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.
2012
Authors
Igor A. Yakovlev YeonKyeong Lee Adam Vivian-Smith Jorunn Elisabeth Olsen Carl Gunnar FossdalAbstract
In Norway spruce there is an enigmatic epigenetic memory of the temperature conditions during embryogenesis affecting vital phenological traits (Yakovlev et al. 2012). Adaptive phenological traits such as bud burst and bud set, observed as clinal variation in nature, are the ones affected.The epigenetic memory is establishment exclusively during embryogenesis in response to environmental impact. The epitype fixated by the time the embryo is fully developed without any change in the primary DNA sequence and is mitotically propogated. The epigenetic mechanism influence the phenotype through altered regulation of gene expression and is propagated throughout every growth cycle for the entire lifespan of this long lived species.The epigenetic memory may be realized through several molecular mechanisms including DNA methylation, and histone modifications affecting chromatin, as well as by small non-coding RNAs, and may also be related to the mechanisms silencing transposable or repetitive elements in the genome. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), endogenous small regulatory RNAs, are shown to be differentially expressed in genetically identically but epigenetically different progenies, in regards to the timing of bud burst and bud set (Yakovlev et al. 2010).We have started large scale studies using next regeneration sequencing approaches to identify and characterize the genes and regulatory elements involved in the initiation, maintenance, and heritability of the epigenetic memory. Epigenetic related changes in miRNA regulation during the establishment of the epigenetic memory are now studied in in vitro derived somatic embryos developing under cold (18C) and warm (30C) environmental conditions (that induce epitypes).We have constructed and sequenced 10 small RNA libraries during proliferation, maturation stage 1, 2 3 and the mature stage of embryo formation in the contrasted temperatures, in two control libraries during proliferation at 22C, as well as their mRNA transcriptomes using the Ion Torrent PGMTM (Life technologies) platform.We are expecting to determine at what stage(s) during embryogenesis the epigenetic memory marks are being laid down by identifying when the transcriptomic differences, of small RNA and mRNAs, between the epitypes are the most prominent during embryogenesis. The identification of novel miRNA candidates and the confirmation of conserved and novel miRNAs will be presented.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The combined effects of light, soil fertility, and ontogenetic changes on plant growth rates are poorly understood, yet these three factors play fundamental roles in structuring plant communities. We sought to determine how lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia), interior spruce (Picea glauca engelmanii (Moench) Voss), and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) sapling growth responds to the combination of light, soil fertility, and ontogeny and how these three dominant conifer species in sub-boreal forests of British Columbia differ in their responses.Using maximum likelihood methods, we found that 0.204 m tall sapling growth rates changed during ontogeny and were limited by both light and soil resources. The strongest differences among species growth rates were due to tree size, with smaller differences due to soil fertility, and there were no differences among species in the shape of their growth responses to light. Rank order in growth rates for small saplings (pine spruce fir) inversely corresponded to classic shade-tolerance ratings, thus supporting the carbon balance theory. Interior spruce height growth rates increased relative to lodgepole pine with increasing soil fertility, clearly matching the landscape-scale increase in canopy dominance of interior spruce over lodgepole pine with increasing soil fertility.
Authors
Bengt Gunnar Jonsson Juha Siitonen Jogeir N. StoklandAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
This study examines already existing guidelines for the sustainable removal of slash from forests for bioenergy use. Existing guidelines from some countries, states and provinces with forest ecosystems comparable to Norways (Sweden, Finland, the U.K., Ireland, Minnesota, New Hampshire and British Columbia) are compared with the Norwegian Living Forests (LF) and Debio (ecological forestry) guidelines. The aim is to identify areas where the Norwegian guidelines could be further developed.
Abstract
Et overordnet samfunnsmål er å sikre en bærekraftig bruk og forvaltning av Norges arealressurser. Det krever en kontinuerlig leveranse av pålitelig og oppdatert informasjon til beslutningstakere. For å være i stand til å levere denne informasjonen, produserer Norsk institutt for skog og landskap blant annet arealressursstatistikk for alle kommuner i Norge. Statistikken produseres også på fylkesnivå og for hele landet. Arealtallene hentes ut fra en kombinasjon av ulike nasjonale datasett i ulike målestokker sammen med tolkning av satellittbilder. Gjennom en omklassifisering beregnes statistikk for visse landressursklasser som dyrka jord, beite, skog basert på produktivitet, ferskvann, snø og isbre, snaumark og bebygd område. Skog og landskap har de siste par årene brukt åpen kildekode. Hele produksjonslinje utføres ved hjelp av slik programvare. Resultatene lagres i XML-filer som legges ut på internett. Produksjonen krever behandling av flere databaser med nasjonal dekning og må håndtere geometriske operasjoner effektivt og uten feil. Den åpne kildekodeløsningen er pålitelig, stabil og rask.
Abstract
Introductions of the pine wood nematode (PWN), which causes Pine Wilt Disease (PWD), have devastating effects on pine forests in regions with susceptible host trees under suitable climate conditions. Norwegian authorities have proposed a contingency plan if PWN is detected in Norway. We compare the costs of implementing this plan with the costs of further spread and damage of PWN under two climate change scenarios: present and the most likely future climate. With the present climate, PWD will not occur in Norway. Under climatic change, the cost of PWD damage is approximately 0.078–0.157 million NOK (0.01–0.02 million Euros) estimated as net present value with 2 and 4% p.a. discount rate. In contrast, the corresponding costs of implementing the suggested contingency plan will be 1.7–2.2 billion NOK (0.2–0.25 billion Euros). These costs are caused by reduced income from industrial timber production and the costs of the eradication measures. Costs related to reduced recreation or biodiversity are expected to be very high, but are not included in the above estimates. Many of the factors in the analysis are burdened with high uncertainty, but sensitivity analyses indicate that the results are rather robust even for drastic changes in assumptions. The results suggest that there is a need to revise the current PWN contingency plan in Norway.
Authors
Janka DibdiakovaAbstract
An increasing demand for forest biomass to energy is leading to a more intensive harvesting of timber, also including an exploitation of the crown biomass. This sets new demands for forest inventory systems to generate more detailed information about the forest biomass fractions. Norway has unutilized forest resources, which can be used for bioenergy. These also include Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The material was sampled from three different locations in Southern Norway from west to east. Each location was represented with tree different site indices. Vertical profiles of branch weight, length and diameter were studied. The effect of different tree and site characteristics were used to predict the profiles. Significant differences were found between the geographical locations studied after adjusting for tree height and diameter in breast height. Branches from the western site were longer and had a greater mass compared to branches from the other two locations. The branch diameter distribution indicated that the east location had larger branch size, while branches in middle and west site had smaller sizes. This study highlights the range of branch variability within locations, but indicates that Norway spruce branch biomass in Norway may be considered as a valuable raw material.
Abstract
The extractives responsible for the natural durability of western redcedar (WRC) are not well understood. Recent work by the Norwegian Institute of Wood Technology and the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute has evaluated the natural durability of Norwegian wood species and reference species, including Norwegian-grown WRC and North American-grown WRC, in a series of decay tests. The availability of retained samples from these tests presented an excellent opportunity to compare the extractives contents of North American and Norwegian grown-WRC, and to correlate field test decay data and extractives content. The North American-grown WRC contained much greater concentrations of extractives than the Norwegian-grown WRC evaluated in this test. However, despite these differences, performance in the EN 252 stake test in Sørkedalen was only marginally better for North American-grown WRC. Both sets of samples were comparatively low in an as yet uncharacterized compound previously associated with decay resistance. However, there were not enough data to thoroughly examine the correlations between extractives and durability data in this material.
Authors
Christian Brischke Linda Meyer Gry Alfredsen Miha Humar Lesley Francis Per Otto Flæte Pia Larsson-BrelidAbstract
The material-inherent resistance of wood is one of the most important qualities influencing the durability of timber. Hence, it has also a major effect on the service life to be expected from a timber construction. In addition, design details and the respective climatic conditions determine durability and make it impossible to treat wood durability as an absolute value. Moreover, the reference magnitude varies between locations because of climatic differences. Durability classification is therefore based on comparing a certain performance indicator between the timber in question and a reference timber. Finally, the relative values (= resistance factors) are grouped and related to durability classes, which can refer to a high range of service lives for a certain location. The insufficient comparability of such durability records turned out to be a key problem for the service life prediction of timber structures, even when the climatic conditions are clearly defined. This study aimed therefore on an inventory of literature data, directly based on service life measures, not masked by a durability classification schedule. It focused on natural durability of timber tested in the field under above-ground conditions. In total 395 durability recordings from 31 different test sites worldwide and based on ten different test methods have been considered for the calculation of resistance factors: 190 for hardwoods and 205 for softwoods. Nevertheless, the considered datasets were heterogeneous in quality and quantity; the resulting resistance factors suffered from high variation. In many cases information was presented too condensed and incompletely, which is inescapable for instance in journal articles. To increase the amount of available, comparable, and directly service-life related data a reliable platform is needed. A proposal for a corresponding data base is provided in part 2 of this paper.