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.
2012
Authors
Jogeir N. StoklandAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
This report has been prepared in the frame of Work Package 3 (Policy) of the Interreg IVB project Bioenergy Promotion. The main rationale of this work package is to support the development of coherent national and (sub)regional policies promoting the sustainable production and consumption of bioenergy. The purpose of the country policy assessment report is to describe the main promotional policies and support schemes for bioenergy and to assess to what extent national policy frameworks contribute to Sustainable Development and integrate related sustainability principles and criteria. At present and in the foreseeable future, the main source of raw materials for bioenergy in Norway is likely to be the forests. However, waste from agriculture, households and industry is another promising source. Investment support needs to be continued, at least at present levels. The main bottlenecks for increased use of bioenergy in Norway are economic, so economic support is necessary. Further development of the standard for sustainable forestry is required, in order to take into account aspects that are not yet covered (see above under Point 3.5). However, there is currently disagreement between the parties to the Living Forests standard, so revision is not likely to take place soon. Current research is being carried out, for example in CenBio and the project “Ecological consequences of increased biomass removal from forests in Norway” on the effects of whole-tree harvesting compared to stem-only harvesting on soil nutrients, carbon stocks, ground vegetation and regeneration). In addition, work is being carried out to study the applicability under Norwegian conditions of the guidelines of other countries such as Sweden, Finland, the UK and Ireland and to prepare preliminary guidelines for Norwegian forestry. There is disagreement on the likely short-term effects of biomass harvesting for bioenergy on carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems (see above under 5.2) and this needs to be further studied. In their present form, the binding EU sustainability criteria for biofuels/bioliquids should not be extended to solid/gaseous biomass used for electricity and heating/cooling. Some changes are necessary to take account of specific conditions e.g. in forestry. For example, it is stated in Point 4 of Article 17 of the Renewable Energy Directive that biofuels and bioliquids shall not be obtained from land that was continuously forested in January 2008 and is no longer continuously forested. It is unclear how this would affect clear-cuts. Also, in Point C7 of Annex V, the 20-year period for calculating carbon stock changes is completely unrealistic for forestry (although this refers to land-use change and it could be argued that felling is not land-use change if the land is used for forest afterwards; this should be clarified). These aspects of the Renewable Energy Directive are already problematic if forest biomass is to be used for biofuels or bioliquids.
2011
Abstract
The species composition of wood-inhabiting fungi (polypores and corticoids) was investigated on 1138 spruce logs and 992 pine logs in 90 managed and 34 natural or near-natural spruce and pine forests in SE Norway. Altogether, the study included 290 species of wood-inhabiting fungi. Comparisons of logs with similar properties (standardized tree species, decay class, dimension class) in natural and managed forests showed a significant reduction in species number per log in managed spruce forests, but not in managed pine forests. The species number per log in managed spruce forests was 10–55% lower than on logs from natural spruce forests. The reduction was strongest on logs of large dimensions. A comparison of 200–400 spruce logs from natural and managed forests showed a 25% reduction in species richness corresponding to a conservative loss of ca. 40 species on a regional scale. A closer inspection revealed that species confined to medium and very decayed spruce logs were disfavored in managed forests, whereas species on early decay classes and decay generalists were unaffected. Similarly, species preferring large spruce logs were disfavored in managed forests. Forest management had strongest impact on low-frequent species in the spruce forests (more than 50% reduction), whereas common species were modestly affected. Corticoid fungi were more adversely affected than polypore fungi. These results indicate that wood-decaying fungi in pine forests are more adapted to forest disturbances than spruce-associated species. Management measures securing a continuous supply of dead wood are more important in spruce forests than in pine forests.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Aims Beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is an important species in natural and managed forests in Europe. This drought-sensitive species dominates even-aged stands as well more natural stands composed of a mixture of tree species, age and size classes. This study evaluates the extent that heterogeneity in spacing and tree diameter affect the seasonal availability and use of water. Methods Two stands were evaluated: 1) a heterogeneous forest remnant (NAT) with trees up to ca. 300 years old, a mean top height of 28.4 m, and a total of 733 stems ha-1 with stem diameters averaging 18 cm and 2) an even-aged 80-year old stand (MAN), with a height of 25 m, and a total of 283 stems ha-1 with diameters averaging 38 cm. Stem sap flow, Js (g m-2 s-1), was continuously measured in 12 (MAN) and 13 (NAT) trees using 20 mm long heat dissipation sensors. Individual tree measures of sap flow were correlated using non-linear statistical methods with air vapour pressure deficit (D, hPa) and global radiation (Rg, J m-2 day-1), along with contraints imposed by reductions in soil water content (SWC). Soil water content was measured as volumetric % using time domain reflectometry. Important findings The daily integrated Js (Js-sum) for trees growing in the evenly spaced MAN stand and trees in canopy and closed forest positions in NAT stand decreased as the availability of soil moisture was reduced. In the heterogeneous NAT stand, SWC in a recently formed canopy gap remained high throughout the vegetation period. Based on regression models, the predicted relative decrease in Js-sum for dry relative to moist soil water conditions in the closed forest (at mean daily D = 10 hPa) was 7-11% for trees near the gap and 39-42% for trees in the closed forest. In MAN the reduction in Js-sum was 29% in dry relative to moist conditions. Js-sum in the outer 20 mm of the xylem in NAT was lower than that in MAN and the rate of decline in Js with xylem depth was less in NAT than in MAN. In MAN, Js-sum in deep and outer xylem was negatively affected at low soil moisture availability; in NAT this was the case for only the outer xylem indicating that deep roots could be important in supplying water at times of low soil moisture in the upper soil.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Gunnhild Søgaard Inger Sundheim Fløistad Aksel Granhus Kjersti Holt Hanssen Harald Kvaalen Tore Skrøppa Arne SteffenremAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
This study is a part of a larger project designed to find out the causes of top dieback symptoms in Norway spruce in SE Norway. Because sapwood tracheids constitute a water transport system while parenchyma serves as a reserve tissue (Sellin, 1991), the separation and quantification of the sapwood and heartwood may contribute to understanding of the healthy tree functioning. As the extent of sapwood is related to tree vitality, it reflects the tree growth, health and effect of environmental factors (Sandberg & Sterley, 2009). Therefore, the sapwood cross-sectional area is widely used as a biometric parameter indicating the tree vitality, although its estimation and evaluation is prone to scaling errors....
Abstract
No abstract has been registered