Comparison of the Properties of Broiler and Hanwoo Manure Treated by Black Soldier Fly Larvae during Composting

Samples of nitrogen-source material, soil, and water were collected from several small, primarily single-source subbasins in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin during 1988-90 to determine the feasibility of using measurements of stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ 13 C), nitrogen (δ 15 N), and sulfur (δ 34 S) to identify sources of nitrogen (N) in stream water.Chemical and isotopic compositions were measured for six N-source types consisting of rain water, forest leaf litter, synthetic fertilizer, farm-animal manure, municipal-sewage effluent and sludge, and septictank effluent and sludge.Compositions of associated, nearby samples of topsoil, subsoil, runoff water, and stream water were measured to evaluate changes in compositions of transported N-containing materials near the N source.Animal manure, human waste (sewage plus septic), and forest-leaf litter can be distinguished on the basis of δ 13 C; however, most N-sources cannot be distinguished on the basis of δ 15 N and δ 34 S, owing to wide ranges and overlap of compositions among different N-source types.Although values of δ 15 N for soil and runoff-water samples are qualitatively similar to those of the applied N source, values of δ 13 C and δ 34 S for runoff-water and stream-water samples appear to reflect the compositions of relatively large reservoirs of the elements in soil organic matter and minerals, respectively, and not the composition of the applied N source.The ratio of organic carbon to total nitrogen (C-org:N), combined with δ 13 C, is Use of Stable Isotopes of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Sulfur to Identify Sources of Nitrogen in Surface Waters in the Lower Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania