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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.

2007

Abstract

Norwegian agriculture is totally dependent on a safe supply of seed of winter-hardy timothy varieties. The annual seed consumption varies depending on the extent of winter damages, particularly in northern Norway, and the average seed yield varies with weather and harvest conditions in the seed-producing districts in the southeastern and central part of the country. To buffer these variations, seed companies always keep stocks corresponding to 50-100 % of the average annual seed consumption. Such large stocks are risky to maintain as seed lots will loose germination over time. Our objective was to elucidate the effect of seed harvest time and seed storage location on the longevity of timothy seed. In 2003, timothy ‘Grindstad’ was combined directly on 2, 5 or 8 August corresponding to a seed moisture content (SMC) of 34, 27 and 20 %, respectively. After harvest the seed was dried to 10-11 % SMC. Germination analyses were accomplished 3, 15, 26 and 38 months after seed harvest; the three latter after splitting each seed lot into four sub-lots that were stored either in a conditioned seed store (4ºC, 30% RH), or in unconditioned warehouses at there climatically different locations. While seed harvest time had no effect on germination three months after harvest, differences became increasingly evident as time went by. After 38 months’ storage, seed stored in the conditioned store or in the warehouse at the continental location Tynset germinated, on average for harvest times, 15-16 units better than seed stored in the warehouse at the coastal location Vaksdal; and seed lots harvested at 20 % SMC germinated, on average for storage locations, 24 units better than seed harvested at 37 % SMC. While it has long been documented that direct combining at high SMC may damage seed germination, there has been less awareness that this damage may not manifest itself until after a certain storage period.

Abstract

This article examines innovation processes in forest recreational services on the basis of case studies in five European countries with differing institutional backgrounds of forest ownership and access rights. The analysis reveals that forest-related recreation services are developed under varying institutional conditions and on public as well as private land. Ideas for innovations in recreational services may come from within but often outside the forestry sector. Financing is provided from public and private sources. Both public and private spheres have important roles in providing natural, human and financial resources and usually a network of public and private actors are involved in innovation processes. Of particular importance are cross-sectoral interactions between forestry and tourism. Greater institutional support is needed for the development of forest-related recreation services because the field is at an early stage of development. It is concluded that support should focus on providing ideas and financial resources for product development and on facilitating cross-sectoral interaction between forestry and tourism actors. A particular need is seen for development of models for durable interaction between land owners and tourism operators on a regional scale.

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Abstract

Floral induction and development requirements of a range of latitudinal and altitudinal Norwegian populations of the wild strawberry Fragaria vesca L. have been studied in controlled environments. Rooted runner plants were exposed to a range of photoperiods and temperatures for 5 weeks for floral induction and then transferred to long day (LD) at 20 degrees C for flower development. A pronounced interaction of temperature and photoperiod was shown in the control of flowering. At 9 degrees C, flowers were initiated in both short day (SD) and LD conditions, at 15 and 18 degrees C in SD only, whereas no initiation took place at 21 degrees C regardless of daylength conditions. The critical photoperiod for SD floral induction was about 16 h and 14 h at 15 and 18 degrees C, respectively, the induction being incomplete at 18 degrees C. The optimal condition for floral induction was SD at 15 degrees C. A minimum of 4 weeks of exposure to such optimal conditions was required. Although the populations varied significantly in their flowering performance, no clinal relationship was present between latitude of origin and critical photoperiod. Flower development of SD-induced plants was only marginally advanced by LD conditions, while inflorescence elongation and runnering were strongly enhanced by LD at this stage. The main shift in these responses took place at photoperiods between 16 and 17 h. Unlike all other populations studied, a high-latitude population from 70 degrees N ('Alta') had an obligatory vernalization requirement. Although flowering and fruiting in its native Subarctic environment and after overwintering in the field in south Norway, this population did not flower in the laboratory in the absence of vernalization, even with 10 or 15 weeks of exposure to SD at 9 degrees C. Flowering performance in the field likewise indicated a vernalization requirement of this high-latitude population.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present a concept of using airborne laser scanning (LIDAR), with one scan only, to map defoliation as a forest health variable. The idea is to apply two independent algorithms on the LIDAR data set, to produce both actual and expected leaf area index (LAI) values for every cell in a grid over the area. LAI is estimated based on laser pulse penetration through the canopy layer, and expected LAI values are derived from stand density based on position and height of single trees as obtained from a single-tree segmentation algorithm. The results are preliminary findings from four ongoing and related studies. In the first study repeated laser scans had close to equal extinction coefficients for LAI estimation although the instruments and flight specifications were different. In the second study, based on the findings in the first we derived normal LAI values from extisting and large scale data sets with LIDAR and field data. The main independent variable was stand density, defined as the ratio between mean tree height and mean distance between the trees. The ratio between LAI and stand density was around 0.5, and this is a preliminary standard for a healthy pine forest. In a third study the woody area fraction of LAI was estimated from 14 total harvested trees, and turned out to be slightly below 50% for a healthy pine tree, which means that a totally defoliated pine forest would have an LAI/stand density ratio around 0.2. In the fourth study, these LAI standard values were confirmed with LIDAR data from a severe insect defoliation event in Norway 2005. In conclusion, the present preliminary results demonstrate a potential for application of airborne laser scanning for monitoring or mapping of defoliation as a forest health variable.