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.
2011
Authors
Robin Engler Christophe E. Randin Wilfred Thuiller Stefan Dullinger Niklaus E Zimmermann Miguel B. Araujo Peter B. Pearman Gwenaëlle Le Lay Christian Piedallu Cécile H. Albert Philippe Choler Georghe Coldea Xavier De Lamo Thomas Dirnböck Jean-Claude Gegout Daniel Gómez-García John-Arvid Grytnes Einar Heegaard Fride Høistad Schei David Nogues-Bravo Signe Normand Mihai Puscas Maria Teresa Sebastia Angela Stanisci Jean-Philippe Theurillat Mandar R. Trivedi Pascal Vittoz Antoine GuisanAbstract
Continental-scale assessments of 21st century global impacts of climate change on biodiversity have forecasted range contractions for many species. These coarse resolution studies are, however, of limited relevance for projecting risks to biodiversity in mountain systems, where pronounced microclimatic variation could allow species to persist locally, and are ill-suited for assessment of species-specific threat in particular regions. Here, we assess the impacts of climate change on 2632 plant species across all major European mountain ranges, using high-resolution (ca. 100 m) species samples and data expressing four future climate scenarios. Projected habitat loss is greater for species distributed at higher elevations; depending on the climate scenario, we find 36–55% of alpine species, 31–51% of subalpine species and 19–46% of montane species lose more than 80% of their suitable habitat by 2070–2100. While our high-resolution analyses consistently indicate marked levels of threat to cold-adapted mountain florae across Europe, they also reveal unequal distribution of this threat across the various mountain ranges. Impacts on florae from regions projected to undergo increased warming accompanied by decreased precipitation, such as the Pyrenees and the Eastern Austrian Alps, will likely be greater than on florae in regions where the increase in temperature is less pronounced and rainfall increases concomitantly, such as in the Norwegian Scandes and the Scottish Highlands. This suggests that change in precipitation, not only warming, plays an important role in determining the potential impacts of climate change on vegetation.
Authors
Fride Høistad ScheiAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Wood as a hygroscopic material gains or loses moisture with changes in climate of the surrounding air. The moisture content influences strength properties, hardness, durability and machinability. Therefore the hygroscopicity is a very important property, last but not least for economic factors. Below fibre saturation, a change in moisture content causes shrinkage or swelling and anisotropic behaviour can be seen in the different growth directions. For a better understanding of the sorption behaviour of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) the variation between different adsorption and desorption curves has been investigated. Trees from 25 different sites in Northern Europe were collected and 3651 samples (1510 heartwood- and 2141 sapwood-samples) measuring 5 (T) x 10 (R) x 30 (L) mm were obtained. The sorption isotherms for all specimens were measured at 25 °C at relative humidities of 15, 35, 55, 75 and 95 % for both desorption and adsorption. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of raw material variability on the sorption behaviour of Scots pine. Due to the different growing conditions, densities and wooden material (heart or sapwood) variations within the sample groups have been found. Correlations between moisture and density respectively latitude were investigated.
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No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
Authors
Kjell Andreassen Bernt-Håvard ØyenAbstract
Fourteen Nordic increment functions have been validated by use of with a test data set from long-term research plots in Norway of even-aged, pure stands of Scots pine, Birch and Norway spruce. In selected functions from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden measures of site productivity, mean tree size and various stand characteristics are represented. Different models display both strengths and weaknesses in their predicting ability. Some measures of precision and bias have been calculated and the functions are ranked due to their performance. Basal area increment models for spruce and pine from Sweden, and a Finish volume increment model for birch has the best fit to the Norwegian test data. Some of the growth models developed outside Norway estimate the growth with about the same accuracy as the models frequently used and developed in Norway. The results indicate that forest conditions and traditional even-aged forest management practice in the Nordic countries seem to have small influence on the relative growth of even-aged stands. By careful recalibration of existing functions from other Nordic countries with data from Norway, a reasonable accuracy could be achieved in Norwegian forest with a reduction of the bias.
Authors
Bruce Talbot Morten NittebergAbstract
In the coastal region of Norway, large volumes of relatively inaccessible plantation timber are maturing for harvest. The economic feasibility of accessing much of this timber has limited the level of harvesting activity considerably. Harvesting planners are faced with the classic dilemma of finding the appropriate level of investment in infrastructure, as against inoptimal transportation. In this paper, we present results from a simple deterministic simulation carried out to illustrate the efficiency frontiers of three transport methods, one of which requires a substantial investment in road upgrading. Results depend on assumptions made, but clearly show that in these conditions, upgrading roads for truck+trailer transport should be evaluated on a cases by case basis. Forest road length and condition, public road distance to conversion site, and investment level all play important roles in the decision structure. In the coastal regions, road upgrades would generally need to be justified by benefits other than timber harvesting alone.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
2010
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Abstract
No abstract has been registered