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.
2017
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Claudia Kammann Jim Ippolito Nikolas Hagemann Nils Borchard Maria Luz Cayuela José M. Estavillo Teresa Fuertes-Mendizabal Simon Jeffery Jürgen Kern Jeff Novak Daniel Rasse Sanna Saarnio Hans-Peter Schmidt Kurt Spokas Nicole Wrage-MönnigAbstract
Agriculture and land use change has significantly increased atmospheric emissions of the non-CO2 green-house gases (GHG) nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). Since human nutritional and bioenergy needs continue to increase, at a shrinking global land area for production, novel land management strategies are required that reduce the GHG footprint per unit of yield. Here we review the potential of biochar to reduce N2O and CH4 emissions from agricultural practices including potential mechanisms behind observed effects. Furthermore, we investigate alternative uses of biochar in agricultural land management that may significantly reduce the GHG-emissions-per-unit-of-product footprint, such as (i) pyrolysis of manures as hygienic alternative to direct soil application, (ii) using biochar as fertilizer carrier matrix for underfoot fertilization, biochar use (iii) as composting additive or (iv) as feed additive in animal husbandry or for manure treatment. We conclude that the largest future research needs lay in conducting life-cycle GHG assessments when using biochar as an on-farm management tool for nutrient-rich biomass waste streams.
Authors
Adam Thomas O'tooleAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Alice BudaiAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Gisela Lüscher Thomas Nemecek Michaela Arndorfer Katalin Balázs Peter Dennis Wendy Fjellstad Jürgen Kurt Friedel Gérard Gaillard Felix Herzog Jean-Pierre Sarthou Siyka Stoyanova Sebastian Wolfrum Philippe JeanneretAbstract
Purpose Inclusion of biodiversity as an indicator in the land use impact pathway of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is essential to assess the effects of human activities on the environment. Numerous models have been applied, but validations that use actual data, collected in the field, are scarce. Methods The expert system SALCA-BD (Swiss Agricultural LCA—Biodiversity), assigns coefficients for land use class suitability and impact of agricultural practices on species diversity at field and farm scale. We used data on land use classes and agricultural practices from 132 farms located in eight European regions to complete the life cycle inventory. SALCA-BD species diversity scores were calculated for individual fields, aggregated to the farm scale, and compared to field records of arable crop flora, grassland flora, spiders, and wild bees. Results and discussion Overall, species diversity scores from SALCA-BD were positively related to the observed species richness from field survey data. The extent of the relationship diminished from arable crop flora and grassland flora to spiders and to wild bees, and from field to farm scale. Conclusions Validation of a LCA biodiversity assessment tool with data from field surveys revealed the benefit of considering multiple aspects of biodiversity. The appropriate scale for species diversity assessment (as a proxy for biodiversity) is the respective species habitat. Extension of scale increases uncertainty, which should be addressed by developing characterization factors for as detailed a land use classification as possible.
Authors
Sølvi WehnAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Mirzaman Zamanzadeh Live Heldal Hagen Kine Svensson Roar Linjordet Svein Jarle HornAbstract
In this work, performance and microbial structure of a digestion (food waste-only) and a co-digestion process (mixture of cow manure and food waste) were studied at mesophilic (37°C) and thermophilic (55°C) temperatures. The highest methane yield (480mL/g VS) was observed in the mesophilic digester (MDi) fed with food waste alone. The mesophilic co-digestion of food waste and manure (McoDi) yielded 26% more methane than the sum of individual digestions of manure and food waste. The main volatile fatty acid (VFA) in the mesophilic systems was acetate, averaging 93 and 172mg/L for McoDi and MDi, respectively. Acetate (2150mg/L) and propionate (833mg/L) were the main VFAs in the thermophilic digester (TDi), while propionate (163mg/L) was the major VFA in the thermophilic co-digester (TcoDi). The dominant bacteria in MDi was Chlorofexi (54%), while Firmicutes was dominant in McoDi (60%). For the mesophilic reactors, the dominant archaea was Methanosaeta in MDi, while Methanobacterium and Methanosaeta had similar abundance in McoDi. In the thermophilic systems, the dominant bacteria were Thermotogae, Firmicutes and Synergistetes in both digesters, however, the relative abundance of these phyla were diferent. For archaea, the genus Methanothermobacter were entirely dominant in both TDi and TcoDi.
Authors
Radziah Wahid Kine Svensson Daniel Girma Mulat Svein Jarle HornAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Aims: Evaluate biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and its contribution to total N yield in different grass-clover mixtures under a boreal coastal climate and assess how winter conditions affect the survival of clover and its capability to fix nitrogen (N). Methods: Grass-clover mixtures sown with 0, 15 and 30% red and white clover were subjected to two N rates and three levels of tractor trafficking over four years. BNF was estimated by N-difference for each of the two harvests per year, whereas the first harvest was used to estimate the fraction of N derived from the atmosphere (NdfA) and its transfer to grasses by 15N natural abundance. Results: Biological N fixation, mainly by red clover, contributed substantially to total N yield, which was up to 75% greater in grass-clover mixtures than in pure grass stands in the second production year. However, the number of red clover plants and associated BNF decreased dramatically in the third and fourth production year, with N fertilization rate having a more detrimental effect than soil trafficking. Conversely, the amount of biologically fixed N transferred to grass, increased with time, evidencing that some of the biologically fixed N is retained in the system. In the first harvests, NdfA values were generally between 80 and 100%, irrespective of preceding winter conditions. Conclusions: BNF in high latitude grass-clover mixtures can be substantial but is limited by the poor survival of red clover. Variable winter conditions had no measurable effect on winter survival nor on the sward’s capacity to fix nitrogen in spring.