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
Forfattere
Helge Lundekvam Eirik Romstad Lillian ØygardenSammendrag
Norwegian agriculture depends heavily on governmental subsidies, due to small farming units and high costs. Due to a limited home market, many agricultural productions are also quantum regulated. Milk and grain production was regulated starting in the 1950 using region specific prices. At the level of three counties in south-eastern Norway, this policy resulted in an increase in the grain producing area from 30 to 80% of total agricultural area causing a similar reduction in grassland area over a'30 year period. The change in land use caused by this policy more than doubled the estimated soil losses by water erosion. During the late; seventies extensive land levelling in the same region stimulated by subsidies lead to an estimated two-three fold increase in soil erosion. The increase was especially high when former ravine landscapes used for pasture were levelled and turned into arable land that was ploughed in autumn. Very visible erosion and increasing negative offsite effects on water quality together with overproduction put an end to the subsidies for land levelling. Erosion research was started around 1980 and the results from this research lead to the introduction of several kinds of payments in the early 1990 to encourage more sustainable agricultural production. Since the policy changed there has been changes in cultivating systems and a reduction in soil erosion has been estimated. Thus, farmers' behaviour and soil erosion in Norway is strongly influenced by agricultural and environmental policy.
Forfattere
Celine ReboursSammendrag
No abstract has been registered
Sammendrag
The rationale for stand growth modelling is often either grounded in a search for improved scientific understanding or in support for management decisions. The ultimate goal under the first task is seen in mechanistic models, i.e. models that represent the stand structure realistically and predict future growth as a function of the current status of the stand. Such mechanistic models tend to be over-parameterized with respect to the data actually available for a given stand. Calibration of these models may lead to non-unique representations and unreliable predictions. Empirical models, the second major line of growth modelling, typically match available data sets as well as do process-based models. They have less degrees of freedom, hence mitigate the problem of non-unique calibration results, but they employ often parameters without physiological or physical meaning. That is why empirical models cannot be extrapolated beyond the existing conditions of observations. Here we argue that this widespread dilemma can be overcome by using interactive models as an alternative approach to mechanistic (algorithmic) models. Interactive models can be used at two levels: a) the interactions among trees of a species or ecosystem and b) the interactions between forest management and a stand structure, e.g. in thinning trials. In such a model data from a range of sources (scientific, administrative, empirical) can be incorporated into consistent growth reconstructions. Interactive selection among such growth reconstructions may be theoretically more powerful than algorithmic automatic selection. We suggest a modelling approach in which this theoretical conjecture can be put to a practical test. To this end growth models need to be equipped with interactive visualization interfaces in order to be utilized as input devices for silvicultural expertise. Interactive models will not affect the difficulties of predicting forest growth, but may be at their best in documenting and disseminating silvicultural competence in forestry.
Forfattere
Staffan JacobsonSammendrag
No abstract has been registered
Forfattere
Ari M. Hietala Kari Korhonen R. SenSammendrag
Strains of Ceratobasidium bicorne (anamorph uninucleate Rhizoctonia) causing root dieback in nursery-grown conifer seedlings were fruited in the laboratory and the pairing interactions among sibling, single-basidiospore progeny were investigated.No mating reactions were observed. Instead, a high frequency of somatic incompatibility was observed in progeny pairings, indicated by a killing reaction in hyphal anastomosis and by formation of a demarcation line. The F1 progeny could also be fruited, and the level of somatic incompatibility within the F2 progeny remained high, even if lower than in the F1 progeny.The interaction types in pairings within a family of progeny were in all respects similar to those between field isolates, indicating that the species is homothallic. The uninucleate condition of vegetative cells and the basidial characteristics now observed would indicate homokaryotic fruiting, but the possibility of pseudohomothallism remains.We are presently not able to provide an explanation for the mechanism promoting somatic incompatibility in this species, but it seems likely that the classic heterogenic model of somatic incompatibility recognised in basidiomycetes is not applicable here. Alternative mechanisms are discussed.
Sammendrag
No abstract has been registered
Sammendrag
No abstract has been registered
Forfattere
Bruce Talbot Tomas Nordfjell Kjell SuadicaniSammendrag
No abstract has been registered
Forfattere
Per Otto Flæte Erlend Ystrøm HaartveitSammendrag
For manufacturing of naturally durable products of Scots pine it is crucial to separate heartwood from the non-durable sapwood. The objectives of this study were to evaluate near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a non-destructive method for classifying heartwood and sapwood in Scots pine sawn wood, and to evaluate the applicability of NIR-spectroscopy in predictions of heartwood resistance to decay. Wood durability is measured by mass loss from fungal activity in a laboratory experiment.Using NIR-spectra in fully cross-validated partial least squares (PLS1) regression models, results show that it is possible to correctly classify samples of heartwood and sapwood. The results further demonstrate that resistance to decay in Scots pine heartwood and sapwood can be modelled with satisfying precision using NIR-spectroscopy. Within-tree variation in heartwood resistance to decay show the importance of building reliable models for identification of highly decay resistant heartwood, to accomplish a purposeful utilisation of naturally durable heartwood.
Forfattere
Gudbrand LienSammendrag
Stochastic budgeting is used to simulate the business and financial risk and the performance over a 6-year planning horizon on a Norwegian dairy farm. A major difficulty with stochastic whole-farm budgeting lies in identifying and measuring dependency relationships between stochastic variables. Some methods to account for these stochastic dependencies are illustrated. The financial feasibility of different investment and management strategies is evaluated. In contrast with earlier studies with stochastic farm budgeting, the option aspect is included in the analysis.