wind-
row turner. A typical turning schedule was 7, 14, 21, 28,
42, 56, 77 and 98 d. The windrows were then rolled into
curing piles and left for 3 months, at which time they
were considered mature. More details on actual compo-
sting procedures are presented by Larney et al. (2006).
Initial sampling of fresh manure was conducted when
depositing each truckload of manure into windrows. Final
sampling of composted material coincided with the end of
the thermophilic phase and the end of the curing phase.
Across different experiments, sample numbers ranged from
10 to 26 per replicate at each sampling time.
As soon as possible after sampling, each sample bag of
material was sub-sampled (10 g wet weight) for inorganic
N (NO3-N + NH4-N) which was determined colorimetri-
cally after extraction with 200 mL of 2 N KCl. A larger
sub-sample (1.5 kg wet weight) was taken for water con-
tent (WC) determination (expressed on a wet weight basis)
by oven-drying at 60 °C for 5 d (Peters et al., 2003). The
remaining analyses were performed on oven-dried samples.
Total C, total N (and total sulfur (S) for the phosphogyp-
sum experiments (Hao et al., 2005; Zvomuya et al., 2006))
were determined on finely-ground (<150 lm) samples using
an automated C:N:S elemental analyzer (Carlo Erba,
Milan, Italy). Total P was determined after wet digestion
with H2SO4 and H2O2 and water-extractable P using
0.3 g of material in 30 mL of deionized water. Ash content
was determined in a muffle furnace (650 °C for 24 h) and
OM was estimated as 100-ash content (%).
Windrow temperatures were measured with a datalog-
ger. Thermocouples were usually installed as soon as the
windrows were formed and were removed just prior to
turning and re-installed as soon as possible after turning.
Nine thermocouples were attached to an aluminium
three-pronged fork (three thermocouples per prong at
about 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 m from the bottom of the windrow)
which was placed vertically in each windrow treatment.
Greenhouse gas measurements are outlined in detail by
Hao et al. (2001, 2004, 2005). Briefly, gas (CO2, CH4 and
N2O) concentration profiles were determined weekly for
the first 10 weeks and every 2–3 weeks thereafter at 0, 15,
40, 75, 100 and 130 cm below the windrow surface using
a multi-level gas sampler. Surface fluxes of GHGs were
measured on the same schedule as gas concentration pro-
files using a modified vented chamber (Hutchinson and
Mosier, 1981). All gas samples were analyzed by gas
chromatography.
Sommer et al. (2004) adapted integrated horizontal flux
(IHF) and backwards Lagrangian stochastical (bLS) dis-
persion micrometeorological techniques to measure gas
emissions (NH3, CH4, N2O and CO2) from a manure pile.
The results were compared with vented chamber measure-
 F.J. Larney, X. Hao / Bioresource Technology 98 (2007) 3221–3227
ments. Net horizontal gas fluxes were determined by
mounting passive NH3 samplers, gas intakes for CO2 and
CH4, and anemometers on poles that were always located
up and downwind of the pile as controlled by a wind vane.
Further, NH3 emission was estimated with the bLS tech-
nique using NH3 concentration measured with a laser
downwind of the pile.
Composting experiments examining the fate of undesir-
able characteristics of manure such as pathogens, parasites
and weed seeds are explained in more detail by Larney
et al. (2003) (Escherichia coli), Van Herk et al. (2004) (Giar-
dia and Cryptosporidium), Turkington et al. (2005) (F.
graminearum) and Larney and Blackshaw (2003) (weed
seed viability).
A study examining properties of eight different manure
composts, collected from southern Alberta feedlots in
2002, aimed to achieve a snapshot of compost quality for
typical commercially-available materials (Larney et al.,
2004). Soluble C and N (10 g compost extracted in
100 mL CaCl2) were determined using an automated ele-
mental analyzer.
Carbon mineralization (Helgason et al., 2005) was esti-
mated in an incubation study, for loamy sand and loam
soils amended with nine composts, two fresh manures
and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) hay at a target rate of
10 mg total C g1 soil. Soils were incubated at 25 °C for
168 d. A P mineralization study (Zvomuya et al., 2006)
utilized chemical properties of eight composted and two
non-composted beef cattle manures to predict cumulative
P uptake and apparent P mineralization during a 363-d
controlled environment chamber bioassay. Ten growth
cycles of canola (Brassica napus L.) were raised in pots con-
taining 2.5 kg of a Dark Brown Chernozemic clay loam soil
mixed with 0.04 kg of the amendments. Inorganic P fertil-
izer and an unamended control were included for compar-
ison. All treatments received a nutrient solution containing
an adequate supply of all essential nutrients, except P,
which was supplied by the amendments.
