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.
2023
Abstract
Up-to-date and reliable information on land cover and land use status is important in many aspects of human activities. Knowledge about the reference dataset, its coverage, nomenclature, thematic and geometric accuracy, spatial resolution is crucial for appropriate selection of reference samples used in the classification process. In this study, we examined the impact of the selection and pre-processing of reference samples for the classification accuracy. The classification based on Random Forest algorithm was performed using firstly the automatically selected reference samples derived directly from the national databases, and secondly using the pre-processed and verified reference samples. The verification procedures involved the iterative analysis of histogram of spectral features derived from the Sentinel-2 data for individual land cover classes. The verification of the reference samples improved the accuracy of delineation of all land cover classes. The highest improvement was achieved for the woodland broadleaved and non- and sparce vegetation classes, with the overall accuracy increasing from 51% to 73%, and from 33% to 74%, respectively. The second objective of this study was to derive the best possible land cover classification over the mountain area in Norway, therefore we examined whether the use of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) can improve the classification results. Classifications were carried out based on Sentinel-2 data and a combination of Sentinel-2 and DEM. Using the DEM the accuracy for nine out of ten land cover classes was improved. The highest improvement was achieved for classes located at higher altitudes: low vegetation and non- and sparse vegetation.
Authors
Margrethe Therkildsen Mogens Vestergaard Morten Kargo Liisa Keto Per Ertbjerg Gudjon Thorkelsson Maria Gudjónsdóttir Maria Kjetså Mervi Honkatukia Bjørg Egelandsdal Nina Svartedal Morten Røe Freddy W. Fikse Anders H. Karlsson Anna HessleAbstract
Native livestock breeds are part of the history of the Nordic people and comprise a resource for future food production. In this study, net gain and carcass characteristics of two Danish, three Finnish, one Icelandic, six Norwegian and five Swedish native cattle breeds were retrieved and compared to commercial breeds: two beef breeds and two dairy breeds. Breed data were collected from national databases and sorted into six animal categories: young bull, bull, steer, heifer, young cow and cow, for which means and standard deviations were calculated within each country. The native breeds ranged from small-sized milking type breeds with low net gain, carcass weights and EUROP classification to larger multipurpose breeds with high net gains, carcass weights and EUROP classification. All Finnish and most of the Norwegian and Swedish native breeds had lower net gain and carcass weight than the dairy breeds in the same category and country, but with similar carcass conformation and fatness scores. The two Danish native breeds had higher net gain, carcass weight and conformation class than the reference dairy breed, but lower than the reference beef breeds. The net gain and carcass traits of the Icelandic native breed were similar to the smallest-sized native breeds from the other countries. The carcass traits of the native breeds indicate that they have comparative advantages in an extensive production system based on forage and marginal grasslands. They may also succeed better in the value-added markets than in mainstream beef production.
Authors
Nina SvartedalAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Nina SvartedalAbstract
This is the story of the local Norwegian cattle breeds that no longer are categorized as critically endangered. A pedigree database adjusted to the breeds’ needs and close cooperation between farmers, breeding organisations and public authorities are key elements in this success story.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Nina SvartedalAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Budiman Minasny Diana Vigah Adetsu Matt Aitkenhead Rebekka R. E. Artz Nikki Baggaley Alexandra Barthelmes Amélie Beucher Jean Caron Giulia Conchedda John Connolly Raphaël Deragon Chris Evans Kjetil Fadnes Dian Fiantis Zisis Gagkas Louis Gilet Alessandro Gimona Stephan Glatzel Mogens H. Greve Wahaj Habib Kristell Hergoualc’h Cecilie Hermansen Darren B. Kidd Triven Koganti Dianna Kopansky David J. Large Tuula Larmola Allan Lilly Haojie Liu Matthew Marcus Maarit Middleton Keith Morrison Rasmus Jes Petersen Tristan Quaife Line Rochefort NN Rudiyanto Linda Toca Francesco N. Tubiello Peter Lystbæk Weber Simon Weldon Wirastuti Widyatmanti Jenny Williamson Dominik ZakAbstract
