Nutrient Contents in Main Animal Manures in China

Nutrient contents in animal manure from 20 provinces in China were analyzed and discussed. Results indicated that the contents of N, P, Zn, Cu were obvious higher in chicken and pig manures than in cattle and sheep manures, but K contents were similar. The average content of N, P2O5, K2O, Zn and Cu was 2.08%, 3.53%, 2.38%, 306.6 mg·kg-1 and 78.2 mg·kg-1 in chicken manure, 2.28%, 3.97%, 2.09%, 663.3 mg·kg-1 and 488.1 mg·kg-1 in pig manure, 1.56%, 1.49%, 1.96%, 138.6 mg·kg-1 and 48.5 mg·kg-1 in cattle manure, 1.31%, 1.03%, 2.40%, 88.9 mg·kg-1 and 23.5 mg·kg-1 in sheep manure, respectively. For Zn and Cu about 27.1% and 15.3% of chicken manure samples, 62.5% and 70.0% of pig manure samples, 3.8% and 9.6% of cattle manure samples exceed the limits of mature compost in Germany. Com- pared with the results investigated in 1990s, the average P2O5 content in chicken manure, pig manure and cattle manure increased by 65.7%, 93.7% and 52.0%, respectively. The average K2O content in chicken, pig, cattle and sheep manure increased by 138.7%, 54.8%, 71.9%, 50.9%, respectively. Zn content in chicken and pig manure increased by 92.1% and 383.5%, respectively, and Cu content in pig manure was 12 times higher. Electrical conductivity (EC) of most samples is in the range of 50 to 150 mS·cm-1 and pH is in the range of 7.0 to 8.0 in most samples.