Addition of digestate to soil provided easily available organic
matter, mostly degradable in the short term, which did not contribute
to increases in the soil organic carbon content as cattle
manure did in some of the samplings. Cattle manure provided a
much higher input of organic matter into the soil than did the
digestate at the application rates tested. However, the soil microbial
biomass carbon and nitrogen data revealed a significant stimulation
of the soil microbial populations by the digestate, particularly in
the summer crop (watermelon).