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.
2022
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Camilla Svendsen Heidi Amlund Monica Hauger Carlsen Gunnar Sundstøl Eriksen Trine Husøy Inger Therese Laugsand Lillegaard Gro Haarklou Mathisen Anine Christine Medin Robin Ørnsrud Angelika Agdestein Øivind Bergh Johanna Eva Bodin Ellen Merete Bruzell Edel O. Elvevoll Dag Olav Hessen Merete Hofshagen Helle Katrine Knutsen Åshild Krogdahl Asbjørn Magne Nilsen Trond Rafoss Olaug Taran Skjerdal Inger-Lise Karin Steffensen Tor Arne Strand Gaute Velle Gro Ingunn Hemre Vigdis Vandvik Jan AlexanderAbstract
At request from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA), VKM has identified food groups and food items consumed by the Norwegian population that are relevant for monitoring regarding content of one or more undesirable chemical substances (Figure 1). Undesirable chemical substances were defined as chemical substances in food that may constitute a potential health risk. VKM has created a knowledge base (an Excel file) as a tool for planning and prioritising monitoring of foods and undesirable chemical substances. The substance groups included in the knowledge base are flavourings, food additives, metals and metalloids, natural toxins, persistent organic pollutants, process-induced contaminants, substances in food contact materials, substances in food supplements, and trace elements. More than 40 different substances were included. Food items that are known contributors to exposure to an undesirable chemical substance were identified from quantitative and qualitative data, mainly from EFSA opinions and VKM risk assessments. Four national dietary surveys were used for identification of food items and food groups habitually eaten by the Norwegian population. The habitual diet was used to identify potential unknown sources of the substances. The information on known and unknown sources was compiled in a knowledge base comprised of 456 “undesirable chemical substance/food item” pairs that were identified to be relevant for monitoring. For each “undesirable chemical substance/food item” pair, the following information are included in the knowledge base: - Food category - Contribution to total exposure, including degree of contribution - Origin of occurrence data, and availability of Norwegian occurrence data - Remarks regarding sampling - Sources of the undesirable chemical substances in food - Risk (a combined score for hazard and exposure) Sampling of food is a complex area. Careful planning of the sampling strategy is needed and several parameters should be taken into consideration, depending on the properties of the chemical substance and the food item. Generic guidelines on sampling strategy, including sample number and frequency, have been provided in the report. Key words: VKM, health risk, monitoring, Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment, Norwegian Food Safety Authority, undesirable chemical substance.
Authors
Nhat Strøm-AndersenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Cristina Micheloni Frank Willem Oudshoorn Paula Quintana Fernández Sari Autio Andrea Beste María Isabel Blanco Penedo Marie-Christine Bourin Jacopo Goracci Matthias Koesling Eligio Malusá Bernhard Speiser Jan van der Blom Felix WäckersAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production and whether they should therefore be included in Annex III of Reg. (EU) 2021/1165. With respect to food the Group recommends the following: - Magnesium carbonate should be included in Annex V B as processing aid. - Lecithin should be included in Annex III as a food additive in animal origin products. - Potassium sodium tartrate tetrahydrate (E337) should be included as a food additive. - The extension of the use of ascorbic acid (E300) should be included in ‘meat preparations’, but the EGTOP sub-group suggests a new mandate for a comprehensive assessment of the substance.
