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.
2006
Abstract
In Norway exterior wood structures have traditionally nearly exclusively been made of treated and untreated Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). In recent years there has been a tendency that other tree species, like various domestic hardwoods and imported species have been used in exterior above ground applications, often unfinished. For several wood species, especially hardwoods, information regarding the durability in use class 3 is lacking. The test procedures prescribed in the European standards, both laboratory and field tests, have some weaknesses regarding to natural durability testing. Hence, some new methods for accelerated above ground testing have been put forward. The main objectives of this project are to evaluate natural durability of Norwegian wood species for above ground applications, and to study various methods for assessing decay in wood. This paper presents the material and methods used in the project, and report the results from double layer tests after one year of exposure. No decay was detected, but almost all wood species were considerably discoloured. Thuja (Norw.), Thuja (Am.), Intsia and Tectona had the least amount of discolouration. The Norwegian softwood species had generally less discolouration than the Norwegian hardwood species. CCA and Cu preservative impregnated and FA modified Pinus sylvestris sapwood had more cracks than most of the untreated wood species. Moreover, some of the Picea abies qualities and Pinus sylvestris sapwood samples had substantial amounts of cracks.
Authors
Ingjerd Solfjeld Øystein JohnsenAbstract
We have examined shoot and root growth and the concentration of carbohydrates in seedlings of a northern (67oN) and a southern (61oN) ecotype of Betula pendula Roth. cultivated at root-zone temperatures of 2, 6, 12 and 17oC. Three hydroponic experiments were conducted in controlled environments. We used three different pretreatments before seedlings were subjected to the experimental temperature treatments. Actively growing seedlings that were acclimated to the hydroponic solution for 3 weeks at a root temperature of 17oC, continued to grow at all the experimental temperatures, with an expected increase in growth from 2 to 17oC. However, if we started with ecodormant cold stored plants or used seedlings grown actively in perlite, no growth was observed at 2oC and only minor growth was found at 6oC. The highest root temperature always produced the best growth. The concentration of nonstructural carbohydrates was higher in seedlings grown at 2oC than at 17oC, and this is probably due to extensive incorporation of carbohydrates into cell walls and otherstructural elements at 17oC. We found no evidence for differences between the two ecotypes in root growth, in timing of bud burst, but shoot growth terminated in the northern ecotype in the first experiment because the natural photoperiod was below the critical value. Our study highlights the importance of post-transplantation stress (planting check) related to root growth, and that root threshold temperatures may change according to the way plants are pretreated.
Authors
Heleen A. de Wit Taru Palosuo Gro Hylen Jari LiskiAbstract
Growing stocks of trees in Europe have increased in a magnitude that is significant in terms of carbon (C) sink strength. Estimates of the soil C sink strength that this increased stock of trees may have induced on a regional scale are scarce, uncertain and difficult to compare. This illustrates the need for a widely applicable calculation method. Here, we calculate a C budget of productive forest in southeast Norway based on forest inventory information, biomass expansion factors (BEF), biomass turnover rates and the dynamic soil model Yasso. We estimate a 29% increase (112-145 Tg) of C in biomass between 1971 and 2000, and estimate the associated increase of C in soils (including dead wood) to be 4.5% (181-189 Tg). The C sink strengths in biomass and soils (including dead wood) in 1990 are 0.38 and 0.08 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively. Estimated soil C density is 58 Mg C ha(-1) or ca 40% of measured soil C density in Norwegian forest soils. A sensitivity analysis - using uncertainty estimates of model inputs and parameters based on empirical data - shows that the underestimation of the soil C stock can be due to overestimation of decomposition rates of recalcitrant organic matter in the soil model and to including only trees as a source of litter. However, uncertainty in these two factors is shown to have a minimal effect on soil sink estimates. The key uncertainty in the soil sink is the initial value of the soil C stock, i.e. the assumed steady state soil C stock at the start of the time series in 1970. However, this source of uncertainty is reduced in importance for when approaching the end of the data series. This indicates that a longer time series of forest inventory data will decrease the uncertainty in the soil sink estimate due to initialisation of the soil C stock. Other, less significant, sources of uncertainty in estimates of soil stock and sink are BEF for fine roots and turnover rates of fine roots and foliage. The used method for calculation of a forest C budget can be readily applied to other regions for which similar forest resource data are available.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Peder Gjerdrum Mauro BernabeiAbstract
Vridd vekst gir opphav til hellende fiber, som øker tørkedeformasjonene og reduserer styrken i trelast. Resultater fra nyere nordisk forskningblir her presentert for det italienske publikum, med utgangspunkt i egne undersøkelser (se bl.a. Oppdragsrapport 7/2000). En enkel modell for fibervinkel i en granstamme blir foreslått. Modellen har to parametre og er basert på én prediktor: avstand fra marg. Normalverdier og spredning for de to parametrene er oppgitt for nordiske forhold.
