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.
2026
Authors
Katrin Zimmer Ulf Lemke Irena Fundova Henrik Heräjärvi Mateusz Liziniewicz Marlene Cramer Stefanie Wieland Lukas Emmerich Thomas Uibel Anti Rohumaa Heikki Korpunen Grace Jones Ekaterina Nikolskaya Tom Jansen Anneli Adler Tom Mortelmans Ian Short Vincent Defays Karol TomczakAbstract
Birch is the third most abundant tree species in northern Europe and the Baltic region, but remains underutilized in several countries despite wood properties that support a broad range of applications, including pulp, veneer, plywood, furniture, flooring, joinery, and potentially structural products. Constraints on higher-value utilization include insufficient logistics for sorting and transport, the lack of standardized grading methods, and limited data infrastructure for systematic quality assessment across supply chains. The Nordic Forest Research (SNS) network VALUE:BIRCH was established to examine these constraints through transnational collaboration among researchers, industry actors, and students across northern Europe. In 2025 and 2026, the network held workshops in Borås, Sweden, and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with emphasis on strength properties, grading, and quality assessment of birch wood. The activities integrated technical presentations, laboratory and field visits, and student contributions, enabling comparison of birch value chains across countries with differing levels of industrial development. The network identified shared technical and organizational bottlenecks related to birch silviculture and management, grading, mobilization, and market formation, while also strengthening inter-institutional co-creation and collaboration. The results indicate that coordinated work on grading systems, quality data, logistics, and market development is essential to support more efficient and value-adapted utilization of birch.
Authors
Anders BrynAbstract
Fjellviten: overvåking av klima og natur i høgfjellet
Abstract
Broadleaved tree species from Norwegian forests are a valuable raw material if this resource can be utilized effectively. Broadleaved tree species make for approximately one fourth of the total standing volume in Norway today. This paper provides detailed data on standing volume and annual volume increment of ash (Fraxinus excelsior), oak Quercus robur og Q. petrea), silver birch (Betula pendula), downy birch (Betula pubescens), aspen (Populus tremula), grey alder (Alnus incana), and black alder (Alnus glutinosa) in Norway, and give their distribution across the regions of Eastern Norway, Southern Norway, Western Norway, Trøndelag, and Northern Norway. Information on stand age, site quality, and diameter distribution will be provided.
Abstract
Birch has regained interest in Norwegian forestry within the last few years, partly to increase the share of broadleaves and tree-species diversity under climate change. However, timber yield and quality assortments from Norwegian birch stands remain largely unknown. We established temporary sample plots in planted and naturally regenerated birch stands on high-quality sites in Eastern Norway and carried out tree measurements to quantify stand-level production. In addition, the first 6 m of each standing tree were subjected to a detailed timber‑quality assessment and subsequently graded accordingly. Volume production in the investigated stands was frequently higher than values reported in birch yield tables from the 1970s and did not differ between planted and naturally regenerated stands. Volume production in the studied birch stands was similar to or higher than for Norway spruce on comparable high-quality sites up to a stand age of about 40 years. Despite the lack of quality-oriented management in most stands, nearly all produced sawlogs and many contained higher-quality assortments. Stand-level sawlog proportion increased with mean tree diameter. While planting and thinning showed no clear relationship with stand-level sawlog proportion, artificial pruning increased the share of higher-quality sawlogs. Overall, productive birch stands in Norway can deliver high yields and meaningful volumes of quality sawlogs.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
Authors
Paal Krokene Beatrix Alsanius Jorunn Børve Daniel Flø Christer Magnusson Mogens Nicolaisen Line Nybakken Johan A. Stenberg Selamawit Tekle Iben M. Thomsen Sandra A. I. Wright May SæthreAbstract
EPPO-listed plant pests were assessed and ranked according to the overall risk they pose to Norwegian plant health. Based on probability of entry, probability of establishment (including spread), and potential impact on plant health, pests were classified into five risk classes: very high, high, moderate, low, and very low risk. In this second progress report VKM has assessed 69 pests: 53 insects and mites, eight bacteria, four viruses, three fungi, and one chromista. No pests were assessed to pose very high or high risk. Six pests were assessed to pose moderate risk: Choristoneura fumiferana, Dendrolimus superans, Grapholita packardi, Potexvirus pepini, Tobamovirus fructirugosum, and Xylella fastidiosa. The remaining 63 pests were assessed to pose low risk (20 pests) or very low risk (43 pests) to Norwegian plant health.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Bienson Ceasar V. Narvarte Shienna Mae C. Gonzaga Lourie Ann R. Hinaloc Jonh Rey L. Gacura Emmanuel M. Mendoza Ronel T. Aguilar Bea A. Crisostomo Michael RoledaAbstract
Betaphycus gelatinus is a red seaweed with emerging commercial interest due to its potential as a source of high-quality carrageenan and bioactive compounds. Despite its promise, there remains a lack of established cultivation techniques for this species. Here, we provided a comprehensive assessment of the strain-specific performance of B. gelatinus grown in land-based cultivation systems, focusing on growth and its seasonality, morphological transformation, and a snapshot biochemical analysis at the end of a one-year cultivation period. Three B. gelatinus strains, namely KU9-PGD, KG1-PGD, and K-PGD, were collected from field and maintained in a land-based culture system. Significant differences in growth rates were observed among strains, with generally higher values recorded during the inter- and southwest monsoon (0.78 – 3.09, 1.74 – 4.41, and 1.79 – 5.45% d−1, respectively) compared to northeast monsoon (0.49 – 1.44, 1.25 – 2.12, and 1.20 – 3.97% d−1, respectively). Among the three strains, K-PGD exhibited the most robust growth, underscoring the importance of strain selection in optimizing biomass yield. Growth rates also varied between cultivation systems, with glass aquaria (1.30 – 2.87% d−1) promoting higher growth rates than concrete tanks (1.15 – 1.75% d−1). The domestication of B. gelatinus resulted in morphological transformation where changes in branching, pigmentation, and thallus surface features emerged compared to their respective original wild forms. During the southwest monsoon sampling, biochemical profiles (pigments, carbohydrates, proteins) of the three strains remained relatively uniform under controlled conditions. These results affirm the potential of B. gelatinus as a viable crop for future commercial mariculture and provide valuable baseline information for developing cultivation protocols and selecting high-performing strains for large-scale production.
Authors
Shiori Koga Ulrike Böcker Erik Tengstrand Annbjørg Kristoffersen Jon Arne Dieseth Anne Kjersti UhlenAbstract
No abstract has been registered