Authors
Annika M. Felton Per-Ola Hedwall Adam Felton Fredrik Widemo Märtha Wallgren Emma Holmström Erik Löfmarck Jonas Malmsten Hilde Karine WamAbstract
Populations of large herbivores, including members of the deer family Cervidae, are expanding across and within many regions of the northern hemisphere. Because their browsing on trees can result in economic losses to forestry and strongly affect ecosystems, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how best to mitigate resultant damage. Previous research has highlighted the importance of regulating deer density and the availability of alternative forage to reduce browsing damage levels in conifer production stands. However, often only one or two proxies of forage availability have been used instead of applying a broad foodscape approach and more knowledge is needed to understand which types of alternative forage best mitigate damage. We conducted field inventories of damage that occurred during the previous fall/winter in 112 production stands in southern Sweden, while also measuring forage availability and cervid faecal pellets in the surrounding landscape (16 ha). Local landowners provided data on supplementary feeding. We found that variation in cervid (Alces alces, Capreolus capreolus, Cervus elaphus and Dama dama) browsing damage to top shoots or stems of young Scots pine trees (Pinus sylvestris, hereon pine), was better explained by the availability of alternative natural forage (using several indices and species of trees and shrubs) than by supplementary feeding. The proportion of damaged pine trees was higher in stands with a lower density of pine stems; in landscapes with a lower density of key broadleaf tree species (genera Sorbus, Salix, Populus and Quercus); and in landscapes with more open land (agricultural fields and paddocks). Damage was also higher in stands where relatively large amounts of moose faeces was found, while not related to the amount of faeces from other cervid species. The amount of supplementary feed (silage or other types such as root vegetables) did not explain variation in pine damage, but the result was possibly affected by relatively few study areas supplying sufficient data on supplementary feeding. The results from our inventory illustrate the efficacy of using naturally growing forage to mitigate browsing damage to young pine trees in managed landscapes. Creation of such forage is also recommended over supplementary feeding because of co-benefits to forest biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Authors
Adam Felton Annika M. Felton Hilde Karine Wam Johanna Witzell Märtha Wallgren Magnus Löf Johan Sonesson Matts Lindbladh Christer Björkman Kristina Blennow Michelle Cleary Mats Jonsell Maartje J. Klapwijk Mats Niklasson Lisa Petersson Jonas Rönnberg Åsa Ode Sang Fredrika Wrethling Per-Ola HedwallAbstract
There is increasing empirical support for the biodiversity and ecosystem service (ES) benefits of mixed-species production forests. However, few studies control for the spatial arrangement of the trees within mixtures to determine the influence that clustering the tree species (patch scale mixtures), versus evenly dispersing them (intimate scale mixtures), may have for biodiversity and ES outcomes. To highlight the potential implications of altering tree spatial arrangement in mixtures, and the need to fill related knowledge gaps, here we provide a qualitative multi-disciplinary overview of ecological and socio-economic drivers with the potential to alter biodiversity, ecosystem services, and management-related outcomes from patch versus intimate scale mixtures. We focused our overview on even-aged mixtures of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and birch (Betula pendula or B. pubescens) in Sweden, which enabled us to contrast findings within a biogeographical and silvicultural setting. Specifically, we targeted implications for biodiversity (understory vascular plants, epiphytic lichens, saproxylic beetles, birds), biomass production, harvesting costs, management ease, recreation and aesthetics, cervid game, as well as abiotic and biotic risks (wind, fire, pathogens, pests, browsing damage). In the absence of direct empirical evidence, we primarily relied on expert inference from theory and relevant empirical studies sourced from the Fennoscandian region, and further afield if needed. Collectively these efforts allowed us to develop a number of informed hypotheses indicating that for spruce-birch mixtures in this region, patch scale mixtures may have the potential to favour the diversity of several forest dependant taxonomic groups, cervid game and reduce harvesting costs, whereas intimate mixtures may have the potential to reduce pathogen and pest damage, and likewise, potentially benefit production outcomes. Current knowledge was too limited, inconsistent or context dependant to even tentatively infer outcomes for fire risk, wind damage, browsing damage, management ease, recreational and aesthetic outcomes. We emphasize that our hypotheses require testing, but are sufficient to (1) highlight the likely importance of spatial-scale to biodiversity and ecosystem services outcomes in mixed-species production forests, (2) caution against generalization from mixture studies that lack scale considerations, and (3) motivate the targeted consideration of spatial grain in future mixture studies.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Volkmar TimmermannAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Knut ØistadAbstract
No abstract has been registered