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
Gregor Kalinkat, Tea Ammunet Madeleine Barton Andrea Battisti Sanford D. Eigenbrode Jane Uhd Jepsen Philipp Lehmann Seppo Neuvonen Pekka Niemelä Bjørn Økland John s. Terblanche Christer BjörkmanAbstract
Recently, Deutsch and colleagues(1) projected future increases in yield losses to insect pests of the three globally most important staple crops under different climate change scenarios. Their results are based on model simulations parameterized with thermal sensitivity analyses of population growth and metabolic rates from a geographically and functionally diverse set of insect species taken from an earlier study(2). A subset of the original data compilation was then used to estimate the direct impact of warming on insect fitness across latitudes(3). More precisely, the derived thermal-dependence of fitness for globally distributed terrestrial insect species was integrated with projected geographic distribution of climate change for the next century (3). These models were then deployed in the new study investigating potential yield losses in three specific crops(1). We submit that Deutsch and colleagues rely on inadequate empirical data for their model parameterization to estimate pest-related crop losses. Strikingly, their source data did not include major pest taxa of the focal staple crops and were not restricted to herbivores despite that temperature-dependence of metabolic and performance responses are known to vary substantially among trophic levels and functional groups(4,5). Hence, the inferences drawn by Deutsch and colleagues(1) may be unreliable. Mitigating potential climate change responses of pest organisms jeopardizing future food security can only be successful if they are based on high-quality information relevant to the crop system in question(6). References 1. C. A. Deutsch et al., Science. 361, 916–919 (2018). 2. M. R. Frazier, R. B. Huey, D. Berrigan, Am. Nat. 168, 512–520 (2006). 3. C. A. Deutsch et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 105, 6668–6672 (2008). 4. A. I. Dell, S. Pawar, V. M. Savage, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 108, 10591–10596 (2011). 5. A. I. Dell, S. Pawar, V. M. Savage, J. Anim. Ecol. 83, 70–84 (2014). 6. P. Lehmann et al., bioRxiv (2018), doi:10.1101/425488.
Authors
Nga Nguyen Marko Suokas Katja Karppinen Jaana Vuosku Laura Jaakola Hely HäggmanAbstract
Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) fruits are an excellent natural resource for human diet because of their special favor, taste and nutritional value as well as medical properties. Bilberries are recognized for their high anthocyanin content and many of the genes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthesis have been characterized. So far, neither genomic nor RNA-seq data have been available for the species. In the present study, we de novo sequenced two bilberry fruit developmental stages, unripe green (G) and ripening (R). A total of 57,919 unigenes were assembled of which 80.2% were annotated against six public protein databases. The transcriptome served as exploratory data to identify putative transcription factors related to fruit ripening. Diferentially expressed genes (DEGs) between G and R stages were prominently upregulated in R stage with the functional annotation indicating their main roles in active metabolism and catalysis. The unigenes encoding putative ripening-related regulatory genes, including members of NAC, WRKY, LOB, ERF, ARF and ABI families, were analysed by qRTPCR at fve bilberry developmental stages. Our de novo transcriptome database contributes to the understanding of the regulatory network associated with the fruit ripening in bilberry and provides the frst dataset for wild Vaccinium species acquired by NGS technology.
Authors
Trine Aulstad Sogn Ivan Dragicevic Roar Linjordet Tore Krogstad Vincent Eijsink Susanne Eich-GreatorexAbstract
Purpose The main purposes of the study were to assess the NPK fertilizer value of biogas digestates in different soils and to evaluate the risk of unwanted nutrient leaching. Methods The fertilizer value of digestates from anaerobic digesters was investigated in a greenhouse pot experiment with wheat in three different soils; silt, loam and sand. The digestates were based on different feedstock and had a low, dry matter content. The fertilizing effect of digestates was compared to mineral fertilizer and manure. To investigate the fate of excess nutrients in soil after the growing season, the pots were leached after harvest. A complementary soil column leaching experiment without plants was carried out in the laboratory. Results The concentration of ammonium in digestates provided a good indicator of the nitrogen fertilizer value of the digestates. In the silt and loam, the ammonium N fraction in digestates had a fertilizer replacement value equal to that of mineral fertilizer N, whereas the replacement value was higher in the nutrient poor sandy soil. Digestates often have a ratio between nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which is not favourable for plant growth. However, the suboptimal balance did not result in reduced plant growth or unwanted leaching from soil. Conclusions The results show that digestates from biogas production based on fundamentally different feedstock are promising as NPK fertilizers. The N fertilization can simply be based on the digestate NH4+ concentration and, at least for wheat production, considerable variation in the concentrations of K and P can be tolerated.
