How Does Compost Help Improve Soil Conditions?
Application of compost to the land helps to amend and protect soils in a variety of ways. First, compost supplies nutrients essential to plant growth. Nitrogen is of particular importance because it is often the limiting element in agricultural soils. In comparison to that of many soluble inorganic fertilizers, the percentage of nitrogen in compost is low (usually under 2 percent). In some cropping systems, compost may need to be supplemented with fertilizers in order to supply all the nitrogen needs of the plants being grown. Compost is an advantageous source of nitrogen because compost-nitrogen is in organic form and must be mineralized before it has the potential to leach and to contaminate water supplies (such as groundwater). Mineralization (the conversion of organic forms of an element into inorganic forms) occurs slowly in natural systems. Compost additions to soil help create organic reserves that release nutrients incrementally over many years. Compost can therefore be applied
