Diego is studying compost. He conducted an experiment to see how moisture levels affect the breakdown of organic materials in compost piles. Diego found that adding 1 L of water per 10 kg of dry matter caused the compost to break down at the fastest rate, but adding more than 1 L caused decomposition to slow down. Which of the following questions do these results lead to?

I. Why does adding more than 1 L of water per 10 kg
cause decomposition to slow down?
II. Does this ratio of water to dry matter hold true for
all organic materials being composted?
III. Why should anybody want to start a compost pile?