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
Editors
Sekhar Udaya NagothuAbstract
This transdisciplinary book explores the potential benefits and challenges of implementing nature-based solutions in vineyards across a range of European countries. Most agricultural landscapes, including vineyards, have abandoned their traditional management practices, making them vulnerable to climate extremities, biologically impoverished and highly susceptible to pests and diseases. There is now a growing awareness among wine producers and consumers about the importance of managing vineyards sustainably through nature-based solutions. This volume analyses work done in vineyards across a range of European countries, including Italy, Switzerland, Spain, France and Portugal, and further examines the potential of sustainable nature-based solutions in improving ecosystem health, while prioritizing wine quality and social and economic gains. Drawing on the experiences of scientists from varied backgrounds, including natural and social scientists, vineyard managers, wine producers and environmental agencies working in vineyard landscapes, chapters present evidence-based research results demonstrating the environmental, social and economic effectiveness of nature-based solutions implemented through a range of bio-based approaches, including organic, biodynamic and regenerative farming approaches. This volume delves into the transformative potential of nature-based solutions, presenting novel pathways, applications, evidence-based cases and experiential assessments of nature-based solutions in different agroecological settings. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars and professionals working on nature-based solutions, agriculture, viticulture and environmental management more broadly.
Abstract
This chapter presents a very brief overview of the status of nature-based solutions (NbS) and geographical spread of various approaches, including regenerative, organic and biodynamic farming in vineyards in France. The authors further discussed the impacts generated by practicing selected NbS on the vineyard ecosystem systems, the main challenges in producing organic, biodynamic or regenerative wines in France, and the technology and policy implications in the context of vineyards in France. Three case studies practicing NbS have been presented in the second part of this chapter to illustrate the contribution to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. Despite the constraints, there is much to learn from the experiences and knowledge developed in the vineyards in France practicing NbS.
Abstract
Intensive farming systems are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane and nitrous oxide, thereby contributing to the acceleration of climate change, which in turn contributes to frequent extreme weather events (droughts, floods, heat stress). However, reducing methane emissions in the agricultural sector is much tougher, especially in open landscapes. Considering this, new systemic solutions that are sustainable and implementable at landscape level are necessary. This chapter broadly presents the concept of nature-based solutions (NbS), its brief history and how it was mainstreamed into the research and development agenda in recent years. This is followed by a discussion of major challenges of the current farming systems in general and vineyard landscapes in particular. This chapter provides a review of innovative approaches and pathways for a transition towards sustainable NbS, including biodynamic, organic and regenerative viticulture. This is followed by a transdisciplinary conceptual framework for NbS implementation, showing the importance of linkages between science, stakeholders and policy. In addition, the benefits of implementing NbS and the supporting policy frameworks were briefly discussed. Towards the end, a brief outline of the book was described in this chapter.
Authors
Sekhar Udaya NagothuAbstract
The final chapter in this book summarizes the main messages and recommendations from the different chapters. The experiences from different chapters show that nature-based solutions (NbS) have the potential to address key societal challenges in vineyard socio-ecosystems. This chapter discusses the limitations for upscaling NbS and measures to overcome them. Scaling up of NbS at the landscape level requires an integrated approach that links policy, financial instruments and technical solutions. Towards the end, the current policy framework available for upscaling of the evidence-based NbS is presented, which could be useful for managers working in the winegrowing regions of the Mediterranean.
Authors
Berhanu Menasbo Tegegne Fasil Ejigu Eregno Ståle Haaland Gebremedhin Gebremariam Gebreegziabher Samuel Alemayehu Elias Assayehegn Abraha Gebrekidan Asgedom Emiru Birhane HizikiasAbstract
Tegegne BM, Eregno FE, Haaland SL, Gebreegziabher GG, Alemayehu S, Assayehegn E, Asgedom AG, Birhan E. 2026. Spatiotemporal assessment of nutrient pollution and water quality in Lake Hashenge, Ethiopia. Lake Reserv Manag. XXX–XXX. Nutrient enrichment is an increasing management concern in closed-basin lakes where limited water exchange increases vulnerability to eutrophication. This study assessed the spatial and seasonal dynamics of nutrient pollution in Lake Hashenge (LH), a highland crater lake in northern Ethiopia, from 2022 to 2023. Overall, 180 surface-water samples were collected from 15 monitoring sites during wet and dry seasons and analyzed for major physicochemical parameters, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) species, and chlorophyll a (Chl-a). Multivariate statistical analyses of principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used to identify dominant nutrient sources and spatial patterns, while the water quality index (WQI) and comprehensive pollution index (CPI) were applied to evaluate ecological condition. Results revealed pronounced seasonal variation, with higher nutrient concentrations and pollution indices during the dry season, likely driven by reduced inflow, evaporative concentration, and internal nutrient loading. Inflow-proximal and shoreline sites exhibited greater enrichment, reflecting agricultural runoff and grazing pressures. Chl-a concentrations indicated persistent hypertrophic conditions across seasons. CA identified 3 spatial pollution categories, demonstrating strong heterogeneity between littoral and central zones. Although mean pollution levels classified the lake as moderately degraded, localized hotspots and sustained phytoplankton biomass suggest progressive eutrophication risk. These findings provide management-relevant evidence supporting targeted watershed interventions, including runoff reduction, riparian buffer establishment, livestock access control, and strengthened land-use planning. The study demonstrates how integrated water-quality indices and multivariate analysis can inform adaptive lake management in data-limited tropical systems.
