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.
2005
Authors
Axel Schmidt Zeneli Gazmend Ari Hietala Carl Gunnar Fossdal Paal Krokene Erik Christiansen Jonathan GershenzonAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
P. Neville Richard Fischer A.L. Axelsson Dan Aamlid Marco Marchetti T.B. Larsson Annemarie Bastrup-BirkAbstract
The joint network of tree crown condition monitoring under the EU and ICP Forests operates at two levels, a systematic extensive approach (Level I) based on a 16 km x 16 km trans-national grid of sample plots (>6000 plots) and an intensive approach (Level II) on more than 800 plots across continental Europe. Three ongoing projects embrace the different levels of monitoring, the above mentioned Level I and Level II systems, and the National Forest Inventories (NFIs). All of the three projects are based on a stand structure approach that assumes an increased potential for species diversity with increasing complexity of stand structure. An intensive test-phase of forest biodiversity assessment at more than 100 Level II plots, known as ForestBIOTA is underway during 2005. This project aims to test standardized methods of forest biodiversity assessment in the field and examine the relationship between stand structure, forest deadwood, ground vegetation and epiphytic lichens. A forest classification of the plots is also included. A separate approach, known as BioSoil (due to its combination with a detailed chemical inventory of the soils) is a demonstration project which aims to record indicators of forest biodiversity at the extensive Level I plots. Practical measures of stand structure, including records of tree species, lists of vascular plant species, and simple measures of forest deadwood are included for field assessment during 2006. A pan-European forest type classification elaborating on the EUNIS system and including the Natura 2000 habitat types is proposed. These initiatives are linked to a third project, COMON, operating at the level of the National Forest Inventories aiming to test the same core variables at national levels.
Abstract
Intensive monitoring plots of the ICP Forests gathered an amount of data about the ground vegetation in forest ecosystems throughout Europe. Each Country, applying different field techniques, conform to common rules of procedure, under the suggestions of a dedicated Expert Panel which implemented a Unified Coded Flora and comparability targets. Data series are foreseen to contribute to: definition of the forest ecosystem state and changes evaluation; assessment of the specific plant diversity at the ecosystems level. The contribution to scientific knowledge and to Global and Pan-European biodiversity initiatives and networks (ICP-IM, MCPFE, CBD, Forest BIOTA, ALTER-net, etc.) are also underlined. In spite of site-related data, first results (more than 670 plots, with large differences in plant diversity) depict the linkages with temperature, precipitation, dominant tree species and actual soil acidity. Nitrogen deposition seems to have some significant influence, which claims to further studies. Plant data series from ICP Forest’s plot, can be used for on-site confirmation of models including biodiversity k-factors and environment relations.
Authors
Øystein Johnsen Carl Gunnar Fossdal Nina Elisabeth Nagy Jørgen A.B. Mølmann OG Dæhlen Tore SkrøppaAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Fungi cause serious problems in wood utilization, and environmentally benign wood protection is required as an alternative to traditional chemicals. Chitosan has shown promising antimicrobial properties against several microorganisms. In this study, we present the characterization of and antifungal properties of a commercial chitosan formulation developed for impregnation of wood.A broad range of chemical and mycological methods were used to evaluate the uptake, fixation, and antifungal properties of chitosan for wood preservation. The results show that the higher the uptake of chitosan the lower the relative recovery of chitosan in wood after leaching, and the higher the molecular weight of chitosan the higher the recovery.Chitosan with high molecular weight proved to be more efficient against decay fungi than chitosan with low molecular weight. The fungi tested on chitosan-amended nutrient agar medium were totally inhibited at 1% (w/v) concentration.In decay studies using small wood blocks, 4.8% (w/v) chitosan concentration gave the best protection against brown rot fungi.
