Bacterial Complexity of Traditional Mountain Butter Is Affected by the Malga-Farm of Production

Bacteria can play different roles affecting flavors and food characteristics. Few studies have described the bacterial microbiota of butter. In the present paper, next-generation sequencing was used to determine bacterial diversity, together with aromatic characteristics, in raw cow milk butter processed by traditional fermentation, in fourteen small farms called “Malga”, located in the Trentino province (Alpine region, North-East of Italy). The physicochemical and aromatic characterization of traditional mountain butter (TMB) showed a low moisture level depending on the Malga producing the butter. Counts of lactic acid bacteria, Staphylococci, and coliforms, as well as diacetyl/acetoin concentrations exhibited changes according to the geographical origin of Malga and the residual humidity of butter. MiSeq Illumina data analysis revealed that the relative abundance of Lactococcus was higher in TMB samples with the highest values of acetoin (acetoin higher than 10 mg/kg). The traditional mountain butter bacterial community was characterized by a “core dominance” of psychrotrophic genera, mainly Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas, but according to ANCOM analysis, a complex bacterial population emerged and specific bacterial genera were able to characterize the TMB bacteria community, with their high abundance, based on the Malga producing the butter.

Erosion Resistance and Fertility of Frost-Resistant Ecological Substrate in Alpine Region

This research was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the application effect of the frost-resistant ecological substrate in the rock slope of the hydropower station. Field sampling and laboratory tests were conducted to determine the erosion resistance and fertility of frost-resistant ecological substrate, and the test results were compared with those of natural soils with similar site conditions. The research conclusions were as follows. Compared with the natural soil, the content of > 0.25 mm mechanical-stable aggregates, > 0.25 mm water-stable aggregates, average weight diameter, geometric average diameter, organic matter, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium of frost-resistant ecological substrate, significantly increased. On the contrary, erodibility factor, percentage aggregate disruption, aggregate degree, and dispersion rate decreased evidently. These results showed that erosion resistance and fertility of the frost-resistant ecological substrate have a better prospect in the engineering application of alpine regions. In addition, the principal component analysis showed that the principal component value of frost-resistant ecological substrate increased by 1.9 times that of natural soil. According to the correlation study, the increase in the amount of > 0.25 mm macro-aggregates and organic matter is the primary reason that ecological substrate has greater stability and fertility than natural soil. In conclusion, the frost-resistant ecological substrate was a suitable soil to create a suitable vegetation growth environment on the surface of rock slope in the alpine region.

Imaging structure and geometry of slabs in the greater Alpine area – a P-wave travel-time tomography using AlpArray Seismic Network data

We perform a teleseismic P-wave travel-time tomography to examine the geometry and structure of subducted lithosphere in the upper mantle beneath the Alpine orogen. The tomography is based on waveforms recorded at over 600 temporary and permanent broadband stations of the dense AlpArray Seismic Network deployed by 24 different European institutions in the greater Alpine region, reaching from the Massif Central to the Pannonian Basin and from the Po Plain to the river Main. Teleseismic travel times and travel-time residuals of direct teleseismic P waves from 331 teleseismic events of magnitude 5.5 and higher recorded between 2015 and 2019 by the AlpArray Seismic Network are extracted from the recorded waveforms using a combination of automatic picking, beamforming and cross-correlation. The resulting database contains over 162 000 highly accurate absolute P-wave travel times and travel-time residuals. For tomographic inversion, we define a model domain encompassing the entire Alpine region down to a depth of 600 km. Predictions of travel times are computed in a hybrid way applying a fast TauP method outside the model domain and continuing the wave fronts into the model domain using a fast marching method. We iteratively invert demeaned travel-time residuals for P-wave velocities in the model domain using a regular discretization with an average lateral spacing of about 25 km and a vertical spacing of 15 km. The inversion is regularized towards an initial model constructed from a 3D a priori model of the crust and uppermost mantle and a 1D standard earth model beneath. The resulting model provides a detailed image of slab configuration beneath the Alpine and Apenninic orogens. Major features are a partly overturned Adriatic slab beneath the Apennines reaching down to 400 km depth still attached in its northern part to the crust but exhibiting detachment towards the southeast. A fast anomaly beneath the western Alps indicates a short western Alpine slab whose easternmost end is located at about 100 km depth beneath the Penninic front. Further to the east and following the arcuate shape of the western Periadriatic Fault System, a deep-reaching coherent fast anomaly with complex internal structure generally dipping to the SE down to about 400 km suggests a slab of European origin limited to the east by the Giudicarie fault in the upper 200 km but extending beyond this fault at greater depths. In its eastern part it is detached from overlying lithosphere. Further to the east, well-separated in the upper 200 km from the slab beneath the central Alps but merging with it below, another deep-reaching, nearly vertically dipping high-velocity anomaly suggests the existence of a slab beneath the eastern Alps of presumably the same origin which is completely detached from the orogenic root. Our image of this slab does not require a polarity switch because of its nearly vertical dip and full detachment from the overlying lithosphere. Fast anomalies beneath the Dinarides are weak and concentrated to the northernmost part and shallow depths. Low-velocity regions surrounding the fast anomalies beneath the Alps to the west and northwest follow the same dipping trend as the overlying fast ones, indicating a kinematically coherent thick subducting lithosphere in this region. Alternatively, these regions may signify the presence of seismic anisotropy with a horizontal fast axis parallel to the Alpine belt due to asthenospheric flow around the Alpine slabs. In contrast, low-velocity anomalies to the east suggest asthenospheric upwelling presumably driven by retreat of the Carpathian slab and extrusion of eastern Alpine lithosphere towards the east while low velocities to the south are presumably evidence of asthenospheric upwelling and mantle hydration due to their position above the European slab.

