Aerobic decomposition of organic matter by bacteria is normally an important

drain on oxygen supplies in ponds, so factors regulating decomposition are of

interest.

The temperature optima of microorganisms differ among species, but

decomposition is favored by warmth. Rates of decomposition generally increase
over the range of 5 to 35°C. The pH preferences of different microorganisms also
differ. Generally, organic matter is degraded faster in neutral or alkaline systems
than in acid systems.
Aerobic decomposition requires a continuous supply of oxygen and proceeds
more rapidly when dissolved oxygen concentrations are near saturation.
However, decomposition also occurs under anaerobic conditions. Some
microorganisms are capable of degrading organic matter in either aerobic or
anaerobic habitats (facultative anaerobic organisms), while other microorganisms
grow only under anaerobic conditions (obligate anaerobic organisms). The end
products of anaerobic decomposition are organic compounds (alcohols, organic
acids, etc.). The primary end product of aerobic decomposition is carbon dioxide.
Some organic compounds are more resistant to decay than others. For example,
sugar is decomposed faster than cellulose, and cellulose faster than lignin.
Bacteria are ubiquitous, and species capable of attacking almost any kind of
organic matter are present in most ecological systems. The rate of decomposition
of organic matter is highest during the early stages of decomposition while the
readily decomposable compounds are being used by microorganisms.
Progressively slower rates of decomposition are noted as the microbial
community uses up the more readily decomposable compounds.
Microbes are composed primarily of protein and have large percentages of
carbon and nitrogen. If the organic matter undergoing decomposition contains
plenty of nitrogen, microorganisms will grow well and some of the nitrogen from
the organic matter will be released to the environment as inorganic nitrogen.
Nitrogen is said to be mineralized. When organic matter is low in nitrogen
content, some of the nitrogen for microbial growth must be obtained from the
environment. Nitrogen is said to be immobilized. Decomposition can not proceed
in the absence of nitrogen and the rate of decomposition will be very slow in
nitrogen-deficient systems.
The C:N ratio of organic matter has been widely used as an index of the rate at
which organic matter will decompose when added to an agricultural soil. Organic
matter with a wide C:N ratio, e.g., 40 percent carbon and 0.5 percent nitrogen,
will decompose much slower than organic matter with a narrow C:N ratio, e.g., 40
percent carbon and 4 percent nitrogen. The organic matter concentration will
increase in a soil if an organic addendum has a wide. C:N ratio because there is
insufficient nitrogen to effect its degradation. Furthermore, nitrogen will be
immobilized rather than mineralized because the addendum does not supply
enough nitrogen to satisfy microbial requirements. An organic addendum with a
narrow C:N ratio will decompose rapidly and more completely with nitrogen
being mineralized. Some of the mineralized nitrogen may even be used to
decompose other organic matter with a wide C:N ratio which would not
decompose earlier. Many times organic matter concentrations in the environment
will decrease after degradation of an organic addendum with a narrow C:N ratio.