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NIBIOs ansatte publiserer flere hundre vitenskapelige artikler og forskningsrapporter hvert år. Her finner du referanser og lenker til publikasjoner og andre forsknings- og formidlingsaktiviteter. Samlingen oppdateres løpende med både nytt og historisk materiale. For mer informasjon om NIBIOs publikasjoner, besøk NIBIOs bibliotek.

2016

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Abstract Questions Vegetation mapping based on field surveys is time-consuming and expensive. Distribution modelling might be used to overcome these challenges. What is the performance of distribution modelling of vegetation compared to traditional vegetation mapping when projected locally? Does the modelling performance vary among ecosystems? Does vegetation type distribution and abundance influence the modelling performance? Location Gravfjellet, Øystre Slidre commune, southern Norway. Methods Two comparable neighbouring areas, each of 4 km2, were mapped for species-defined vegetation types. One area was used for model training, the other for model projection. Maximum entropy models were run for six vegetation types, two from each of the ecosystems present in the area: forest, wetland and mountain heath- and shrublands. For each ecosystem, one locally abundant and one locally rare vegetation type were tested. AUC, the area under the receiver operating curve, was used as the model selection criterion. Environmental variables (n = 9) were selected through a backwards selection scheme, and model complexity was kept low. The models were evaluated using independent data. Results Distribution modelling of vegetation types by local projection gave high AUC values, and the results were supported by the evaluation using independent data. The modelling ability was not affected by ecosystem differences. A negative relationship between the number of points used to train the models and the AUC value before evaluation suggests that models for locally rare vegetation types had better predictive performance than the models for abundant types. This result was not significant after evaluation. Conclusion Provided that relevant explanatory variables are available at an appropriate scale, and that field-validated training points are available, distribution modelling can be used for local projection of the six tested vegetation types from the boreal–alpine ecotone.

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Introduced tree species represent a substantial component of urban forests in cities all over the world. Yet there is controversy about the further use of introduced tree species. Many practice orientated publications,research papers and governmental websites in the fields of urban planning, urban forestry, and urban ecology argue for planting native species and avoiding introduced species. Such arguments for native-only species selection are also touted by environmental groups and the media. Consequently the debate has sometimes spiralled away from a sensible and rational platform where invasion risks and biodiversity loss are discussed, to a groundless and unreasonable argument where exotic species are generally considered incapable of providing ecosystem services. From a European perspective, we here aim to curate a set of necessary considerations for current and future discussions on native and non-native plant material in sustainable urban development. Using examples from Northern and Central Europe we illustrate that in some regions the catalogue of native tree species may be too limited to fulfil ecosystem services and resilience in harsh urban environments. A main message from our line of arguments is that we cannot afford to generally exclude non-native tree species from urban greening. If “native-only” approaches become incorporated in regional, national or international policy documents or legislation there is a risk that urban ecosystem resilience will be compromised, particularly in regions with extreme environmental conditions. Since both invasion risks and sizes of native species pools vary conspicuously at regional to continental scales we also argue to adapt urban policies on using non-native trees to regional contexts.

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Tick-borne diseases, such as anaplasmosis and babesiosis, are of major concern for Norwegian sheep farmers. Ticks can be controlled on and off the host, usually with the long-term, high-rotation use of chemicals. Fungal pathogens, predatory mites and ants are thought to be important tick killers in nature. However, the prevalence and diversity of predatory mites in tick habitats has barely been evaluated. It is known that most soil mite species of the cohort Gamasina (order Mesostigmata) are predators. Until now, 220 mesostigmatid species have been reported from Norway, most of them belonging to the Gamasina. One of the first recommended steps in a biological control program involves the determination of the fauna in the pest habitat. The objective of this study was to determine the groups of gamasines co-occurring with I. ricinus in sheep grazing areas in Isfjorden and Tingvoll in Western Norway. A total of 2,900 gamasines of 12 families was collected. The most numerous families were Parasitidae (46.9%) and Veigaiidae (25.7%), whereas the most diverse families were Laelapidae, Macrochelidae, Parasitidae and Zerconidae. Our results showed that the tick density was significantly related only to locality, elevation and rainfall. Differences in the prevailing environmental conditions resulted in more outstanding differences between Gamasina abundances than diversities. Based on our present knowledge of the potential of different gamasine groups as biological control agents, the results suggested that laelapid mites should be among the priority groups to be further evaluated for their role in the natural control of I. ricinus in Norway.