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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.

2003

Abstract

Previous studies point at biogeographic (i.e. evolutionary and demographic) and ecological (i.e. habitat differentiation and disturbance) processes as the most important causes of spatial variation in species richness and species composition. We examined patterns of variation in similarity of vascular plant and bryophyte species composition among 150 1-m2 plots distributed semi-randomly over 11 Norwegian boreal swamp-forest localities that were species-rich islands in an otherwise species-poor forest landscape. For each plot, 53 environmental variables were recorded. By using CCA analyses, we found that c. 20% of the explainable variation in species composition was due to swamp-forest affiliation, in addition to the c. 35% that was due to environmental differences between swamp-forest localities. The unique component of the species composition of each swamp forest was also emphasised by analyses of floristic dissimilarity: plots were significantly more floristically dissimilar if situated in different than if situated in the same swamp forest, even after environmental differences had been corrected for. The lack of any significant relationship between floristic dissimilarity and geographical distance or swamp-forest area indicated that this pattern was not mainly due to demographic processes. We argue that the floristic distinctness of swamp forests, in particular those richer in species and soil nutrients, is due to a combination of factors among which randomness in establishment in infrequently occurring gaps ( ‘windows of opportunity’) are likely to be important. The unique combination of important determinants of the species composition found for boreal swamp forests supports the view that there exists a diversity of explanations for diversity and that these, to a large extent, are system- and/or area-specific.

Abstract

An individual-based agent model is presented which resembles aspects of natural evolution in ecosystems under selective pressure due to limited resources. The environmental conditions are determined by spatial and temporal variability of resource abundances.The agents have to choose between three different types of resources; the one consumed most during lifetime solely counts for the fitness of the individual agent. Simulation runs show that populations specialized in different resource types are mutually influencing each other under temporal variation of a single resource type.Mobility of agents in a locally heterogenous world enables recolonization after a population has starved to death. Wavelet analysis of the population time series reveals that some observed population dynamics show phenomena such as localized periodicities which cannot be explained by linear dependencies on the resource input dynamics.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to quantify the net potential N mineralisation and nitrification rates in mineral soils of two coniferous forest soils subjected to different N additions. One study site was located at Åmli (Pinus sylvestris L. forest), southern Norway and another at Gårdsjön (Picea abies forest), southwestern Sweden. Mineral soil was collected from 14 to 19 and 24 to 29 cm depth in May at Gårdsjön and in May, July, September and November at Åmli. The soil was incubated in the dark at 15 °C for 2 months in the laboratory, and the NH4+ and NO3- content were compared relative to pre-incubated values. The initial contents of NO3- and NH4+ in the soil at the two sites were of about the same magnitude, but the potential net N mineralisation, ammonification and nitrification rates differed significantly. At Gårdsjön, the net N mineralistion ranged from 6 to 29 mg N kg-1 per 2 months, whereas a net N immobilisation generally occurred at Åmli. Additions of 0–50 kg N ha-1 per year had no effect on the transformation rates at the two sites. Applications of large single doses of 90 kg N ha-1 per year during the last 8 years have significantly increased the net nitrification rate in the soil at Åmli. However, a net N mineralisation was only observed in the soil 1 month after the N addition. At low N input levels, site-specific factors, such as the content of organic matter, clay, and moisture, seemed to a large degree to determine the transformation rates. Large spatial variability both within catchments and between catchments at Gårdsjön may have obscured the effects of small N inputs.

Abstract

Resultat frå forsøk med ulike dekkesystem for søtkirsebær sin effekt på mikroklima og fruktkvalitet er skildra i ein vitskapleg artikkel på engelsk. Resultata er delvis publisert på norsk i følgjande artikkel: Børve, J., A. Stensvand & M. Meland, 1997. Verknad av plastdekking på rotning hjå søtkirsebær. Informasjonsmøte i plantevern 1997 Grønn forskning 2/97. 252-255.