3. Physical and chemical changes during composting
Despite winter air temperatures as low as 40 °C in
southern Alberta, windrow temperatures can be main-
tained at >60 °C (Larney et al., 2000). A drawback with
summer composting is the loss of moisture from the wind-
row by evaporative drying especially with high turning
frequencies. This necessitates the haulage of water to win-
drows which is an added expense. Larney et al. (2000)
found that water mass loss with winter composting (44%
of initial) was significantly lower than that for summer
composting (83% of initial). However, summer composting
resulted in higher volume reduction (72% of initial) than
winter composting (51% of initial) which resulted in lower
haulage requirements for the finished compost. Water con-
tent dropped from 0.70 kg kg1 at pen cleaning to
0.35 kg kg1 for finished compost. Water mass loss was
up to 80% (percent of initial). Dry matter (DM) losses were
3223
in the range of 20–30%. Bulk density increased 3–4-fold
during composting. Changes such as reduced water content
and increased bulk density have implications for haulage of
nutrients in the form of compost vs. raw manure.
The predominant form of available N (ammonium-N vs.
nitrate-N) changes during composting. Larney et al. (1999)
reported that nitrate-N increased from 6 to 550 mg kg dur-
ing active composting while ammonium-N decreased from
2270 to 500 mg kg1. This is typical of the composting pro-
cess, as early breakdown of easily-decomposable OM by
ammonification gives rise to NH3 which either volatilizes
to the atmosphere or converts to NH4-N depending on
pH levels, porosity and air movement within the windrow.
Nitrification, whereby NH4-N is oxidized to NO2-N and
then NO3-N, occurs later in the composting process, result-
ing in a decline in NH4-N and an increase in NO3-N. In
fact the NH4-N/NO3-N ratio is often used as an index of
compost stability (Bernal et al., 1998) with values of <1
denoting very stable or mature material. In the above
example (Larney et al., 1999), fresh manure had a NH4-
N/NO3-N ratio of 378 while the finished compost had a
ratio of 0.91.
Larney et al. (2006) compared two traditional manure
management practices (fresh handling, stockpiling) with a
newer one (composting) in western Canada. Total C and
P concentrations were affected by handling treatment,
while total N concentration was not. Dry matter, C, and
N mass losses were significantly higher (P < 0.05) with
composting than with stockpiling. For example, compo-
sting led to DM losses of 39.8% compared to 22.5% for
stockpiling. Carbon losses were 66.9% with composting
vs. 37.5% with stockpiling while N losses were 46.3% with
composting and 22.5% with stockpiling. Composting
allowed transport of 2 times as much P as fresh manure,
and 1.4 times as much as stockpiled manure on an ‘as is’
basis. They viewed their study as one component in the lar-
ger context of a life cycle assessment of feedlot manure
handling systems.
Using relationships derived from a dataset of >3000
samples, representing the decay spectrum from raw manure
to mature compost, Larney et al. (2005) proposed that
measurement of either total carbon or ash content is suffi-
cient to estimate C, OM and DM mass changes during
composting of beef feedlot manure. The relationship
between ash content and total C was defined by the
equation:
Ash content ðg kg1 Þ ¼ 968:9  1:797 ðtotal C; g kg1 Þ
with an R2 value of 0.958 (P < 0.001***).
The relationship between OM and total C was:
OM ðg kg1 Þ ¼ 31:1 þ 1:797 ðtotal C; g kg1 Þ:
Phosphogypsum (PG) is an acidic by-product of P fertil-
izer manufacture and large stockpiles currently exist in
Alberta. Zvomuya et al. (2005) examined co-composting
of PG (at rates of 0, 40, 70, and 140 kg PG Mg1 manure
plus PG dry weight) with SBM and WBM. During the 99-d
3224 F.J. Larney, X. Hao / Bioresource Technology 98 (2007) 3221–3227
composting period, PG addition reduced total N loss by
0.11% for each 1 kg Mg1 increment in PG rate. Available
N at the end of composting was significantly higher for
WBM (2180 mg kg1) than SBM treatments (1820 mg
kg1). Due to the presence of S (160 g kg1) in the PG,
total S concentration in the final compost increased by
0.19 g kg1 for each 1 kg Mg1 increment in PG rate from
5.2 g total S kg1 without PG addition. Phosphogypsum
(1.6 g kg1 P) addition had no significant effect on total P
concentration of the final composts. Results from this
study demonstrate the potential of PG addition to reduce
overall N losses during composting. The accompanying
increase in total S content has benefits for use of the end-
product on sulfur-deficient soils for crops with high S
demand.