Abstract
During a period of 2 years and 3 months (1 January 2001 - 20 March 2003) Mycoteam had 3161 consultations in buildings in southern Norway, 1428 revealing damage from decay fungi. One consultation often revealed several occurrences of fungi, and the total number of occurrences of decay fungi was 3434. Thirty-five different species/genera/groups of decay fungi were recorded. During this period brown rot was more frequent (77.4 %) than soft rot (19.2 %) and white rot (3.4 %). Coniophora puteana (16.3 %) and Serpula lacrymans (16 %) were the most frequently identified species. Different species of the genus Antrodia were recorded in 18.4 % of the occurrences, while the group Corticiaceae accounted for 5.7 % and soft rot for 15.8 %. Investigations of damaged structural parts of buildings showed that decay fungi were most common in walls (18.3 %). Floor damage accounted for 13.4 % of the damaged structures and roofs for 8.8 %. Nearly all species and groups of the investigated fungi were most common indoors. Gloeophyllum sepiarium on the other hand was most common outdoors, and Dacrymyces stillatus was exclusively found outdoors. The Norwegian data were compared with published time series data from Denmark (1946-66, 1966-71, 1974-75, 1982) and Finland (1978-84, 1985-88). S. lacrymans and C. puteana were the most frequent species in these datasets too. Antrodia spp. were also common in the Finnish reports, but barely recorded (as identified species) in Denmark. In both the Danish and the Finnish data, damage to floors is the most frequently recorded structural damage in buildings.
2004
Authors
Nina Elisabeth Nagy Carl Gunnar Fossdal Paal Krokene Trygve Krekling Anders Lönneberg Anders Lønneborg Halvor SolheimAbstract
Polyphenolic parenchyma cells (PP cells) in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stem phloem play important roles in constitutive and inducible defenses. To determine whether anatomical and molecular changes in PP cells are correlated with tree resistance, we infected two Norway spruce clones with the pathogenic fungus Ceratocystis polonica (Siem.) C. Moreau. The fungus induced significantly different lesion lengths in the two clones, indicating that one clone was more resistant to the fungus (short lesions) than the other (long lesions). After infection, the cross-sectional area of PP cells and their vacuolar polyphenol bodies increased in the three most recent annual rings of PP cells in both clones. The more resistant clone had larger PP cells with denser polyphenol bodies than the less resistant clone, whereas the less resistant clone accumulated relatively more polyphenols after infection. Compared with the less resistant clone, the more resistant clone contained higher starch concentrations before infection that were reduced more quickly after infection before returning to original values. Low transcript levels of chalcone synthase were detected in uninfected tissues of both clones, but the levels increased dramatically after infection. Transcript levels were higher and peaked 6 days earlier in the more resistant clone than in the less resistant clone. The activity of at least one highly basic peroxidase isoform was greatly enhanced after infection, and this increase occurred earlier in the more resistant clone.
Abstract
Short description of fungal pathogens found on plum fruits in Norway.
Abstract
Pathogen colonization and transcript levels of three host chitinases,putatively representing classes I, II, and IV, were monitored with real-time PCR after wounding and bark infection by Heterobasidion annosum in 32-year-old trees of Norway spruce (Picea abies) with low (clone 409) or high (clone 589) resistance to this pathogen. Three days after inoculation, comparable colonization levels were observed in both clones in the area immediately adjacent to inoculation. At 14 days after infection, pathogen colonization was restricted to the area immediately adjacent to the site of inoculation for clone 589 but had progressed further into the host tissue in clone 409. Transcript levels of the class II and IV chitinases increased after wounding or inoculation, but the transcript level of the class I chitinase declined after these treatments. Transcript levels of the class II and class IV chitinases were higher in areas immediately adjacent to the inoculation site in clone 589 than in similar sites in clone 409 3 days after inoculation. This difference was even more pronounced 2 to 6 mm away from the inoculation point, where no infection was yet established, and suggests that the clones differ in the rate of chitinase-related signal perception or transduction. At 14 days after inoculation, these transcript levels were higher in clone 409 than in clone 589, suggesting that the massive upregulation of class II and IV chitinases after the establishment of infection comes too late to reduce or prevent pathogen colonization.