Effects of food waste compost on the shiftof microbial community in water saturated and unsaturated soil condition

Abstract

Despite the widespread use of food waste compost as a soil organic amendment, there is limited information on how it affects the composition of the microbial community as well as its relationship on soil environmental factors. This study investigated the effects of food waste compost on soil microbial-community composition by using FAME analysis. It was established that the application of food waste composts in water saturated paddy and unsaturated upland soils increased pH levels, electrical conductivity (EC) values, total carbon (TC), and ESP contents. It also increased the total phospholipid fatty acid (T-PLFA) and fungi resulting in a significant rise in the fungi to bacterial ratio. Furthermore, microbial community composition shifted depending on the quantity of food waste compost applied after crop harvest in both paddy and upland soils. Also, a positive correlation was found between changes in soil microbial community and changes in TC, EC, and water availability for crop growth. These results suggest that soil fertility and its microbial composition depends on the amount of food waste compost applied in both water saturated the paddy and unsaturated upland soils.