Authors
Mojtaba Shafiei Mohammad Gharesifard Brian Thomas Nazimul Islam Stephan Dietrich Hamidreza Mosaffa Matjaž Mikoš Taha Ouarda Seyedeh Simin Mirhashemi Dehkordi Zahra Abdollahi Thom Bogaard Salvatore GrimaldiAbstract
Water plays a central connecting role within the climate system, linking meteorological, hydrological, and earth system processes with societal dimensions such as water resource demands and risks associated with pollution, droughts, and floods. Global water challenges are addressed through multiple international agendas related to sustainable development, climate change, biodiversity, and water security. While these agendas share broadly aligned objectives, they differ in scope, scale, and modes of operationalization. Together, they shape how scientific knowledge is mobilized, policies are formulated, and actions are implemented. As the 2030 Agenda approaches its conclusion, there is a growing need to review and map global water agendas in order to better understand their interactions and support more coherent responses to complex water challenges. Rather than viewing global water agendas as parallel and independent efforts, they can be understood as interconnected learning pathways through which shared objectives, knowledge, and practical experience evolve over time. From this perspective, synergies emerge across these learning pathways through reflection, coordination, and exchange between science, policy, and practice. Clarifying how such synergies can be recognized, supported, and strengthened is therefore essential for advancing more integrated and impactful responses to global water challenges. The Strategic UN Synergy Working Group (SUN) operates within the IAHS HELPING Science for Solutions Decade (2023–2032) and aims to strengthen the contribution of hydrological science to international policy processes and practical implementation programmes. Guided by the HELPING paradigm, SUN facilitates bottom-up engagement, open science, and co-creation principles to support learning across scales and the translation of hydrological knowledge into policy and action. This contribution introduces the vision, structure, and core activities of the SUN Working Group, with a focus on understanding global water agendas and supporting synergies through a science–policy–practice approach. SUN builds on the understanding of global water agendas as interconnected learning pathways, and we will illustrate how coordinated learning pathways can help advance more coherent, integrated, and future-oriented global water agenda.
Abstract
Small retention ponds are increasingly recognised as effective nature-based solutions for managing hydrological extremes in Norway’s agricultural catchments. Typically located in upper catchment areas or at the forest–agriculture interface, these ponds temporarily store runoff during intense rainfall events and snowmelt. In addition to flood mitigation, they provide important co-benefits by reducing soil erosion and sediment transport and by protecting agricultural drainage systems from erosion and overflow during extreme events, thereby supporting long-term soil productivity. Although individual storage volumes are limited, their cumulative impact at the catchment scale can be substantial when retention ponds are strategically distributed across the landscape. This study investigates the potential effects of small retention ponds using process-based hydrological modelling with SWAT+ to support catchment-scale climate adaptation planning in a Norwegian agricultural catchment. SWAT+ enables an improved representation of hydrological connectivity between managed landscapes and the stream network through its flexible spatial structure and rule-based management algorithms. The model is calibrated using a constraint-based approach that integrates both soft and hard data to represent streamflow and sediment dynamics in the Lierelva catchment. Multiple retention ponds are implemented to assess their cumulative effects on streamflow and sediment transport. Finally, the study discusses key challenges associated with modelling catchment–NBS interactions using SWAT+.
