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.
2016
Abstract
In order to encourage increased use of wood, different user groups need to be better informed regarding the variation in performance between different wood materials and the effect of different use classes. It is also important to provide good empirical data on the service life of wood products as input to for example life cycle assessment studies. In the current study the effect of temperature and moisture on the performance of different wood materials in laboratory decay trials was evaluated by different approaches and compared with field exposure data. The same materials were used throughout the different tests in order to reduce variation. The durability class allocation varied, as expected, between test fungi, climates, exposure times, and decay tests. This confirms that the durability classification of a material, and the ranking between materials, is not a fixed value that can be based on one single test. Interestingly, for the most durable materials and for Scots pine sapwood (low durability) the variation in durability classification seemed to be somewhat lower than for the materials with intermediate durability. A regression model approach was used in order to predict field performance from laboratory data. However, this approach was not successful and confirms that more sophisticated models are needed in order to make good predictions of service life.
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Authors
Gudrun Schwilch Lea Bernet Luuk Fleskens Elias Giannakis Julia Leventon Teodoro Maranon Jane Mills Chris Short Jannes Stolte Hedwig van Delden Simone VerzandvoortAbstract
Despite numerous research efforts over the last decades, integrating the concept of ecosystem services into land management decision-making continues to pose considerable challenges. Researchers have developed many different frameworks to operationalize the concept, but these are often specific to a certain issue and each has their own definitions and understandings of particular terms. Based on a comprehensive review of the current scientific debate, the EU FP7 project RECARE proposes an adapted framework for soil-related ecosystem services that is suited for practical application in the prevention and remediation of soil degradation across Europe. We have adapted existing frameworks by integrating components from soil science while attempting to introduce a consistent terminology that is understandable to a variety of stakeholders. RECARE aims to assess how soil threats and prevention and remediation measures affect ecosystem services. Changes in the natural capital's properties influence soil processes, which support the provision of ecosystem services. The benefits produced by these ecosystem services are explicitly or implicitly valued by individuals and society. This can influence decision- and policymaking at different scales, potentially leading to a societal response, such as improved land management. The proposed ecosystem services framework will be applied by the RECARE project in a transdisciplinary process. It will assist in singling out the most beneficial land management measures and in identifying trade-offs and win–win situations resulting from and impacted by European policies. The framework thus reflects the specific contributions soils make to ecosystem services and helps reveal changes in ecosystem services caused by soil management and policies impacting on soil. At the same time, the framework is simple and robust enough for practical application in assessing soil threats and their management with stakeholders at various levels.
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Authors
Susana Barreiro Mart-Jan Schelhaas Gerald Kändler Clara Antón Fernández Antoine Colin Jean-Daniel Bontemps Iciar Alberdi Sonia Condés Marius Dumitru Angel Ferezliev Christoph Fischer Patrizia Gasparini Thomas Gschwantner Georg Kindermann Bjarki Kjartansson Pál Kovácsevics Milos Kucera Anders Lundström Gheorghe Marin Gintautas Mozgeris Thomas Nord-Larsen Tuula Packalen John Redmond Sandro Sacchelli Allan Sims Arnór Snorrason Nickola Stoyanov Esther Thürig Per-Erik WikbergAbstract
Key Message. This analysis of the tools and methods currently in use for reporting woody biomass availability in 21 European countries has shown that most countries use, or are developing, National Forest Inventory-oriented models whereas the others use standwise forest inventory--oriented methods. Context. Knowledge of realistic and sustainable wood availability in Europe is highly relevant to define climate change mitigation strategies at national and European level, to support the development of realistic targets for increased use of renewable energy sources and of industry wood. Future scenarios at European level highlight a deficit of domestic wood supply compared to wood consumption, and some European countries state they are harvesting above the increment. Aims. Several country-level studies on wood availability have been performed for international reporting. However, it remains essential to improve the knowledge on the projection methods used across Europe to better evaluate forecasts. Methods. Analysis was based on descriptions supplied by the national correspondentsinvolved in USEWOOD COST Action (FP1001), and further enriched with additionaldata from international reports that allowedcharacterisation of the forests in these countries for the same base year. Results. Methods currently used for projecting wood availability were described for 21 European countries. Projection systems based on National Forest Inventory (NFI) data prevail over methods based on forest management plans. Only a few countries lack nationwide projection tools, still using tools developed for specific areas. Conclusions. A wide range of NFI-based systems for projecting wood availability exists, being under permanent improvement. The validation of projection forecasts and the inclusion of climate sensitive growth models into these tools are common aims for most countries. Cooperation among countries would result in higher efficiency when developing and improving projection tools and better comparability among them.