4. Greenhouse gas emissions
Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous
oxide (N2O) are GHGs. Since CH4 is 21 times more harm-
ful, and N2O 310 times more harmful, than CO2 in their
global warming effects, GHG emissions are often expressed
as CO2-C equivalents. In a 1997 study, GHG emissions
from actively aerated composting (with turning) were
401 kg CO2-C Mg1 of manure compared with 240 CO2-
C Mg1 of manure for passively aerated composting
(Hao et al., 2001). Hao et al. (2004) reported that most C
was lost as CO2 with CH4 accounting for <6%. However,
the net contribution to GHG emissions was greater for
CH4 since it is 21 times more effective at trapping heat than
CO2. N2O emissions were 0.077 kg N Mg1 for SBM and
0.084 kg N Mg1 for WBM, accounting for 1–6% of total
N loss. Total GHG emissions as CO2-C equivalent were
not significantly different between SBM (368 ± 19 kg
Mg1) and WBM (349 ± 24 kg Mg1).
In another study, Hao et al. (2005) found that PG addi-
tion reduced GHG emissions (CO2-C equivalent) during
composting of livestock manure by at least 58%, primarily
due to reduced CH4 emission. The effect was likely one of
inhibition or competition effects on CH4 production due to
the presence of S in the PG at a concentration of 148 g
kg1. There was a exponential decrease in CH4 emission
as compost total S content increased with increasing rate
of PG addition. Emission of N2O was not significantly
affected by PG addition, although it was negatively corre-
lated with compost pH.
Sommer et al. (2004) found that NH3 emissions mea-
sured with the IHF and bLS techniques were similar. Peri-
odic measurements of emissions of CO2 with the IHF
technique by taking air samples with syringes and measur-
ing CO2 and CH4 concentrations on a gas chromatograph,
were similar to continuous measurements with the IHF
technique measuring gas concentrations with an infrared
gas monitor. However, emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O
measured with the static vented chamber technique were
12–22% of that measured with the IHF technique. They
concluded that measurements of gas emissions from stock-
piled manure depended on the measuring technique and
emphasized the need for further validation of these
techniques.
5. Pathogens, parasites and weed seeds
There was a rapid decline in E. coli levels in the first 7 d
of composting with >99.95% reduction even though wind-
row temperatures averaged only 34–42 °C (Larney et al.,
2003). After one month E. coli was no longer detectable
by culturing methods. There was no difference between
SBM and WBM compost in E. coli levels or persistence.
Desiccation likely played a minor role in coliform reduc-
tion, since water loss was low (<0.07 kg kg1) in the first
7 d of composting. However, total aerobic heterotroph
populations remained high (>7.0 log10 CFU g1 dry wt.)
throughout the composting period possibly causing an
antagonistic effect toward coliform bacteria. Land applica-
tion of compost, with its non-detectable levels of E. coli
compared to raw manure, should minimize environmental
risk in areas of intensive livestock production.
Cattle are hosts for parasitic protozoa such as Giardia
and Cryptosporidium excreting billions of infective organ-
isms (Smith and Smith, 1990). Thus, there is potential for
transmission of these parasites from animal to human
(Fayer and Ungar, 1986) and public concern is increasing
that Giardia infections in ruminants and other animals
pose a serious zoonotic threat to humans (Adam, 1991).
In a study of composting of fecal samples containing Giar-
dia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts, Van Herk et al.
(2004) found that the percentage of viable Cryptospori-
dium oocysts declined gradually over a 31 d period in
1998. In 1999, a rapid decline in viability of Giardia cysts
and Cryptosporidium oocysts occurred once compost win-
drow temperature exceeded 55 °C and viabilities of both
parasites were reduced to zero after 42 d in SBM compost
and after 56 d in WBM compost. The faster reduction in
SBM may be due to higher composting temperatures.
Windrow temperature was higher in SBM than WBM
from Day 10 to Day 17 in 1998 (P < 0.05) and from
Day 3 to Day 42 in 1999 (P < 0.10). Desiccation may also
have played a role in reducing the parasites. In 1999,
water content decreased from 0.65 kg kg1 in fresh SBM
to 0.29 kg kg1 for finished compost and from 0.61 to
0.32 kg kg1 for WBM.
Another example of the sanitization effect of composting
relates to F. graminearum (Fusarium head blight) in cereals.
Some southern Alberta farmers are reluctant to spread
fresh manure as they may potentially spread the disease.
