The land application of poultry litter as a fertilizer is a common practice due to the low cost and high availability of poultry litter in some regions. However, land application can create concerns related to runoff water quality and odor. An experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of in-house windrow composting (IWC) of poultry litter prior to land application in terms of bacteria, odors and nutrients compared to untreated (fresh) litter. In the second part of the research, the objective was to quantify the number and distribution within poultry houses of selected water quality indicator bacteria in litter. Comparison of fresh and IWC litter showed that Escherichia coli (E. coli) was present in very low concentrations on day 1 in fresh litter (20 cfu/g) and IWC litter (55 cfu/g), but the levels were undetectable in both litter types on day 9 in Trial 1. In Trial 2, E. coli levels were undetectable in IWC litter before and after the IWC process. Similarly, fresh litter had undetectable E. coli levels on day 1, but 185 cfu/g on day 10. Additionally, nutrient analysis and moisture content results showed no significant differences between fresh and IWC litter. To evaluate odor differences between fresh and IWC litter, volatile gases were collected onto sorbent tubes and into Tedlar bags from wind tunnel flux chambers placed directly on litter piles prior to land application. The concentrations of 13 compounds commonly associated with animal manure were then determined by GC/MS. Analysis of volatile gas samples resulted in significant changes of various individual odorants, while olfactometry analysis of Tedlar bag air samples resulted in reduced detection threshold values for IWC litter compared to the fresh litter. These results indicate the possible mitigating effects IWC may have on odors associated with litter. In the survey of bacterial distribution within poultry houses, litter counts varied greatly within house sections and between farms. Regression analysis revealed that bacterial counts and litter moisture content are significantly related, thus explaining much of the variation in litter bacterial counts within a house. These results indicate that IWC could be a useful best management practice to reduce E. coli levels and odor associated with poultry litter prior to land application, but factors such as moisture content, initial bacteria concentrations, and windrow size all affect the level of bacteria and odor reduction.

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Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1998. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-74). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1988. / Typescript (photocopy.). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-124). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1990. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-90). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1951. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-94).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-93).

Thesis (M.A. )--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2924. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as 2 leaves (iii-iv). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-102).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1985. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-55). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Rates of litter decomposition, nutrient release, and total forest floor turnover were measured on two replicates of three ecosystem types in the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone of British Columbia, in an attempt to establish whether or not ecosystem types could be differentiated on the basis of functional parameters. Litter bags of two mesh sizes and leaf tethering were used to compare weight losses and nutrient dynamics of specific litter components. The dry weight losses of conifer needles confined in 1 mm mesh bags ranged from 30 to 40 % after one year. There was no significant difference between sites, Weight loss of salal leaves on xeric sites ranged from 20 % after one year for samples confined in 1 mm mesh bags to 45 % for tethered leaf samples. Big-leaf maple weight loss ranged from 15% for samples confined in 1 mm mesh bags to 60 % for tethered samples. Twig samples lost 7 to 21 % of their weight on all sites after six months, with slightly higher values occurring on the hygric sites, Cellulose strips in 4 mm mesh bags lost an average of 23 % of their weight on the-xeric, 21 % on the mesic, and 40 % on the hygric sites. Nutrient mass and concentration changes over one year varied somewhat between different types of foliage litter. The total mass of K, Mg, and Ca decreased in all litter types on all sites, N and P mass changes were more variable, The relative mobility of nutrients released from decomposing conifer litter was Ca> Mg?P>K>N, and from broad-leaf litter was Ca>Mg>K>P>N. The low mobility of K was concluded to be due to leaching of this element from the litter prior to its collection for the study. Numbers of fauna in the forest floor were compared on one replicate of each of the ecosystem types at six week intervals throughout the year. Micro-fauna were more abundant on the xeric and mesic sites, while macro- and meso-fauna were more numerous on the hygric sites. Numbers were lowest on all sites when forest floor moisture was lowest in August. At other times of the year population fluctuations were different for different fauna groups. Forest floor biomass was also measured on one replicate of each ecosystem type. It averaged 45,05 tonnes • ha⁻¹ on the xeric sites, 45.68 tonnes • ha⁻¹ on the mesic sites, and 25,20 tonnes • ha⁻¹ on the hygric site. Annual forest floor turnover rates were calculated to be .015 for the xeric, ,017 for the-mesic, and ,040 for the hygric sates, Differences in turnover rates between sites were attributed more to differences in the quantities- of wood and herbaceous foliage on the three sites than to differences in the decomposition rates of individual substrates. / Forestry, Faculty of / Unknown