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.
2016
Abstract
Winching is common in small-scale forest operations, especially on steep slopes, where tractors cannot reach the logs inside the forest. In this case, logs are dragged to the roadside with tractor-mounted winches, for later collection by transportation units. Winching is a heavy task, posing a high physiological stress on winching crew members. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between experienced workload, work conditions and operator fitness. The study confirmed the assumption that fit, young operators experience a lower workload than older ones. Workload depends on winching direction, and it is higher when winching downhill than when winching uphill. Results confirmed that gravity is the main factor, and it has a stronger effect than task type and tool weight. Walking uphill with no tools is heavier than walking downhill and carrying a steel cable. As a consequence, tool weight reduction can only palliate the problem, without solving it. Winching crews should be composed of fit, young workers. When the task is assigned to older workers, it is necessary to allow longer rest breaks, accepting a lower productivity. Keywords: steep terrain, winching, workload, heart rate
Authors
Zabron Cuthibert Nziku Leif Jarle Asheim Lars Olav Eik D. Mwaseba George C. KifaroAbstract
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Authors
Louise C. Ross Gunnar Austrheim Leif Jarle Asheim Gunnar Bjarnason Jon Feilberg Anna Maria Fosaa Alison J. Hester Øystein Holand Ingibjörg S Jónsdóttir Lis E. Mortensen Atle Mysterud Erla Olsen Anders Skonhoft James David Mervyn Speed Geir Steinheim Des B.A. Thompson Anna G. ThorhallsdottirAbstract
Sheep grazing is an important part of agriculture in the North Atlantic region, defined here as the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Scotland. This process has played a key role in shaping the landscape and biodiversity of the region, sometimes with major environmental consequences, and has also been instrumental in the development of its rural economy and culture. In this review, we present results of the first interdisciplinary study taking a long-term perspective on sheep management, resource economy and the ecological impacts of sheep grazing, showing that sustainability boundaries are most likely to be exceeded in fragile environments where financial support is linked to the number of sheep produced. The sustainability of sheep grazing can be enhanced by a management regime that promotes grazing densities appropriate to the site and supported by area-based subsidy systems, thus minimizing environmental degradation, encouraging biodiversity and preserving the integrity of ecosystem processes.
Abstract
In a landscape of fragmented private ownership, the need to coordinate game management across large areas presents challenges for landowners and public agencies alike. This paper describes how a recent reorganization of moose management in Norway achieves landscape-level planning while maintaining a tradition of local management by hunting teams. These two seemingly contradictory imperatives – coordinating wildlife management across large areas while keeping benefits and control in the hands of local resource users – are resolved through a nesting of management institutions, wherein the state serves a regulatory function and mid-level government (the county) serves to facilitate inter-local cooperation. This paper documents how the system is structured and describes the balance of incentives that enable the system to work. Information was gathered via interviews with staff at the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management (now called the Norwegian Environment Agency), with wildlife management officials at the municipal level, with hunters, and from the most recent regulatory documents.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Leif Jarle Asheim Julie Føske Johnsen Øystein Havrevoll Cecilie Marie Mejdell Ann Margaret GrøndahlAbstract
The study examines the economics of different calf rearing systems and considers effects of suckling and milk feeding on production, health and welfare of dairy cows and growth, milk and feed use, health and welfare of calves. The economics of (i) no suckling, (ii) suckling for 3 days, (iii) suckling for 7 weeks, all assuming milk or milk replacer fed until weaning at 13 weeks, was compared with (iv) suckling for 13 weeks and no milk feeding. A linear programming (LP) model, maximizing profit on a dual purpose dairy-beef farm in lowland eastern Norway, was used for the comparison. Details on calf rearing methods, labor, weaning age, intake of milk, and solid feed were gathered for a sample of organic farms and grouped according to the length of the suckling period. The data were coupled with the National Dairy Herd Recording System (NDHRS) using cross-sectional data for the years 2008–2013. The results of the model study showed that suck- ling up to at least 7 weeks and longer than on most farms in the survey, had a positive influence on the farm economics. This was due to the positive influence on calf growth and health as well as lowered costs. Consequently, dual purpose dairy-beef farmers should be careful to sacrifice calf suckling and restrict calf milk feeding. Long suckling until weaning at 13 weeks was, however, unprofitable.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
2015
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Anna Birgitte MilfordAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Frode VeggelandAbstract
No abstract has been registered