Summary
The decomposition of coniferous sawdust and bark with added N and P was studied in relation to its capacity to serve as a substrate for plant growth. With sawdust as a substrate, there was more microbial biomass, greater CO2 evolution, more ammonification and more actinomycetes but less nitrification and less fungi compared with bark. All groups and activities were greater in sawdust and bark compared with soil used as the substrate. Inoculation with cellulolytic strains of Bacillus sp. Cephalosporium sp. and Streptomyces sp. sometimes increased these activities but only marginally. The derived sawdust and bark composts increased the yields of tomato compared with soil to which the same nutrients had been added.
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Kostov, O., Rankov, V., Atanacova, G. et al. Decomposition of sawdust and bark treated with cellulose-decomposing microorganisms. Biol Fertil Soils 11, 105–110 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336373
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00336373