engleski

Airborne fungi in a dairy barn with emphasis on microclimate and emissions

The aim of the study was to determine fungi count in a dairy barn and its immediate environment, to help establish the borderline value in line with EU recommendations on airborne emissions from animal housings. An Merck MAS-100 air sampler was employed with respective nutrient agar for capture, incubation and counting of airborne fungi. Air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity, were simultaneously determined by a Testo 400 device. Air sampling was done once a week in the morning (at 7:30), at noon (at 12:30) and in the evening (at 18:30) during two autumn months. Within the barn, measurements were performed in the animal housing area along the feedlot, and outside the barn at a distance of 5 m, 25 m and 50 m downwind and upwind from the barn. The mean values of total airborne fungi count in the barn air was 5.85x104 CFU/m3 in the morning, 5.52x104 CFU/m3 at noon, and 6.01x104 CFU/m3 in the evening. Fungi count showed a statistically significant decrease as close as 5 m from the barn (p<0.05). The microclimate parameters measured in the barn were within the standard values for dairy barn indoor atmosphere.

air temperature ; relative humidity ; air velocity ; airborne fungi ; dairy barn ; environment

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