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Publications

Methodological aspects for the application of bioassays included in the technical annex to the Environment Ministry Decree 173/16: protocol for the preparation of elutriate.

This booklet describes the methodological protocol to be used in the preparation of elutriates for the execution of bioassays on coastal marine sediments to be managed. The main aim is to minimize possible interference related to the techniques and methodologies used in the various public and private laboratories, as well as the need to comply with adequate chemical-physical conditions of the matrix to be tested that are closer to the field of application, in particular for those chronic/long term bioassays referred as "third type" in the Technical Annex of the Environment Ministry Decree 173/2016. 

Bees and sustainable agriculture

Animal pollinators, in particular bees, are of great importance in supporting structure, composition and functioning of natural and semi-natural habitats, including farmlands and peri-urban contexts. Almost 90% of the wild plants that bloom and over 75% of the main existing agricultural crops require animal pollination in terms of production, yield and product quality. Managed as well as solitary bees thus guarantee fundamental support for human society and activities.

Allergenic pollens in Italy: trends 2010-2020

The Report describes the status of the presence of the main allergenic pollens and the Alternaria spore in Italy in 2019 and their air concentration trends, measured, from 2010 to 2019, by the monitoring stations of the POLLnet-SNPA network and by the Aerobiological Monitoring Center of Tor Vergata (Rome).

Memoirs of the "Fungi Special Project"

This collection “Memories of the Fungi Special Project” is part of the ISPRA Notebooks dedicated to Nature and Biodiversity. It contains five volumes whose texts were elaborated, drafted and concluded before August 2019

Let’s go down to the bottom of the sea – Travelling with a submarine robot

The book "Let's go down to the bottom of the sea - Travelling with a submarine robot ", addressed, above all (but not only), to children was inspired by the desire to tell them, in a simple and nice way, some aspects of the research activity at sea: this is how Pollux, a small underwater robot, was born. Together with his friends Astrea (the research vessel) and EM2040 (the echosounder), Pollux tells about some of the explorations carried out on the beautiful seabed of our "Blue Planet".  

The decline of bees and pollinators. The answers to the most frequently asked questions

Almost 90% of the wild flowering plants and over 75% of the main agricultural crops require animal pollination for production, yield and quality of the produces. They are essential for human and (wild and domesticated) animal nutrition, but also for the production of fibers, building materials and biomass for energy, and support for the conservation of biological diversity, which represents the basis of our existence and our economies.