Peatlands cover only 3–4% of the Earth’s surface, but they store nearly 30% of global soil carbon stock. This significant carbon store is under threat as peatlands continue to be degraded at alarming rates around the world. It has prompted countries worldwide to establish regulations to conserve and reduce emissions from this carbon rich ecosystem. For example, the EU has implemented new rules that mandate sustainable management of peatlands, critical to reaching the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. However, a lack of information on the extent and condition of peatlands has hindered the development of national policies and restoration efforts. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on mapping and monitoring peatlands from field sites to the globe and identifies areas where further research is needed. It presents an overview of the different methodologies used to map peatlands in nine countries, which vary in definition of peat soil and peatland, mapping coverage, and mapping detail. Whereas mapping peatlands across the world with only one approach is hardly possible, the paper highlights the need for more consistent approaches within regions having comparable peatland types and climates to inform their protection and urgent restoration. The review further summarises various approaches used for monitoring peatland conditions and functions. These include monitoring at the plot scale for degree of humification and stoichiometric ratio, and proximal sensing such as gamma radiometrics and electromagnetic induction at the field to landscape scale for mapping peat thickness and identifying hotspots for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Remote sensing techniques with passive and active sensors at regional to national scale can help in monitoring subsidence rate, water table, peat moisture, landslides, and GHG emissions. Although the use of water table depth as a proxy for interannual GHG emissions from peatlands has been well established, there is no single remote sensing method or data product yet that has been verified beyond local or regional scales. Broader land-use change and fire monitoring at a global scale may further assist national GHG inventory reporting. Monitoring of peatland conditions to evaluate the success of individual restoration schemes still requires field work to assess local proxies combined with remote sensing and modeling. Long-term monitoring is necessary to draw valid conclusions on revegetation outcomes and associated GHG emissions in rewetted peatlands, as their dynamics are not fully understood at the site level. Monitoring vegetation development and hydrology of restored peatlands is needed as a proxy to assess the return of water and changes in nutrient cycling and biodiversity.
Authors
Christian PedersenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Eric Post Elina Kaarlejärvi Marc Macias-Fauria David A. Watts Pernille Sporon Bøving Sean M. P. Cahoon R. Conor Higgins Christian John Jeffrey T. Kerby Christian Pedersen Mason Post Patrick F. SullivanAbstract
Biodiversity is declining globally in response to multiple human stressors, including climate forcing. Nonetheless, local diversity trends are inconsistent in some taxa, obscuring contributions of local processes to global patterns. Arctic tundra diversity, including plants, fungi, and lichens, declined during a 15-year experiment that combined warming with exclusion of large herbivores known to influence tundra vegetation composition. Tundra diversity declined regardless of experimental treatment, as background growing season temperatures rose with sea ice loss. However, diversity declined slower with large herbivores than without them. This difference was associated with an increase in effective diversity of large herbivores as formerly abundant caribou declined and muskoxen increased. Efforts that promote herbivore diversity, such as rewilding, may help mitigate impacts of warming on tundra diversity.
Authors
Adam Eindride Naas Rune Halvorsen Peter Horvath Anders Kvalvåg Wollan Harald Bratli Katrine Marie Brynildsrud Eirik Aasmo Finne Lasse Torben Keetz Eva Lieungh Christine Olson Trond Simensen Olav Skarpaas Hilde Tandstad Michal Torma Espen Sommer Værland Anders BrynAbstract
Questions Field-based ecosystem mapping is prone to observer bias, typically resulting in a mismatch between maps made by different mappers, that is, inconsistency. Experimental studies testing the influence of site, mapping scale, and differences in experience level on inconsistency in field-based ecosystem mapping are lacking. Here, we study how inconsistencies in field-based ecosystem maps depend on these factors. Location Iškoras and Guollemuorsuolu, northeastern Norway, and Landsvik and Lygra, western Norway. Methods In a balanced experiment, four sites were field-mapped wall-to-wall to scales 1:5000 and 1:20,000 by 12 mappers, representing three experience levels. Thematic inconsistency was calculated by overlay analysis of map pairs from the same site, mapped to the same scale. We tested for significant differences between sites, scales, and experience-level groups. Principal components analysis was used in an analysis of additional map inconsistencies and their relationships with site, scale and differences in experience level and time consumption were analysed with redundancy analysis. Results On average, thematic inconsistency was 51%. The most important predictor for thematic inconsistency, and for all map inconsistencies, was site. Scale and its interaction with site predicted map inconsistencies, but only the latter were important for thematic inconsistency. The only experience-level group that differed significantly from the mean thematic inconsistency was that of the most experienced mappers, with nine percentage points. Experience had no significant effect on map inconsistency as a whole. Conclusion Thematic inconsistency was high for all but the dominant thematic units, with potentially adverse consequences for mapping ecosystems that are fragmented or have low coverage. Interactions between site and mapping system properties are considered the main reasons why no relationships between scale and thematic inconsistency were observed. More controlled experiments are needed to quantify the effect of other factors on inconsistency in field-based mapping.