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
Marit Jørgensen Ragnhild Borchsenius Ellen Elverland Frøydis Gillund Khaled Murad Agha Kauê de Sousa Ievina SturiteAbstract
A stable supply of high-quality forage is essential for the economic sustainability of milk and meat production, the most important agricultural sectors in Norway. Successful forage production relies on selecting species, cultivars, and seed mixtures suited to the diverse agroecological conditions, which vary widely in latitude and altitude. Climate change modifies production boundaries unpredictably. Without on-farm performance data, there is a risk of recommending new varieties or seed mixtures that underperform in farmers' fields. To address this, we propose the tricot method: a participatory, large-scale, and cost-effective testing approach where farmers test new seed mixtures directly in their fields. This approach involves many farmers in conducting small, simple experiments. Each trial consists of an incomplete block with three options out of the total ten options in the trial. Farmers evaluate these options based on predetermined criteria using digital tools. These mini trials, combined with data on management, climate, and soil, are collected into the ClimMob software, which performs statistical analyses and provides feedback. When all data are aggregated, this approach can provide robust statistical results on optimal seed mixtures for various local conditions. This method also strengthens collaboration between researchers, advisors, and farmers, contributing to more sustainable and resilient agricultural practices.
Authors
Marit Jørgensen Ragnhild Borchsenius Ellen Elverland Frøydis Gillund Khaled Murad Agha Kauê de Sousa Ievina SturiteAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Habtamu Alem Diress Tsegaye Alemu Ibrahim Issifu Daniel D.N. Nortey Linda Bana Denis W. Aheto Belachew Gizachew ZelekeAbstract
Mangrove condition reflects interactions among ecological pressures, livelihood dependence, institutional arrangements, and biophysical constraints on regeneration. This study compares seven purposively selected rapid-appraisal sites in Ghana's Greater Amanzule Wetlands in the Western Region and the Lower Volta Delta. Evidence combines May 2025 site appraisals, 14 semi-structured interviews, three group discussions, spatial and secondary ecological information, and historical livelihood context from GLSS7 (2016–2017). Institutional functioning was assessed descriptively through rule recognition and participation, monitoring and responses to violations, and collective action, without assigning unsupported site-level scores. Visible disturbance was lower in the Western sites, with a median score of 2 (range 2–3), than in the Lower Volta sites, where the median was 4. Stakeholder accounts also indicated more consistently recognised rules and participation in the Western system, while implementation was described as less consistent in the Lower Volta. Monitoring responsibilities, frequency, and responses to violations were insufficiently documented in both systems, preventing comparison of monitoring effectiveness. Because governance evidence was primarily regional and sites were purposively selected, these findings represent a descriptive association between two coastal systems, not seven independent institutional observations or a causal institutional effect. Hydrology, hydroperiod, sediment supply, salinity, geomorphology, and the scale of pressure also condition disturbance and regeneration opportunities. Effective responses should therefore combine participatory rule implementation, collective action, transparent monitoring arrangements, livelihood measures, and restoration strategies matched to local biophysical conditions and the geographical scale of dominant stressors.
Abstract
We invite projects working on soil and water challenges to participate in an interactive session on Integrated Systems Approaches for Soil Health and Water Challenges. The session will combine short project inputs with guided group discussions, focusing on understanding soil–water problems as interconnected, non-linear systems involving multiple drivers and actors. Projects may contribute a short framing presentation and/or actively participate in the interactive exercise. The goal is to foster shared learning across projects and illustrate how a systems approach supports more coherent analysis and solution development.
Authors
Lampros LamprinakisAbstract
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This paper explores imaginaries of food futures in Norway within a broader European context, combining sociological perspectives on consumption with a near-historical approach to the future. We argue that ideas about future food are never only forward-looking, but deeply shaped by past visions, cultural memories, and recurring narratives that continue to “haunt” contemporary food cultures. Drawing on the concept of imaginaries, and inspired by polytemporal perspectives on anticipation, the paper analyses how understandings of future food simultaneously mobilise past experiences, present concerns, and projected futures. The paper first reviews key strands of European literature on food futures, identifying dominant imaginaries ranging from techno-optimistic promises of innovation to dystopian fears of ecological collapse and industrialised eating. These are discussed in relation to historical imaginaries of future food, from early twentieth-century futurism to post-war and late-modern narratives. Against this backdrop, Norway is analysed as an empirical case that both reflects and reworks European food imaginaries. Empirically, the paper draws on diverse material including public policy documents, business strategies, advertisements, science fiction narratives, and consumer stories collected over time. Through a comparative analysis, we identify recurring tensions between technological control and ecological care, convenience and closeness, global systems and local self-sufficiency. We show how Norwegian food futures are shaped by a dynamic interplay between utopian, dystopian and more myopic imaginaries, oriented towards social closeness and everyday practices. The paper concludes by discussing how food futures imaginaries actively shape consumption cultures and sustainability debates in Europe, and how a polytemporal approach helps bridge the divide between static future visions and lived food practices.
Authors
Emmanuel Tetteh Jumpah Habtamu Alem Bekele Hundie Kotu Selorm Ayeduvor Vladimír Verner Abdulai Adams Miroslava BavorováAbstract
No abstract has been registered