copyrightHellebrand, Hans JürgenKalk, Wolf-Dieter2024-05-222024-05-222000https://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/10424The evaluation of the nitrogen balance of biological farming included the measurement of gaseous emissions during manure composting under practical conditions. The results show that ammonia- and methane emis- sions subside within three to four weeks. Nitrous oxide emissions exhi- bited significantly greater variability with regard to time and place. Ma- xima of nitrous oxide emission were observed mainly after ammonia and methane had decayed. The mean total flux per compost period amounted to 1,322 g m-2 of methane, 76.9 g m-2 of ammonia, and 19.8 g m-2 of ni- trous oxide. The relation of these average values to the mean flux of car- bon dioxide per composting period was 4.6 10-2 for CH4 , 2.7 10-3 for NH3 , and 6.9 10-4 for N 2 O. Both the total average gas flux and the mean ratio of total gas emissions can serve to quantify the impact on the envi- ronment. The average gaseous nitrogen losses measured during manure composting amounted to 6% of the initial nitrogen content. Carbon los- ses account for 35% of the initial carbon content.application/pdfengArticle