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.
2018
Authors
James Johnson Elisabeth Graf Pannatier Stefano Carnicelli Guia Cecchini Nicholas Clarke Nathalie Cools Karin Hansen Henning Meesenburg Tiina M. Nieminen Gunilla Pihl-Karlsson Hugues Titeux Elena Vanguelova Arne Verstraeten Lars Vesterdal Peter Waldner Mathieu JonardAbstract
Acid deposition arising from sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) emissions from fossil fuel combustion and agriculture has contributed to the acidification of terrestrial ecosys- tems in many regions globally. However, in Europe and North America, S deposition has greatly decreased in recent decades due to emissions controls. In this study, we assessed the response of soil solution chemistry in mineral horizons of European forests to these changes. Trends in pH, acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), major ions, total aluminium (Al tot ) and dissolved organic carbon were determined for the period 1995–2012. Plots with at least 10 years of observations from the ICP Forests moni- toring network were used. Trends were assessed for the upper mineral soil (10– 20 cm, 104 plots) and subsoil (40–80 cm, 162 plots). There was a large decrease in the concentration of sulphate (SO 2 4 ) in soil solution; over a 10-year period (2000– 2010), SO 2 4 decreased by 52% at 10–20 cm and 40% at 40–80 cm. Nitrate was unchanged at 10–20 cm but decreased at 40–80 cm. The decrease in acid anions was accompanied by a large and significant decrease in the concentration of the nutrient base cations: calcium, magnesium and potassium (Bc = Ca 2+ + Mg 2+ + K + ) and Al tot over the entire dataset. The response of soil solution acidity was nonuni- form. At 10–20 cm, ANC increased in acid-sensitive soils (base saturation ≤10%) indicating a recovery, but ANC decreased in soils with base saturation >10%. At 40–80 cm, ANC remained unchanged in acid-sensitive soils (base saturation ≤20%, pH CaCl 2 ≤ 4.5) and decreased in better-buffered soils (base saturation >20%, pH CaCl 2 > 4.5). In addition, the molar ratio of Bc to Al tot either did not change or decreased. The results suggest a long-time lag between emission abatement and changes in soil solution acidity and underline the importance of long-term monitor- ing in evaluating ecosystem response to decreases in deposition.
Authors
Arne Verstraeten Elena Gottardini Nicolas Bruffaerts Bruno de Vos Elena Vanguelova Fabiana Cristofolini Sue Benham Pasi Rautio Liisa Ukonmaanaho Päivi Merilä Peter Waldner Marijke Hendrickx Gerrit Genouw Peter Roskams Nathalie Cools J Neirynck Anita Nussbaumer Mathias Neumann Nicholas Clarke Volkmar Timmermann Karin Hansen Hans-Peter Diettrich Manuel Nicolas Maria Schmitt Anne Thimonier Katrin Meusburger Silvio Schueler Anna KowalskaAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) is the most important disease of oilseed Brassica crops in Norway. Fungicide applications should be aligned with the actual need for control, but the SSR prediction models used lack accuracy. We have studied the importance of precipitation, and the role of petal and leaf infection for SSR incidence by using data from Norwegian field and trap plant trials over several years. In the trials, SSR incidence ranged from 0 to 65%. Given an infection threshold of 25% SSR, regression and Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis were used to evaluate different precipitation thresholds. The sum of precipitation two weeks before and during flowering appeared to be a poor predictor for SSR infection in our field and trap plant trials (P = 0.24, P = 0.11, respectively). Leaves from three levels (leaf one, three, five), and petals were collected at three to four different times during flowering from nine field sites over two years and tested for SSR infection with real-time PCR. Percentage total leaf and petal infection explained 57 and 45% of variation in SSR incidence, respectively. Examining the different leaves and petals separately, infection of leaf three sampled at full flowering showed the highest explanation of variation in later SSR incidence (R2 = 65%, P < 0.001). ROC analysis showed that given an infection threshold of 45%, both petal and leaf infection recommended spraying when spraying was actually needed. Combining information on petal and leaf infection during flowering with relevant microclimate factors in the canopy, instead of the sum of precipitation might improve prediction accuracy for SSR.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Ingeborg KlingenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was opened in 2008. The aim was to secure genetic diversity of crop plants important to future food production. The Seed Vault has the capacity to store 4.5 million seed samples, each containing on average 500 seeds sealed in airtight aluminum bags. By the end of 2016, the Vault had approximately 880,000 accessions representing more than 5000 plant species. The samples, originating from 71 gene banks and research institutes from all across the world, include major food crops such as wheat, rice, barley, sorghum, maize, legumes and forage crops, and vegetables. The seed samples are duplicates (backups) of seed stored in national, regional and international gene banks. Deposits can only be made by following a depositor agreement and the seed samples in the Vault remain the property of the depositing gene bank. The Vault is situated in permafrost at -3 to -4°C, but artificial cooling maintains a temperature of -18°C inside the Vault. Management of the Vault is secured through an agreement between the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Crop Trust and the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen). Secure storage of gene bank seeds in Svalbard was initiated during the 1980s, when the Nordic Gene Bank placed a collection of seed duplicates in an abandoned coal mine outside Longyearbyen in Svalbard. In addition to the secure storage of the base collection, a study of the longevity (germination and seed health) in long-term storage (100 years) in permafrost was started in 1986. A total of 42 seed samples of 16 common agricultural and horticultural Nordic species were included in the study. A set of sub-samples has been taken out for analyses every two and a half years during the first 20 years, and are taken out every five years for the next 80 years.
Authors
Rasmus Astrup Niels Strange Pieter Kerstens Peter Bogetoft Uli Dietz Giovanna Ottaviani Aalmo Bruce TalbotAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The amount of rented farmland in Norway has increased steadily since the 1950s. Concerns have been raised questioning whether farmland is treated less well by tenants compared to landowners. This study aims to investigate how farmers perceive their treatment of rented farmland, which factors impact their decisionmaking related to this and if farmers are concerned about farmland elements that are less important for productivity but mainly of interest for cultural heritage or environmental management reasons. Semi-structured interviews with a group of randomly selected farmers were carried out in an area dominated by intensive agriculture. Independent of, for example, amount of rented land or duration of the rental agreement, all farmers agreed that rented land was treated well. A strong competition for farmland in combination with farmers being dependent on renting land was the most important reason. Results from this study may be transferrable to other farming areas, at least where competition for farmland is comparable. We do suggest, however, that any further research on treatment of rented farmland in Norway should take a regional approach, since national statistics may cover significant regional differences.
Authors
Antonio Carlos Ferraz Filho Blas Mola-Yudego José Ramón González-Olabarria José Roberto Soares ScolforoAbstract
This study focuses on the effects of different thinning regimes on clonal Eucalyptus plantations growth. Four different trials, planted in 1999 and located in Bahia and Espírito Santo States, were used. Aside from thinning, initial planting density, and post thinning fertilization application were also evaluated. Before canopy closure, and therefore before excessive competition between trees took place, it was found that stands planted under low densities (667 trees per hectare) presented a lower mortality proportion when compared to stand planted under higher densities (1111 trees per hectare). However, diameter growth prior to thinning operations was not statistically different between these two densities, presenting an overall mean of 4.9 cm/year. After canopy closure and the application of the thinning treatments, it was found that thinning regimes beginning early in the life of the stand and leaving a low number of residual trees presented the highest diameter and height growth. Unthinned treatments and thinning regimes late in the life of the stand (after 5.5 years), leaving a large number of residual trees presented the highest values of basal area production. The choice of the best thinning regime for Eucalyptus clonal material will vary according to the plantation objective.