Abstract
The paper describes the development of the two involved nurseries and the reforestation efforts and results on the two experimental sites at Munda and in Mahamaya
Authors
Ketil KohmannAbstract
Feeding by the Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus rugulipennis Popp.) has caused severe damage in Norwegian nurseries. Large quantities of seedlings have been removed after sorting. The life cycle of the insect has been well studied and documented. This study was a first attempt to investigate how the seedlings develop after the insect attacks.The first visible sign of damage is the development of multiple terminal buds. Two-year-old containerised seedlings were planted and followed for four years. Before planting, the seedlings were sorted into three damage classes, (0) undamaged, (I) moderately damaged; up to ten fully developed buds, and (II) severely damaged; from ten to twenty small buds and without any dominant apical bud.The damaged seedlings were somewhat shorter at planting but this difference disappeared with time. The seedlings in the two damaged classes differed in their development of multiple shoots. At the end of the four-year period about 50 % of the seedlings in ClassII and about 20 % from Class I still had multiple leaders, or lateral stems or side branches that would probably in the future produce spike knots. The sorting routine currently used at the nursery was found to reduce the problem to an acceptable level for seedlings that were planted in the forest.
Abstract
The minirhizotron technique provides the opportunity to perform in situ measurements of fine root dynamics and obtain accurate estimates of fine root production and turnover. The objective of the present work was to determine the fine root longevity and mycorrhization in a Norway spruce chronosequence. The study was carried out on four stands of planted Norway spruce (Picea abies), approximately 10, 30, 60 and 120 years old, during 2001 and 2002. The stands were located at Nordmoen, a plain of sandy deposits in southeast Norway (60o15 N, 11o06 E). For the root turnover study, altogether 60 minirhizotrones were installed and images were processed.Individual fine roots were identified, their mycorrhization assessed, appearance and possible disappearance dated, and growth in length measured. The data set was subjected to a survival analysis, using a Kaplan-Meier product-limit approach. The minirhizotron samples were stratified according to stand age class, and Coxs F-test was used to analyze differences in survival estimates. The analysis may also be extended to consider other covariates such as tree species (spruce, pine or birch), understory vegetation, or soil depth. Typical survival function estimates will be presented, and the influence of stand age on the mycorrhization and the dynamics of the fine roots will be discussed.
Abstract
Based on field observations of leaf morphology and variation in chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) in Scandinavia, Norway has been suggested as a suture zone for elm (Ulmus glabra) from different glacial refugia. The aim of this paper was to study the geographical concordance between the maternally inherited cpDNA markers (16 populations) and the assumed polygenic and biparentally inherited leaf traits, studied in a field trial (five populations).Two cpDNA haplotypes were detected, but without geographical structure. Leaf traits showed a gradient from typical ssp. montana traits (relatively long, long tapering, absent acute lobes) in western populations to more ssp. glabra-like traits (relatively broad, short tapering, acute lobes present) in eastern and northern populations.The overall geographical concordance between haplotype distribution and leaf traits was limited, probably owing to different inheritance of cpDNA and leaf traits, but the spatial variation in leaf traits and cpDNA in a subset of common populations (n=5) was compatible with a dual migration of elm to Scandinavia. Both measures suggest a broad suture zone, covering the entire distribution of elm in Norway.The results are discussed in relation to the use of maternally inherited markers, such as cpDNA, in delimiting suture zones.
Authors
Erlend Ystrøm Haartveit Per Otto FlæteAbstract
The optimal utilisation of a wood raw material is dependent on the wood properties. In this study near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used to non-destructively predict density, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture for small clear specimens cut from Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. (Norway spruce) trees.NIR spectra were recorded directly on the wood surface of each specimen as close as possible to the fracture developed during the bending test. Models were calibrated using partial least squares regression. The validation method was test set validation by data splitting.The correlation between predicted and measured values was highest for modulus of elasticity (0.86), followed by modulus of rupture (0.84) and density (0.79). The validation of the models showed that the average accuracies of predictions were 20.3 kg/m3 for density, 1.1 GPa for modulus of elasticity, and 6.1 MPa for modulus of rupture.Results are comparable to what has been found for other tree species, such as Pinus radiata D. Don (radiata pine), Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine), and Larix decidua Mill. (European larch). Models for predicting density, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture based on NIR spectra outperformed simple regression models using the mean annual ring width as the independent variable.NIR spectroscopy is a rapid tool for characterising organic materials. It requires minimal sample preparation and spectra are collected on solid wood, rapidly and nondestructively. For these reasons the method should be tested in production lines for lumber. In future research we aim for reliable predictions of mechanical properties of industrially manufactured lumber using models based on NIR spectroscopy and multivariate statistical methods.