Infected cereal seed in cattle feed can end up in manure
due to spillage at feed troughs. The manure is then
removed at pen cleaning and spread on adjacent fields, pro-
viding a disease ‘bridge’ to subsequent crops. Turkington
et al. (2005) found that composting significantly reduced
or eliminated Fusarium on infected wheat (Triticum
aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) seed, mitigating the
dissemination of the disease.
 F.J. Larney, X. Hao / Bioresource Technology 98 (2007) 3221–3227 3225

In a weed seed viability study (Larney and Blackshaw,
2003), weed seeds were buried in retrievable nylon-mesh
bags in compost windrows. The bags were recovered at var-
ious stages of thermophilic composting. Germinability was
zero for all composted weed seeds at all sampling times in
1997. However, some seeds remained viable (positive tetra-
zolium test denoting respiration) on Day 70. In 1999, only
one of the 13 species retained germinability on Day 21 and
only two species had respiring seeds on Day 42. Time–
viability relationships during composting were defined by
exponential decay models. Lethal temperatures to reduce
viability were species-dependent. In 1999, four weed species
were killed in the initial 7 d of composting at a lethal tem-
perature of 39 °C while temperatures of >60 °C were
required for two species. Regression analysis on weed seed
viability versus windrow temperature resulted in significant
R2 values, which showed that only 17–29% of the variation
in viability was accounted for by temperature. Larney and
Blackshaw (2003) concluded that the lack of definitive rela-
tionships between temperature and weed seed viability
demonstrated that factors other than temperature may play
a role in reducing viable weed seeds during composting.
6. Quality of feedlot manure composts from southern Alberta
Of the eight composts obtained from commercial feed-
lots in Alberta (Table 1), total C varied from 125 g kg1
in Compost 7 to 420 g kg1 in Compost 5 with a mean of
228 g kg1. The very high value in Compost 5 suggests that
the material was immature as C concentration decreases
during composting as microbes use C and emit CO2 (Hao
et al., 2004). Total N values showed a 2-fold difference with
Compost 7 having only 10.3 g kg1 total N while Compost
6 had 21.6 g kg1 total N. This means that twice as much of
Compost 7 vs. 6 would have to be hauled in order to supply
similar amounts of total N to a soil.
Carbon/nitrogen ratio is an index of compost stability,
decreasing during the composting process to values
approaching 10:1. Compost 5 still had a C/N ratio of
30:1 indicating that it was closer to fresh manure than com-
post. Compost 6 was the most stable with a C/N ratio of
9.6.
Soluble C consists largely of organic compounds that
are easily decomposed by soil microbes. Consequently,
organic amendments with high soluble C fractions, and
hence less mature, may contribute less to long-term soil
OM reserves, and may have a more immediate stimulatory
effect on soil microbial populations (Helgason et al., 2005).
There was about a 4-fold difference in soluble C. Compost
2 had the highest value (21.9 g kg1) while Compost 7 had
the lowest (5.1 g kg1). Also, Compost 2 had the highest
proportion of C in soluble form (16.8%) compared with
only 1.1% in Compost 5.
Soluble N is comprised of inorganic N (plant-available
nitrate-N + ammonium-N) as well as the easily-mineraliz-
able organic N fraction. Consequently, amendments with
high soluble N concentrations (e.g., Composts 1, 2, 3 with
values of 12.9–19.7% of N in soluble form), and hence not
as mature, probably have a higher short-term release of
plant-available N than amendments with low soluble N
(e.g., Compost 4 with only 3.7% N in soluble form). This
higher release is an advantage if plants are present to utilize
the available forms of N but may be a disadvantage if
available N levels exceed plant uptake, since some of the
excess nitrate-N may be converted to N2O or leached to
groundwater.
7. Compost mineralization studies
Studies focusing on compost nutrient mineralization
seek to elucidate nutrient release rates once composts are
applied to soil. In an incubation study, Helgason et al.
(2005) found a significant interaction between amendment
and soil type on C mineralization, but generally the effect
of soil texture (loamy sand with 830 g kg1 sand vs. loam
with 430 g kg1 sand) on amendment decomposition was
small. The composts were very dissimilar in composition
and resulted in substantial differences in the amount of C
retained in the soils (2–39% C added evolved as CO2).
