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.
2018
Authors
Ryan BrightAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Knowledge about the botanical composition of grassland for silage is important regarding composition of seed mixtures, control of weeds, choice of harvest times and feeding strategies. The botanical composition of 185 fields in the mountain regions of southern Norway was examined using the dryweight rank method. The survey shows that the youngest grasslands (age 1 - 3 years) were dominated by the sown species with Phleum pratense L. the species with the highest proportion in the sward. In 4 - 6 year old grasslands, the proportion of sown species was reduced with the exception of Poa pratensis L., and Elytrigia repens L. had the highest proportion of unsown species. The proportion of Festuca pratensis (Huds.) was reduced at the same rate as Phleum pratense L. In grasslands of greater age (> 6 years) Poa pratensis L. and Elytrigia repens L. had the highest occurrence. The content of herbs increased with age, and Ranunculus repens L. and Taraxacum officinale F.H. Wigg were the most frequent species. The average clover content was < 6% of DM yield. The impact of Elytrigia repens L. on forage yield and quality should be further examined due to the high occurrence. Poa pratensis L. or other long-lasting grass species should be included in seed mixtures for this region when the grassland is intended to last more than three years.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Siri Elise DybdalAbstract
Innovative tools, approaches and policy instruments to increase adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and minimize pesticide use is crucial for sustainable and financially viable food production.
Authors
Dominique Gravel Benjamin Baiser Jennifer A. Dunne Jens-Peter Kopelke Neo D. Martinez Tommi Nyman Timothee Poisot Daniel B. Stouffer Jason M. Tylianakis Spencer A. Wood Tomas RoslinAbstract
Biogeography has traditionally focused on the spatial distribution and abundance of species. Both are driven by the way species interact with one another, but only recently community ecologists realized the need to document their spatial and temporal variation. Here, we call for an integrated approach, adopting the view that community structure is best represented as a network of ecological interactions, and show how it translates to biogeography questions. We propose that the ecological niche should encompass the effect of the environment on species distribution (the Grinnellian dimension of the niche) and on the ecological interactions among them (the Eltonian dimension). Starting from this concept, we develop a quantitative theory to explain turnover of interactions in space and time – i.e. a novel approach to interaction distribution modeling. We apply this framework to host–parasite interactions across Europe and find that two aspects of the environment (temperature and precipitation) exert a strong imprint on species co-occurrence, but not on species interactions. Even where species co-occur, interaction proves to be stochastic rather than deterministic, adding to variation in realized network structure. We also find that a large majority of host-parasite pairs are never found together, thus precluding any inferences regarding their probability to interact. This first attempt to explain variation of network structure at large spatial scales opens new perspectives at the interface of species distribution modeling and community ecology.
Authors
Bjørn ØklandAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Greeley Beck Emil Engelund Thybring Lisbeth Garbrecht ThygesenAbstract
Earlywood samples of unmodified and acetylated radiata pine were exposed to the brown-rot fungus Rhodonia placenta for 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks for unmodified samples and 10, 16, 24 and 28 weeks for acetylated samples. Longer incubation periods were used for acetylated samples based on the hypothesis that given enough time under favourable conditions the fungus would eventually degrade the wood. After exposure, samples were weighed and chemically characterized by ATR-FTIR analysis, acetyl content by saponification, and hydroxyl (OH) accessibility by deuterium exchange. Longer incubation times for acetylated samples led to comparable levels of mass loss between unmodified and acetylated wood. Initial brown-rot decay in acetylated wood exhibited a different trend compared to unmodified wood, with an increased OH accessibility and a significant reduction in acetyl content. This was followed by a stable, low OH accessibility and plateau in acetyl content above 10% mass loss in acetylated wood. In unmodified wood, the OH accessibility was nearly constant throughout decay, while the initially low acetyl content decreased linearly with mass loss. ATR-FTIR analysis confirmed the differences in acetyl removal between unmodified and acetylated wood. Wood-water relations before and after brown-rot decay were determined with low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LFNMR) relaxometry on water saturated samples. For the decayed acetylated wood, the behaviour of the water corresponded well with de-acetylation observed by chemical characterization. The results show that after removal of acetyl groups, degradation of acetylated wood by R. placenta occurred at a similar rate to that of unmodified wood.
Authors
Krishna Reddy Kakumanu Yella Reddy Kaluvai Sekhar Udaya Nagothu Narayan Reddy Lati Gurava Reddy Kotapati Sunitha KaranamAbstract
Climate change characterized by global warming has become a hotspot of research in recent years for water resources, agriculture,ecology and other disciplines. In India, studies have shown an increasing trend in surface temperature, with decreasing trends inrainfall. Farmers are also more affected by the climate variability which has a serious influence on their production and income.The climate change and adaptation (ClimaAdapt) programme was implemented from 2012 to 2016 to build farm-level capacitiesand enhance the adaptive capacity of the agricultural and water sectors in the Krishna basin of Andhra Pradesh and Telanganastates. Water-saving interventions such as direct seeded rice, a modified system of rice intensification and alternate wetting anddrying (AWD) of rice were implemented in a cluster approach and enhanced water productivity. The training and implementationprogrammes increased the adaptation and awareness of farmers. Water measurements were carried out by usingflumes andultrasonic sensors. The area under direct seeded rice has increased to 64% in the study district and 77% of the trained farmersare adopting the practice. Capacity building, implementation and science–policy linkages are the key pillars of the programmeto improve the adaptive capacity and scaling-up of water management practices.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered