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.
2017
Authors
Andrea FickeAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Management of peat soils is regionally important as they cover large land areas and have important but conflicting ecosystems services. A recent management trend for drained peatlands is the control of greenhouse gases (GHG) by changes in agricultural practices, peatland restoration or paludiculture. Due to complex antagonistic controls of moisture, water table management can be difficult to use as a method for controlling GHG emissions. Past studies show that there is no obvious relationship between GHG emission rates and crop type, tillage intensity or fertilization rates. For drained peat soils, the best use options can vary from rewetting with reduced emission to efficient short term use to maximize the profit per amount of greenhouse gas emitted. The GHG accounting should consider the entire life cycle of the peatland and the socio-economic benefits peatlands provide locally. Cultivating energy crops is a viable option especially for wet peat soils with poor drainage, but harvesting remains a challenge due to tractability of wet soils. Paludiculture in lowland floodplains can be a tool to mitigate regional flooding allowing water to be stored on these lands without much harm to crops. This can also increase regional biodiversity providing important habitats for birds and moisture tolerant plant species. However, on many peatlands rewetting is not possible due to their position in the landscape and the associated difficulty to maintain a high stable water table. While the goal of rewetting often is to encourage the return of peat forming plants and the ecosystem services they provide such as carbon sequestration, it is not well known if these plants will grow on peat soils that have been altered by the process of drainage and management. Therefore, it is important to consider peat quality and hydrology when choosing management options. Mapping of sites is recommended as a management tool to guide actions. The environmental status and socio-economic importance of the sites should be assessed both for continued cultivation but also for other ecosystem services such as restoration and hydrological functions (flood control). Farmers need advice, tools and training to find the best after-use option. Biofuels might provide a cost-efficient after use option for some sites. Peat extraction followed by rewetting might provide a sustainable option as rewetting is often easier if the peat is removed, starting the peat accumulation from scratch. Also this provides a way to finance the after-use. As impacts of land use are uncertain, new policies should consider multiple benefits and decisions should be based on scientific evidence and field scale observations. The need to further understand the key processes and long term effects of field scale land use manipulations is evident. The recommended actions for peatlands should be based on local condition and socio-economic needs to outline intermediate and long term plans.
Abstract
Stand dynamics and the gap initiation prior to gap formation are not well- understood because of its long- term nature and the scarcity of late- successional stands. Reconstruction of such disturbance is normally based on historical records and den-droecological methods. We investigated gap initiation and formation at the fine- scale stand level in the old- growth reserve of Karlshaugen in Norway. Given its long- term conservation history, and thorough mapping in permanent marked plots with spatially referenced trees, it provides an opportunity to present stand development before, during, and after gap formation. Late- successional decline in biomass was recorded after more than 50 years of close to steady state. Gaps in the canopy were mainly cre-ated by large old trees that had been killed by spruce bark beetles. Snapping by wind was the main reason for treefall. Long- term dominance of Norway spruce excluded downy birch and Scots pine from the stand. Comparisons of the forest floor soil prop-erties between the gap and nongap area showed significantly higher concentrations of plant available Ca within the gap area. Plant root simulator (PRS™) probes showed significantly higher supply rates for Ca and Mg, but significantly lower K for the gap compared to the nongap area. Soil water from the gap area had significantly higher C:N ratios compared to the nongap area. Fine- scale variation with increasing distance to logs indicated that CWD is important for leaking of DOC and Ca. Our long- term study from Karlshaugen documents gap dynamics after more than 50 years of steady state and a multiscale disturbance regime in an old- growth forest. The observed dis-turbance dynamic caused higher aboveground and belowground heterogeneity in plots, coarse woody debris, and nutrients. Our study of the nutrient levels of the forest floor suggest that natural gaps of old- growth forest provide a long- lasting biogeo-chemical feedback system particularly with respect to Ca and probably also N. Norway spruce trees near the gap edge responded with high plasticity to reduced competition, showing the importance of the edge zone as hot spots for establishing heterogeneity, but also the potential for carbon sequestration in old- growth forest.
Abstract
Organisms that modify the environment (niche constructors) are likely candidates to mediate the effects of climate warming. Here we assess tundra plant community changes along a temperature gradient and how these are modified in the presence of the common allelopathic dwarf shrub Empetrum nigrum and the large herbivore Rangifer tarandus. We developed a structural equation model based on data from a field-based study of 1450 tundra plant communities across Northern Fennoscandia, covering a temperature gradient of 3.5 °C, contrasting Rangifer densities, a range of Empetrum abundances in addition to gradients in topography and bedrock. We found temperature to be a significant positive predictor of Empetrum, herbaceous and woody plant abundances. However, the effect of temperature as predictor for herbaceous plant abundance was significantly reduced in communities with Empetrum present. For woody plant abundance Empetrum was a stronger predictor than temperature. In comparison, we found Rangifer density to have marginal or no effect on either herbaceous or woody plant abundance. These findings were not modified by either topography or bedrock. Results from this study indicate that herbaceous plant responses to climate warming are currently reduced in communities where Empetrum is present, whereas the abundance of Empetrum and other woody plants is promoted. Results also indicate that any future Empetrum encroachment is likely to drive tundra communities towards slower process rates and lower biodiversity. As such our results substantiate the importance of understanding the dynamics of niche constructor species and include them in predictive models of climate change.