Abstract
The long-term success of sites selected for species conservation depends on the persistence of target species. Red List species or threatened species lists are frequently defined as target species, but when Red Lists are updated, their species composition may change. Here we investigate the effects of Red List updates on the long-term robustness of fine-scale site selection. We used records of red-listed species (vascular plants, bryophytes, macrolichens, and polypore fungi) recorded in 1997–1998 in 1058 sample plots (50 × 50 m) from six forest landscapes in Norway, and four consecutive issues of the Norwegian Red List for species (1998, 2006, 2010, 2015). Sites were selected based on the first issue (1998) using both a scoring (“hotspot”) approach and a complementarity approach, and the ability of selected sites to include red-listed species of later issues was measured. In four boreal forests the mean proportion of red-listed species included in selected sites were reduced by18% during the study period, whereas no such effect was found in two hemiboreal forests, where increased clustering of red-listed species in sites compensated for target species changes. Changing target species adds to earlier documented challenges caused by population dynamics, and we suggest that alternatives to using occurrences of target species in site selection should be considered, and particularly at finer spatial scales.
Authors
Ravishankar Narayana Judith Fliegmann Ivan Paponov Massimo E. MaffeiAbstract
The Earth magnetic field (or geomagnetic field, GMF) is a natural component of our planet and variations of the GMF are perceived by plants with a still uncharacterized magnetoreceptor. The purpose of this work was to assess the effect of near null magnetic field (NNMF, ∼40 nT) on Arabidopsis thaliana Col0 root ion modulation. A time-course (from 10 min to 96 h) exposure of Arabidopsis to NNMF was compared to GMF and the content of some cations (NH4 +, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) and anions (Cl−, SO4 =, NO3 − and PO4 =) was evaluated by capillary electrophoresis. The expression of several cation and anion channel- and transporter-related genes was assessed by gene microarray. A few minutes after exposure to NNMF, Arabidopsis roots responded with a significant change in the content and gene expression of all nutrient ions under study, indicating the presence of a plant magnetoreceptor that responds immediately to MF variations by modulating channels, transporters and genes involved in mineral nutrition. The response of Arabidopsis to reduced MF was a general reduction of plant ion uptake and transport. Our data suggest the importance to understand the nature and function of the plant magnetoreceptor for future space programs involving plant growth in environments with a reduced MF.
Authors
Marianna Pastuszak Andreas C. Bryhn Lars Håkanson Per Stålnacke Marius Zalewski Tycjan WodzinowskiAbstract
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This paper compares technical efficiencies (TEs) and technological gap ratios (TGRs) for dairy farms in regions of Norway, accounting for differences in working environments. We used the state-of-the-art stochastic meta-frontier approach to estimate TEs and TGRs to account for regional heterogeneity, and the ‘true’ random-effect model to account for farm effects. The dataset used was farm-level balanced panel data for 24 years (1992–2014), with 5442 observations from 731 dairy farms. The results of the analysis provide empirical evidence of small regional differences in TEs, TGRs, and input use. Furthermore, the results may provide support for the more regionally specific agricultural policy, in terms of support schemes and structural regulations.
Authors
Monika Suškevičs Sebastian Eiter Stanislav Martinat Dina Stober Elis Vollmer Cheryl L. de Boer Matthias BucheckerAbstract
The successful transition towards renewable energy (RE) technologies is closely intertwined with various societal aspects. Wind energy (WE) is one of the most controversial RE-types, possibly due to the multiplicity of related public concerns. Although some European country-comparisons exist, research concerning acceptance factors in different political and cultural planning contexts is scarce, especially in Eastern and Southern Europe. This paper explores the variation of (1) acceptance issues across Europe, and (2) patterns of strategic and local planning in affecting WE acceptance. We conducted an expert survey among the members of the COST Action ‘Renewable Energy and Landscape Quality’ and the association Wind Energy Europe. We found that acceptance issues – as perceived by the experts – across different regions in Europe share certain similarities, such as concerns about landscape impacts. The priority-levels of acceptance issues are specific to each region and link to the planning quality in that context. Planners’ and decision-makers’ increased awareness about the diversity of acceptance issues would allow them to design more appropriate strategic and local planning processes.