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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.

2009

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Abstract

Genetic parameters were estimated for wood density and spiral grain in two long-term field trials with families of Picea abies (L.) Karst., and for microfibril angle (MfA) and model-predicted wood stiffness (MOEest) at one of the sites. The trials were located at 600-720 m altitude in Norway and the progenies, which were a sample of 13 half-sib families from plus-trees in a breeding population, were 33 years old from seed when measured. Significant genetic variation (p0.05) was found for all wood quality traits. The narrow-sense heritability was estimated to be 0.50 for density (across two sites), 0.38 for MfA, 0.29 for MOEest and 0.37 for spiral grain (across two sites). No significant genotype by environment interactions were found for density or spiral grain (p0.05). Genetic relationships between ring width and wood quality traits were negative for density and MOEest, and positive for MfA. Site index and competition had major effects on wood density and predicted MOEest but not on MfA and spiral grain.

Abstract

The effect of air pollution from the Petchenganickel industrial complex, northwestern part of the Kola Peninsula, on forest vegetation was studied by combining three dormant monitoring networks in Finland, Russia and Norway, comprising a total of 21 plots that were revisited in 2004. Chemical composition of precipitation was monitored during 2004–2005, and indicated continuing high deposition of heavy metals and SO2 in the border area. The cover of epiphytic lichens on the trunks of downy birch (Betula pubescens) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) was severely affected by pollution, and there was also a consistent negative effect on the abundance and richness of lichens and bryophytes on the forest floor in a more limited area. The effects of pollution on crown condition and stand growth were weak or absent. This study is an important reference for evaluating the effects of the planned renovation of the smelter in Nikel.

Abstract

Clonal variation towards resistance has been observed in Norway spruce Heterobasidion annosum s.l. (H.a). H.a. is the main cause of root rot and has a severe economic impact on an economically important conifer tree species. Annual financial losses are in the hundreds of millions of Euros annually. Less susceptible clones appear to have an efficient system of recognizing the pathogen and initiating early defense signalling events. Active defense responses can be started locally and transmitted systemically. This work focus on the expression both spatially (systemically) and temporally in this pathosystem. Two-year-old, somatic saplings of the Norway spruce clone were challenged with H.a., wounded, methyl jasmonate painted and compared to untreated controls and ninety plants were used for the experiment. Stem samples were collected at 1, 3, 6 and 13 days post inoculation (d.p.i). The stem of the saplings were divided into sections along its length and the bark and wood separated from each other at time of collection. In order to see local response an area of 1cm including the site of inoculation was collected, while the spatial (systemic) response was assessed in sections collected at distances of 3 and 6cm away from the site of inoculation. The separated bark and wood were analysed for differential gene expression by qRT-PCR, and the results from peroxidases (PaPX3 and PaPX2) and a chitinase (PaChi4) are presented. Both local and systemic up- and down-regulation were observed at the transcriptional level in both bark and wood, up to 2000 fold local increase in expression was observed for PaChi4.

Abstract

Minirhizotrons, transparent acrylic tubes inserted in the soil, are well suited for long term, non destructive, in situ observations of fine roots. In minirhizotrons, the fine roots are regularly photographed and the root images are visually evaluated according to their status as living, dead or disappeared. This evaluation gives the background for further statistical treatment to estimate the fine root longevity. It is inherent in the minirhizotron technique that a large group of roots will be described as “disappeared” due to grazing, overgrowing by other roots, unclear images or other reasons. Because the fraction of disappeared roots is substantial in some cases, this has consequences for the interpretation of the longevity results. We processed three years of minirhizotron images from Norway spruce stands in southeast Norway (30 yr old) and northern Finland (60 yr old). Of all processed fine roots 32 and 23% was evaluated as disappeared in Norway and Finland, respectively. When roots labelled as disappeared were pooled together with dead ones, the fine root longevity estimates, using the Kaplan Meier method, decreased almost by a factor of two (401 and 433 days), as opposed to labeling them as censored observations (770 and 750 days for Norway and Finland, respectively). Here we demonstrate how the early decision making on the fine root status bears consequences on the resulting longevity estimates. The implications will be discussed