Aerosol indirect effects in complex orography areas: a numerical study over the Great Alpine Region

Aerosols play a crucial role in climate through different feedback mechanisms, affecting radiation, clouds and air column stability. This study focuses on the altitude-dependence of the cloud mediated indirect effects of aerosols in the Great Alpine Region (GAR), an area characterised by high pollution levels from anthropic activities in the Po Valley and a complex orography with the highest mountains in Europe. Using a regional atmospheric model, 5-years long convective-permitting sensitivity experiments have been run with different surface aerosol fluxes. The results show that seasonal mean cloud cover, temperature, and precipitations are affected by the aerosol concentrations in the air column, and that the response to pollution is both elevation and season dependent. The overall cloud cover increase with aerosol levels leads to either surface cooling or warming depending on the surface albedo (snow covered or not). Furthermore, different types of clouds have a different sensitivity to aerosols: while the lifetime of low pressure system clouds and orographic clouds is generally increased at high levels of aerosols, convective clouds (typical of the summer season) can actually decrease at high levels of pollution, due to the reduction of strong updrafts.

Taxonomic analysis of bryofloristic complexes of Eastern Europe

To assess the spatial distribution of bryophyte species in Eastern Europe, more than 53,000 localities of 1296 species were analyzed in 397 squares of 100×100 km. In terms of frequency of occurrence, rare species (from 6 to 25 squares) and very rare (from 1 to 5 squares) prevail in Eastern Europe. It was shown that more than 60 % of the taxonomic diversity of bryophytes is in a threatened or close to threatened state in the region. Based on biogeographic zoning, 6 regions (alpine, arctic, boreal, nemoral, arid, subtropical) and 12 subregions were identified. The characteristics of the taxonomic diversity of bryophyte regions and subregions are given, specific species are given and the centers of concentration of bryophyte species diversity in Eastern Europe are identified. There are 162 species in only one subregion, and 68 bryophyte taxa are found in all regions and subregions. The maximum species diversity is observed in the Alpine region (1066 species), which is explained by the general nature of the biological characteristics of bryophytes, the variety of ecological conditions in this region and the presence in Eastern Europe of 4 geographically different mountain subregions: the west of the Kola Peninsula, the Urals, the Carpathians and the foothills of the Caucasus.

Relations between Benthic Diatom Community and Characteristics of Karst Ponds in the Alpine Region of Slovenia

The aim of this research was to investigate the structure of the benthic diatom community and its relations to selected environmental parameters. We collected samples in 16 karst ponds in the alpine region of Slovenia, where the Alpine karst is found. Since the predominating substrate in these ponds was clay, the epipelic community was analyzed. Hydromorphological characteristics, and physical and chemical conditions were also measured at each site. We found 105 species of diatoms, which belonged to 32 genera. The most frequent taxa were Gomphonema parvulum (Kützing) Kützing, Navicula cryptocephala Kützing, Sellaphora pupula (Kützing) Mereschkowsky (species group) and Achnanthidium pyrenaicum (Hustedt) Kobayasi. The pond with the lowest diversity was found at the highest altitude, while, on the other hand, the most species-rich pond was found at the lowest altitude. Regarding the ecological types, the most common were motile species. We confirmed a positive correlation between the number of diatom species and the saturation of water with oxygen, while correlation between species richness and NH4-N was negative. The content of NO3-N and NH4-N explained almost 20% of the total variability of diatom community. Unlike our expectations, we calculated a negative correlation between the diversity of macroinvertebrates and diatoms, which is probably a consequence of different responses to environmental conditions.