| Abstract from DBPedia | Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting mixture is rich in plant nutrients and beneficial organisms, such as bacteria, protozoa, nematodes and fungi. Compost improves soil fertility in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, urban agriculture, and organic farming, reducing dependency on commercial chemical fertilizers. The benefits of compost include providing nutrients to crops as fertilizer, acting as a soil conditioner, increasing the humus or humic acid contents of the soil, and introducing beneficial microbes that help to suppress pathogens in the soil and reduce soil-borne diseases. At the simplest level, composting requires gathering a mix of 'greens' (green waste) and 'browns' (brown waste). Greens are materials rich in nitrogen such as leaves, grass, and food scraps. Browns are woody materials rich in carbon, such as stalks, paper, and wood chips. The materials break down into humus in a process taking months. Composting can be a multi-step, closely monitored process with measured inputs of water, air, and carbon- and nitrogen-rich materials. The decomposition process is aided by shredding the plant matter, adding water, and ensuring proper aeration by regularly turning the mixture in a process using open piles or "windrows." Fungi, earthworms, and other detritivores further break up the organic material. Aerobic bacteria and fungi manage the chemical process by converting the inputs into heat, carbon dioxide, and ammonium. Composting is an important part of waste management, since food and other compostable materials make up about 20% of waste in landfills, and these materials take longer to biodegrade in the landfill. Composting offers an environmentally superior alternative to using organic material for landfill because composting reduces anaerobic methane emissions, and provides economic and environmental co-benefits. For example, compost can also be used for land and stream reclamation, wetland construction, and landfill cover.堆肥（たいひ）とは、易分解性有機物が微生物によって完全に分解された肥料あるいは土壌改良剤のこと。有機資材（有機肥料）と同義で用いられる場合もあるが、有機資材は易分解性有機物が未分解の有機物残渣も含むのに対し、堆肥は易分解性有機物が完全に分解したものを指す。 英語ではコンポスト (compost) と呼び、本項でも堆肥とコンポストを同義として扱う。なお、生ごみ堆肥化容器の生成物である堆肥（コンポスト）が転じて、生ごみ堆肥化容器をコンポストと呼ぶ場合がある。 堆肥が出来る過程は堆肥化を参照。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Compost) |
