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.
2025
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Urban agriculture is often considered a tool to increase the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cities and city food systems. However, sustainability is difficult to measure, resulting in debate about how sustainable urban agriculture truly is. There is therefore a lack of incentive to promote urban agriculture or protect existing initiatives that are threatened by development pressure on urban land. Monitoring the sustainability impact of urban agriculture could provide evidence and enable politicians and decision makers to make informed decisions about whether and where to prioritise different forms of urban agriculture above competing interests. We used case examples from five European cities to identify the challenges involved in monitoring urban agriculture, from selecting indicators and gathering data, to using the results. We found large differences in approach in terms of what topics to monitor and who was responsible, who gathered the data and when, what data was recorded and how they were stored, and how findings were disseminated or published. Based on these experiences, we recommend stronger involvement of existing interest groups and educational institutions in monitoring urban agriculture, and promotion of convenient tools for data collection by citizen science and for long-term data storage.
Abstract
We used a survey to investigate the effects of personality, motives, and socioeconomics for drinking hard cider among 3,373 Norwegian respondents in 2023. Wine interest, cultural interest, having a high score on conspicuous attitude, or being female increased the predicted consumption frequencies of hard cider. Scoring high on the taste index, being a conscientious respondent, being older, higher educated, or believing religion is important reduced the predicted frequencies. The estimated effects were compared with the corresponding effects for red, white, and sparkling wines. Cultural interest and wine interest are the main motives for hard cider and all categories of wine.
Authors
Lone RossAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Wendy Wuyts Nhat Strøm-Andersen Shumaila Khatri Arild Eriksen Per F. Jørgensen Arild Øvergaard Emil Rygh Angelica Kveen Alexander Mertens Jannicke Stadaas Inger Gamme Veronique Vasseur Anders Q. Nyrud Kristine NoreAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
This study investigates food neophobia as a potential barrier to the use of unconventional fertilizers, such as fish sludge and human waste, in food production. Using data from Norway, the study estimates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for lettuce grown with these fertilizers. Results from the random effect interval regression model show that, on average, consumers are willing to pay 8 % more for conventional lettuce compared to lettuce grown with fish sludge and 13 % more for lettuce grown with human waste. However, between 40 % and 50 % of respondents accepted lettuce produced with unconventional fertilizers and were not willing to pay more for conventional lettuce compared to these alternatives. Key factors influencing WTP include gender, the presence of children in the household, and food neophobia. These findings suggest that food neophobia and socio-demographic factors can significantly impact consumer acceptance of sustainable agricultural practices. Targeted communication strategies focusing on food safety, environmental sustainability, and the benefits of nutrient recycling are needed to foster broader public acceptance and support for recycled waste in agriculture.
Authors
Lisa Fagerli Lunde Tone Birkemoe Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson Johan Asplund Rune Halvorsen O. Janne Kjønaas Jenni Nordén Sundy Maurice Inger Skrede Line Nybakken Håvard KauserudAbstract
Boreal forests are important carbon sinks and host a diverse array of species that provide important ecosystem functions.Boreal forests have a long history of intensive forestry, in which even-aged management with clear-cutting has been thedominant harvesting practice for the past 50–80 years. As a second cycle of clear-cutting is emerging, there is an urgentneed to examine the effects of repeated clear-cutting events on biodiversity. Clear-cutting has led to reduced numbers ofold and large trees, decreased volumes of dead wood of varied decay stages and diameters, and altered physical andchemical compositions of soils. The old-growth boreal forest has been fragmented and considerably reduced. Here,we review short- and long-term (≥50 years) effects of clear-cutting on boreal forest biodiversity in four key substrates:living trees, dead wood, ground and soil. We then assess landscape-level changes (habitat fragmentation and edge effects)on this biodiversity. There is evidence for long-term community changes af
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Understanding long-term effects of clear-cutting on current soil carbon (C) fluxes in boreal forests is important in the perspective of global C cycling and future forest management decisions. We studied twelve pairs of forest stands in South-Eastern Norway, each comprised of one previously clear-cut stand and one near-natural stand with similar macroclimate, topography and soil properties. We measured aboveground tree litterfall continuously during two consecutive years and soil respiration fluxes monthly during the snow-free period of one year. Ground vegetation litterfall was estimated from destructive biomass sampling. The previously clear-cut stands had on average 12 % higher annual soil respiration rates, 20 % greater tree litterfall, and tended to have greater total aboveground litterfall (12 %), while the near-natural stands had greater litterfall from ground vegetation (45 %). Litterfall from ground vegetation was strongly linked with below-canopy light transmission, but the contribution of this flux to the total aboveground litterfall was minor. Soil respiration rates were related to microclimate, nitrogen concentration in aboveground tree litter and tree basal area. Though, only basal area could be linked to management type differences in soil respiration, that likely has additional unidentified drivers. We found similar temperature sensitivities of soil respiration in the two management types. We emphasise that age of the dominating trees is an integrated part of the differences between these two types of forest stands. Jointly, our results suggest limited differences in the current net soil C balance of near-natural and previously clear-cut stands.