ESTIMATION OF THE DECOMPOSITION OF CHITIN IN SOIL BY THE METHOD OF CARBON DIOXIDE RELEASE

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Abstract
The decomposition in soil of chitin isolated from the shell of the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis L. was compared with that of the structurally-similar cellulose ("Cellophane") by calculating the amount of carbon in these materials released as CO2- After 100 days about 2/3 of the carbon present in both materials had been released as CO2, although chitin decomposed faster in the earlier period of the experiment. The rapid decomposition of chitin in soil observed in this experiment suggests that earlier views that chitin was resistant to decomposition probably referred to chitin-containing natural substances (e.g. insect cuticle) rather than to purified chitin.