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.
2024
Authors
Ivy Britzny Osae Peep Mardiste Dina Stober Sebastian Eiter Matthias Buchecker Monika SuškevičsAbstract
The ‘Aarhus Convention’ – regulating access to environmental information, public participation and justice in environmental decision−making – is a key international agreement with a long history and a considerable number of signatory countries. While implementation has been studied nationally, there is little comparative research at the transnational level. Based on ten criteria, we analysed national implementation reports of the 2014, 2017 and 2021 reporting cycles in terms of how 33 countries in Europe have implemented the access to information and public participation pillars, and identified obstacles they encountered. We also studied similarities and differences supra-nationally. Overall, countries are quite successfully fulfilling the obligations of the two pillars. Most obstacles reported concern four criteria: access to information, information provision, interaction, and trust. Implementation practices have changed little from 2014 to 2021. However, East- and South-European countries report more, and more persistent or repetitive obstacles, compared to Northern and Western European countries. The national democratic context seems to affect the quality of implementation. The Convention’s compliance bodies and national agencies responsible for coordinating the implementation are encouraged to interact more closely, to account for the differences and leverage implementation.
Abstract
Background: Recycling nutrients and organic matter available as waste in urban areas may close nutrient gaps and improve soil quality, but the concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are commonly higher than in mineral fertilisers. How quickly may the limits for soil quality be exceeded, and for which elements, if such materials are applied intensively? For a rough answer to this question, we used soil data from ten case farms near Oslo and Bergen (Norway) to estimate how PTE concentrations increased when the demand for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in a theoretical carrot crop produced every year was covered by compost or digestate from source‑separated food waste, or composted garden waste, compared with manure from horses and poultry which are often kept in peri‑urban areas. Results: With the intensive fertilisation assumed here, the Norwegian soil quality limits for PTEs were reached within 20–85 years, and faster for soil with more organic matter since regulatory limits set by weight discriminate soils with low bulk density. The limits were reached first for Cu and Zn, which are both essential micronutrients for crop plants. The concentrations of macronutrients in the urban waste‑based fertilisers were not well balanced. Rates covering the K demand would lead to high surpluses of P and N. In peri‑urban vegetable growing, high applications of compost are not unusual, but more balanced fertilisation is required. Conclusions: The Norwegian regulations for PTEs in organic soil amendments and agricultural soil are stricter than in the EU, and do not support recycling of organic matter and nutrients from urban waste. Many materials which can only be applied with restricted amounts to Norwegian agricultural soil, may be applied according to crop demand in the EU. Growers utilising urban waste‑based fertilisers intensively should monitor the soil regularly, including PTE analyses. Soil sampling should occur on fixed sampling points to reveal changes in concentrations over time. Norwegian authorities should consider a revision of the organic fertiliser regulation to support recycling of valuable organic materials. There is a need for more data on the PTE concentrations in agricultural soil and organic fertiliser materials. Keywords Cadmium, Copper, Zinc, Smallscale vegetable growing, Food wastes, Urban agriculture, Compost, Digestate
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2023
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Authors
Alexandra Kruse Jana Spulerova Csaba Centeri Sebastian Eiter Viviana Ferrario Suzan Jurgens Drago Kladnik Zdeněk Kučera Teodor Marusca Dragomir Neculai Hans Renes Hanne Sickel Maurizia Sigura Martina Slámová Kari Stensgaard Peter StrasserAbstract
This paper provides an overview of traditional hay-making structures and the related agricultural landscapes in Europe. The information was collected using a standardised questionnaire that was completed by experts from different countries. What all countries had in common was that hay production with its corresponding structures was widespread. However, the scope and importance differed among the countries today. We found differences in type and extent, in degree of awareness, and in the cultural meaning of hay-making structures. The differences were connected with built structures, as well as with other tangible and intangible aspects of cultural heritage. The distribution of the broad variety of hay-making-related structures, especially semipermanent ones, has changed throughout history, as well as the hay-making techniques, as a result of agrarian specialisation, land reclamation, and consolidation. Today, in some countries, the relevance of hay-making was mainly connected to horse keeping and landscape management (like in Germany and Hungary), while in others (like Slovakia and Slovenia), it was still predominantly used for cattle and sheep.
Authors
Ingrid Heyerdahl Juditte Juul Diab Ragnhild Nygaard Elisabeth Oterholt Peersen Wendy Fjellstad Sebastian EiterAbstract
Over three years, motivations of participants in a neighbourhood garden seemed to reflect the development of the garden from the start-up phase, through consolidation, until a state where further existence requires transitions in responsibility and funding.