Abstract
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (ks) is a key hydrological property influenced by the size and topology of soil pores, particularly macropores. This study assessed eight (N = 8) published ks models that derive pore size distributions (PSD) from water retention (WR) functions, with either exponential (Brooks-Corey function, BC) or sigmoidal (van Genuchten function, VG) shapes. The models are semi-empirical (N = 3) or based on integration of WR-derived PSD (N = 5). Since measurements of ks are conflated by both natural variability and the method used to determine its values, models were evaluated with hydraulic properties from 378 samples collected using uniform methodology (HYP-UNI), and separately, with data from 1,734 soils measured by multiple institutions using a range of methods (HYPRES). Macroporosity, defined as the fraction of total porosity that is air-filled at −10 kPa (relative air capacity, RAC), was used to detect soil structure signatures on ks predictions. For HYP-UNI, integral-based models, particularly those using the BC function, performed best in soils with RAC ≥ 5%, but tended to underpredict ks when RAC < 5%. Overprediction was less frequent and mainly associated with low total porosity (∼ 40% or lower). Compared to HYP-UNI, model predictions worsened with HYPRES data and semi-empirical models outperformed integral-based approaches. Underprediction in soils with RAC < 5% persisted with HYPRES data but overprediction was not significantly related to porosity. Underprediction in soils with RAC < 5% was pervasive, indicating a limitation in current models that warrants further investigation. Moreover, this study highlights the advantages of using methodologically uniform databases along with high-quality WR-derived PSDs for development/testing of ks models.
Abstract
Landfilling remains a widely used and economically viable waste disposal method, particularly in regions with limited access to advanced treatment technologies. However, once these sites reach capacity and are closed, their long-term environmental management becomes a critical concern for municipalities and stakeholders. This study explores post-closure landfill management strategies by examining three closed landfill cases in Norway. A literature review was conducted to establish a baseline understanding of current practices and gaps. Despite previous research on landfill gas utilization and waste-to-energy technologies, there is a lack of empirical, site-specific studies addressing the long-term aftercare and post-closure management of closed landfills in European contexts. Therefore, this study addresses this gap by providing a case-based assessment of closed landfill management practices in Norway. Findings were synthesized using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analytical framework to assess both internal and external influencing factors. The results highlight key strengths, including existing gas monitoring systems and recycling efforts, as well as critical weaknesses, such as infrastructure instability and limited historical assessment data. Opportunities are found in areas such as methane mitigation, circular economy integration, and land reuse planning, while threats include financial constraints and long-term maintenance concerns. Drawing on these insights, the study emphasizes the importance of developing integrated aftercare strategies that incorporate environmental monitoring, risk assessments, and cost-benefit analyses tailored to site-specific conditions. These insights are valuable for stakeholders, including municipalities, policymakers, landfill owners, national authorities, industries, and waste management companies, in shaping future initiatives for repurposing landfills.
Authors
Julia Szulecka Ingrid Nesheim Federica Monaco Anne-Grete Buseth Blankenberg Veronika Čápová Natalja Čerkasova Jovita Mėžinė Joana Eichenberger Kinga Farkas-Iványi Marie Anne Eurie Forio Petr Fučík Martyn N. Futter Marek Giełczewski Wiesława Kasperska-Wołowicz Piroska Kassai Gregor Kramberger Dominika Krzeminska Tatenda Lemann Michael Strauch Brigitta Szabó Artūrs Škute Felix Witing Antonín ZajíčekAbstract
There is strong evidence that ecosystem-based approaches, such as Natural/Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRMs) can be an important solution to problems associated with managing water quality and quantity, soil erosion, and nutrient loss. Moreover, they deliver multiple co-benefits such as increased biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation, alongside aesthetic and recreational functions. However, despite their apparent advantages and significant political momentum for their expanded deployment, implementation of NSWRMs remains slow. This study asks why this is the case and employs a methodologically rigorous variant of the SWOT framework combining qualitative and quantitative (scoring and cluster analysis) elements to assess the exact barriers and potentials for increasing the NSWRMs’ implementation across Europe. The empirical analysis draws on case studies of fourteen small watersheds distributed across twelve European countries to explore the factors affecting the NSWRMs adoption, evaluate their relative importance, and identify necessary intervention areas for their better uptake. Our findings indicate that the main drivers for NSWRMs implementation are high knowledge availability through formal and informal networks, as well as support through advisory services. On the other hand, the main hindrances are inadequate financing schemes but also uncertain societal attitudes and perceptions. Financing schemes rarely account for indirect costs, and bureaucratic procedures further discourage practitioners from pursuing these measures. Negative attitudes are linked to mismatched time horizons as well as the gap between theoretical benefits and practical implementation challenges.