Snap shot in time of the genomics of three woodchip bioreactors located in mid-jutland

Woodchip bioreactors are increasingly used to reduce nitrate (NO3-) concentrations in agricultural drainage water as part of the measures to protect freshwater and coastal ecosystems from excess nitrogen (N). Nitrate removal in the bioreactor facilities is based on microbial processes, but the microbiomes are generally poorly characterized and may lead to varying bioreactor efficiency, for example in response to low temperatures. In the present study, metagenomic analyses of willow woodchip samples from three different full-scale bioreactors in Denmark were conducted to explore the potential differences in microbial composition within and among the facilities.