## 3 Results and Discussions  
### Biodegradation  
The mass balance of volatile solids (VS) decomposition over the entire experimental period is presented in Table 3. At the start of the experiment, the VS content in the simulated bedded pack chamber was 617.7 \(\pm\) 0.0 g for the control, 630.3 \(\pm\) 3.1 g for the 5% biochar treatment, and 659.5 \(\pm\) 1.2 g for the 10% biochar treatment. After 21 days, the VS content had decreased to 408.5 \(\pm\) 3.6 g, 411.1 \(\pm\) 3.6 g, and 423.5 \(\pm\) 1.3 g, respectively. Considering the VS added through weekly manure additions and accounting for VS losses in sampled materials, the calculated VS decomposition was 185.9 \(\pm\) 4.0 g for the control, 211.8 \(\pm\) 5.5 g for the 5% biochar treatment, and 218.4 \(\pm\) 2.9 g for the 10% biochar treatment. The biochar treatments exhibited greater VS decomposition compared to the control, with a 13.9% increase in the 5% biochar treatment and a 17.4% increase in the 10% biochar treatment (\(p<0.05\)). This aligns with previous research, such as [PERSON] et al. [24], who reported a similar increase in organic matter degradation with biochar amendment in sheep manure composite. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c} \hline \hline  & & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Treatment**} \\ \cline{3-4}  & **Control** & **5\% Biochar** & **10\% Biochar** \\ \hline Initial VS (Day 0, g) & 617.7 \(\pm\) 0.0 & 630.3 \(\pm\) 3.1 & 659.5 \(\pm\) 1.2 \\ Added VS (g) & 128.3 \(\pm\) 0.4 & 144.7 \(\pm\) 0.3 & 136.2 \(\pm\) 0.2 \\ Sampling loss (g) & 151.6 \(\pm\) 0.3 & 152.2 \(\pm\) 0.3 & 153.9 \(\pm\) 0.5 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Mass balance of volatile solids in simulated bedded pack chamber. (Mean \(\pm\) S.D., \(n=3\)). Figure 2 illustrates the weekly VS reduction across the experimental groups. During the first week, no significant differences in VS reduction were observed among the groups. However, significant differences emerged in the subsequent weeks. In the second week, VS reduction was significantly greater in both biochar treatments compared to the control. The 5% biochar treatment showed a 28.7% increase, and the 10% biochar treatment showed a 30.5% increase compared to the control (\(p<0.05\)). A similar trend was observed in the third week. The 5% biochar treatment showed a significantly higher VS reduction (29.2%, \(p<0.05\)) compared to the control. In the case of the 10% biochar treatment, the VS reduction (27.5%) was also higher than the control, with a \(p\)-value of 0.057. Although this does not meet the conventional threshold for statistical significance (\(p<0.05\)), it may be interpreted as a marginally significant trend, suggesting a potential effect worthy of further investigation. In composting processes, readily biodegradable materials are decomposed in the initial stages [25]. Similarly, VS decomposition was active in the first week of the experiment due to the high content of easily degradable material in the bedded pack. During this period, over 50% of the total decomposed VS for the entire 21-day experiment period was degraded in all experimental groups. The effect of biochar on enhancing VS decomposition was not noticeable at this stage. However, from the second week, when the VS decomposition rate slowed down, biochar's effect on enhancing decomposition became more pronounced. This gradual response suggests that time may have been required for the microbial communities to adapt and establish within the biochar-amended environment, thereby enhancing the decomposition process more effectively in the later stages of the experiment [26; 27]. Figure 2: Weekly volatile solids reduction in the simulated bedded pack with biochar addition.