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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2022

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Abstract

The Pasvik River experiences chemical, physical, and biological stressors due to the direct discharges of domestic sewage from settlements located within the catchment and runoff from smelter and mine wastes. Sediments, as a natural repository of organic matter and associated contaminants, are of global concern for the possible release of pollutants in the water column, with detrimental effects on aquatic organisms. The present study was aimed at characterizing the riverine benthic microbial community and evaluating its ecological role in relation to the contamination level. Sediments were sampled along the river during two contrasting environmental periods (i.e., beginning and ongoing phases of ice melting). Microbial enzymatic activities, cell abundance, and morphological traits were evaluated, along with the phylogenetic community composition. Amplified 16S rRNA genes from bacteria were sequenced using a next-generation approach. Sediments were also analyzed for a variety of chemical features, namely particulate material characteristics and concentration of polychlorobiphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides. Riverine and brackish sites did not affect the microbial community in terms of main phylogenetic diversity (at phylum level), morphometry, enzymatic activities, and abundance. Instead, bacterial diversity in the river sediments appeared to be influenced by the micro-niche conditions, with differences in the relative abundance of selected taxa. In particular, our results highlighted the occurrence of bacterial taxa directly involved in the C, Fe, and N cycles, as well as in the degradation of organic pollutants and toxic compounds.

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Abstract

Commercial mushroom production is based on composted locally available agro-industrial wastes rich in carbon and nitrogen such as wheat straw supplemented with chicken manure. Either component can be replaced by other kinds of grain straw: barley, oat, or a mixture of different straw types and combined with diary manure—food waste digestate after anaerobic biogas digestion. Original, unseparated liquid digestate is nutritious, rich in nitrogen and organic matter. This research aimed to investigate the effect of digestate and different straw ratios on the composting process and productivity and their consequent effect on mushroom cultivation parameters of Agaricus subrufescens. All investigated experimental mushroom compost (EMC) types worked well during the composting process, reaching the desired moisture of 65–75%, N content of 1.43–1.93%, and a C/N ratio ranging from 21.5 to 29.1, supporting growth of mycelium and producing mushrooms. Supplementation with barley straw resulted in better EMC structure with the highest yield and biological efficiency (BE) (157.9 g kg−1; 64%), whereas oat addition gave the lowest yield and BE (88.6 g kg−1 and 38%). Precociousness (yield at mid-cycle of the crop development) was higher for oat substrates (68.9%), while earliness (days to harvest from casing) was lower for barley EMC.