Total C evolved during the incubation period could be

Table 1
Carbon and nitrogen properties of eight feedlot manure composts from southern Alberta feedlots, 2002
Compost Total C Total N C/N ratio Soluble C Soluble N C in soluble N in soluble
(g kg1) (g kg1) (g kg1) (g kg1) form (%) form (%)
1 223 20.2 11.0 11.1 2.6 5.0 12.9
2 130 10.9 11.9 21.9 2.1 16.8 19.3
3 194 11.7 16.6 17.3 2.3 8.9 19.7
4 311 19.1 16.3 6.1 0.7 2.0 3.7
5 420 13.9 30.2 4.7 0.9 1.1 6.5
6 208 21.6 9.6 17.5 2.2 8.4 10.2
7 125 10.3 12.1 5.1 0.6 4.1 5.8
8 212 20.2 10.5 6.9 1.7 3.3 8.4
Mean 228 16.0 14.8 11.3 1.6 6.2 10.8
S.D. 97 5 6.7 6.7 0.8 5.1 6.0
c.v. (%) 43 30 46 59 48 83 56
S.D.: standard deviation; c.v.: coefficient of variation.
3226 F.J. Larney, X. Hao / Bioresource Technology 98 (2007) 3221–3227
predicted from the NH4-N content and the NH4-N/NO3-N
ratio of the composted manures (R2 = 0.91–0.93). Helga-
son et al. (2005) suggested that estimation of the C retained
in soils amended with compost, as a function of simple
chemical properties of the compost, provides an important
tool for evaluating the effectiveness of compost as a soil
amendment, helping to calculate net retention of C.
In a P mineralization study, Zvomuya et al. (2006)
found that cumulative P uptake was similar for compost
(50.0 mg kg1 soil) and manure (45.7 mg kg1 soil) and
for the latter and fertilizer P (31.5 mg kg1 soil), but signif-
icantly higher for the organic amendments than the control
(18.7 mg kg1 soil) and for the composts than fertilizer
P. Apparent phosphorus recovery (APR) of compost
P (48%) was significantly lower than that of manure P
(66%), but there was no significant difference in APR
between the organic amendments and fertilizer (54%). Par-
tial least squares regression indicated that only two para-
neters (total water-extractable P and total P concentrations)
were adequate to model uptake of compost-derived P,
explaining 81% of the variation in uptake. These results
suggest that P availability from land-applied composts
can be adequately predicted from two simple compost
chemical measurements. Accurate prediction of P availabil-
ity may help tailor land application of manure to plant
needs and prevent bioavailable P build-up and subsequent
loss to sensitive aquatic systems.
8. Conclusions
Our results demonstrate beneficial effects of compost
and composting for beef cattle feedlot manure in southern
Alberta. Due to the reduction in volume, mass and water
content, composting enables the export of nutrients from
areas of high nutrient loading to soils which may be defi-
cient in nutrients. This reduces the risk of environmental
issues (water, soil and air quality degradation) in high
nutrient loading areas and enhances soil quality in nutrient
deficient areas. However, composting led to substantial N
losses. Obviously, reduced haulage requirements accompa-
nied by minimal N losses would be more desirable and
future composting research will examine ways to reduce
N losses. While GHG emissions during feedlot manure
composting, have been quantified for southern Alberta
conditions, emissions associated with traditional practices
(fresh handling or stockpiling) have not been compared
with those for composting as a potential component of a
life cycle assessment.
Composting also reduces many of the undesirable fea-
tures of manure such as pathogens, parasites and weed
seeds. Exposure of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium
oocysts to temperatures >55 °C for a period of 15 d
appears to be an effective method of inactivating both
organisms in feedlot manure.
Our findings on quality of composts indicate that C and
N properties of feedlot manure compost vary widely in
southern Alberta. Coefficients of variation for the seven
measured parameters (total C, total N, C/N ratio, soluble
C, soluble N, % C in soluble form, % N in soluble form)
ranged from 30–83% (Table 1). This demonstrates that
composts (even those emanating from feedstocks of feedlot
manure + straw or wood chip bedding) are not all created
equally. This variation may be due to the type and amount
of bedding, animal age, or feed or supplements used.
Mixing of underlying soil into compost windrows during
windrow turning may also dilute nutrient levels. As part
of a nutrient management plan, testing of composts is
recommended before land application to account for this
variability. Testing would also allow prediction of minerali-
zation rates based on compost properties.
The level of future adoption of composting in southern
Alberta may be dictated by upcoming regulatory change. If
land application rates are to be dictated by manure P con-
tent, as is being considered, then a larger land base will be
required to accommodate the lower application rates per-
mitted. This will increase the radius of manure haulage
from source, hence making the composting option more
attractive.
Acknowledgements
We thank Andrew Olson, Paul DeMaere, Greg Travis
and Brian Handerek for technical assistance. This paper
is Lethbridge Research Centre contribution no. 38705056.
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