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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Appropriate C/N Ratio Achieved by the Addition of
Pine Needle Steered Aerobic Composting Efficiency
Associated with Key Extracellular Enzymes
1
Department of Resource and Environment, Anhui Science and Technology University/Anhui Engineering Research
Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processin Technology, Donghua Road 9#, Fengyang 233100, P. R. of China
2
School of Geographic Information and Tourism, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China
3
Rice Research Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 230031, Hefei, Anhui Province, P. R. of China
Submission date: 2024-08-07
Final revision date: 2024-11-19
Acceptance date: 2024-12-29
Online publication date: 2025-02-28
Publication date: 2026-01-30
Corresponding author
Lantian Ren
Department of Resource and Environment, Anhui Science and Technology University/Anhui Engineering Research Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processin Technology, Donghua Road 9#, Fengyang 233100, P. R. of China
Department of Resource and Environment, Anhui Science and Technology University/Anhui Engineering Research Center for Smart Crop Planting and Processin Technology, Donghua Road 9#, Fengyang 233100, P. R. of China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2026;35(1):1295-1305
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
A consortium of key extracellular enzymes plays a critical role in the biological fermentation
of organic material during aerobic composting. The succession of physicochemical properties
and the associated functional extracellular enzymes were evaluated during the aerobic composting
process. Different starting C/N ratios were achieved by adding pine needles to decipher which and
how the extracellular enzymes improve composting efficiency. Overall, the compost with C/N ratios of
25 harbored significantly higher temperatures, germination indices, the degradation of organic matter,
and higher extracellular enzyme activities such as cellulase and dehydrogenase, indicating enhanced
composting maturity. The combined activities of protease and β-glucosidase, dehydrogenase and
cellulase, and β-glucosidase and cellulase indicated a significant effect on composting efficiency during
the mesophilic, thermophilic, and mature stages, respectively, suggesting a significant contribution
to the development of composting efficiency. The pot experiment further indicated that the aerobic
composting end product of pile 2 had a significant plant-growth-promoting effect compared to piles
1 and 3. When taken together, this study highlights that the appropriate C/N ratio of 25 to 35 induced
significantly higher efficiency aerobic composting, and the influence was attributed to the selection
and stimulation of functional extracellular enzymes.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
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