Abstract
Several studies focus on the effects of climate variability on female and male gender relations as perceived through various biophysical and socio-economic aspects. More emphasis is given on the impacts of extreme weather events on rural communities of less developed regions. The results are often interpreted in a qualitative manner through policy measures that may reduce gender inequalities. However, the interpretation of the qualitative results to more crisp and measurable outputs is often not attained while the validation of the findings is rarely ensured. The current study suggests a gender-differentiated impact framework based on qualitative and quantitative components for the assessment of climate variability effects on rural communities in South India. Fifteen villages mostly practicing rice farming in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states were selected as representative drought-prone case studies. The study results advocate that the qualitative outcomes were validated from the quantitative approach but for a few cases which could be attributed to methodological and case-specific differentiations. Policy recommendations are made on common gender trainings in water-resistant crops and livestock activities for the alleviation of drought impact and abatement of gender inequalities. Also, entrepreneurship workshops for women could enhance gender balance and diverse family income from the current sole dependence on farming revenues. Regional climate adaptation programs could be better implemented when the specific features and capacities of local communities are taken into consideration.
Authors
Kimm J.E. van Hulzen Claus J. Scholz Barbara Franke Stephan Ripke Marieke Klein Andrew McQuillin Edmund J.S. Sonuga-Barke John R. Kelsoe Mikael Landén Ole Andreassen Klaus-Peter Lesch Heike Weber Stephen Faraone Alejandro Arias-Vasquez Andreas Reif Søren Dalsgaard Srdjan Djurovic Omar Gustafsson Morten Mattingsdal Ingrid Melle Gunnar Morken Johannes SchumacherAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Kenan Kanlic Belma Kalamujic Naris Pojskic Jasmin Grahic Fuad Gasi Åsmund Asdal Mekjell MelandAbstract
In order to investigate the genetic structure and differentiation among north and south European apple germplasm, 141 apple accessions maintained in ex situ collections in Norway and 110 traditional and international apple accessions from Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) were analyzed using 8 microsatellite markers. Bayesian analyses, based on the microsatellite data, grouped most of the accessions into two major clusters. The first cluster consisted mainly of traditional and international B&H accessions, as well as Norwegian accessions derived mostly from foreign or formal breeding programs (‘James Grieve’, ‘Katja’, ‘Summerred’, ‘Bramleys Seedling’, ‘Elstar’, ‘Katinka’, ‘Belle de Boskoop’, ‘Jacques Lebel’, etc.). The second cluster consisted almost exclusively of traditional Norwegian accessions. Further analyses divided each cluster into two sub-clusters. Cluster 1.1 included Norwegian accessions derived from foreign or commercial breeding programs, international cultivars and B&H accessions introduced from Europe and North America during the rule of Austria-Hungarian Empire. Cluster 1.2 included traditional B&H accessions introduced during the reign of Ottoman Empire. Cluster 2.1 and 2.2 consisted mainly of traditional apple accession from Norway. The results obtained indicate a clear genetic structure and differentiation among north and south European apple germplasm, presumably due to climate adaptation and selection.
Abstract
The number of effective breeders (Nb) and effective population size (Ne) are population parameters reflective of evolutionary potential, susceptibility to stochasticity, and viability. We have estimated these parameters using the linkage disequilibrium-based approach with LDNE through the latest phase of population recovery of the brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Finland (1993–2010; N = 621). This phase of the recovery was recently documented to be associated with major changes in genetic composition. In particular, differentiation between the northern and the southern genetic cluster declined rapidly within 1.5 generations. Based on this, we have studied effects of the changing genetic structure on Nb and Ne, by comparing estimates for whole Finland with the estimates for the two genetic clusters. We expected a potentially strong relationship between estimate sizes and genetic differentiation, which should disappear as the population recovers and clusters merge. Consistent with this, our estimates for whole Finland were lower than the sum of the estimates of the two genetic clusters and both approaches produced similar estimates in the end. Notably, we also found that admixed genotypes strongly increased the estimates. In all analyses, our estimates for Ne were larger than Nb and likely reflective for brown bears of the larger region of Finland and northwestern Russia. Conclusively, we find that neglecting genetic substructure may lead to a massive underestimation of Nb and Ne. Our results also suggest the need for further empirical analysis focusing on individuals with admixed genotypes and their potential high influence on Nb and Ne.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Natural regeneration of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) is a relatively common practice in Norway on medium to low site indices. However, seedling establishment is often hampered by rapid regrowth of competing vegetation in scarified patches. The aim of our study was to examine the effect of coordinating scarification towards an expected seed-fall, by studying germination and seedling establishment in scarified patches of different age (fresh, one- and two-year-old). The experiment was conducted in two stands in southeast Norway that were clear-cut in 2007. Scarification was applied to subplots in autumn 2008–2010. To simulate seed-fall, seeds were sown in fresh scarification patches in spring 2009–2011, in one-year-old patches in 2010 and 2011, and in twoyear- old patches in 2011. Both germination and seedling survival were negatively affected by the age of the scarified patches. Germination was higher, and mortality lower, at the small fern woodland site, compared with the bilberry woodland site. Sowing in fresh patches also resulted in increased height and root collar diameter of the seedlings compared with sowing in older patches. It is likely that the competing vegetation both on the site and in the scarification patches affected the growth of the seedlings. In conclusion, the age of the scarified patches affected both germination and mortality, as well as early growth of the seedlings.