Chemical and spectroscopic characterization of water extractable organic matter during vermicomposting of cattle dung

This work illustrated the characteristics and transformation of water extractable organic matter (WEOM) during vermistabilization (Eisenia fetida) of cattle dung by means of chemical and spectroscopic methods. The independent experiment conducted in triplicate was sampled at the 0, 7, 14, 21, 35, 60 and 90 days. Results showed that the DOC kept steady around 2.7 g kg−1 after day 60 and the DOC/DON ratio decreased from 19.77 to 5.26 till the end of vermicomposting. On the other hand, vermicomposting decreased the aliphatic, proteinaceous, carbohydrates components and increased the aromaticity and oxygen-containing functional groups in the WEOM. Moreover, fluorescence spectra and fluorescence regional integration (FRI) results indicated that protein-like groups were degraded and fulvic and humic acid-like compounds were evolved during the vermicomposting process. In all, this study suggested the suitability of WEOM for monitoring the organics transformation and assessing the maturity in the vermicomposting.