114 Decomposition of Plant and Animal Residues 



room house, it is thoroughly aerated; this leads to active cellulose 

 decomposition, which is accompanied by a rise in temperature. 

 Jensen made a detailed study of cellulose decomposition in lab- 



30 



Cellulose decomposed 



CO;, evolved 



N assimilated 



1100 



- 1000 



900 



700 

 600 

 500 

 400 

 300 

 200 

 100 



Weeks 



;^ Cellulose decomposed as carbon 



|C assimilated (27 4 x 9) 

 I CO . evolved as C 



Fig. 53. Relation between cellulose decomposition by microorganisms and nitro- 

 gen assimilation, or its transformation into microbial cell substance (from Waks- 

 man and Iloukolekian). 



oratory experiments, using well-manured soil. He reached certain 

 general conclusions concerning the course of decomposition and 

 accompanying microl)iological processes: 



1. When farmyard manure was added to neutral (pH 6.5-7.0) 

 soils, cellulose-decomposing organisms of the genus Vibrio devel- 



