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.
2021
Authors
Alexander Kopatz Oddmund Kleven Ilpo Kojola Jouni Aspi Anita J. Norman Göran Spong Niklas Gyllenstrand Love Dalén Ida Marie Bardalen Fløystad Snorre Hagen Jonas Kindberg Øystein FlagstadAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Alexander Kopatz Oddmund Kleven Ilpo Kojola Jouni Aspi Anita J. Norman Göran Spong Niclas Gyllenstrand Love Dalén Ida Marie Bardalen Fløystad Snorre Hagen Jonas Kindberg Øystein FlagstadAbstract
Knowledge about the connectivity among natural populations is essential to identify management units for effective conservation actions. Conservation-minded management has led to the recovery of large carnivore populations in northern Europe, possibly restoring connectivity between the two separated, but expanding brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations on the Scandinavian peninsula to the west and Karelia, a part of the large Eurasian population, to the east. The degree of connectivity between these populations has been poorly understood, therefore we investigated the extent of connectivity between the two populations using autosomal microsatellites and Y chromosome haplotypes in 924 male bears (the dispersing sex), sampled during a period of 12 years (2005–2017) across the transborder area where these two populations meet. Our results showed that the two populations are not genetically isolated as reported in earlier studies. We detected recent asymmetrical gene flow at a rate (individuals per generation) of 4.6–5.5 (1%) from Karelia into Scandinavia, whereas the rate was approximately 27.1–34.5 (8%) in the opposite direction. We estimated historical gene flow of effective number of migrants to be between 1.7 and 2.5 between the populations. Analyses of Y chromosome markers supported these results. Successful recovery and expansion of both populations led to the restoration of connectivity, however, it is asymmetric, possibly due to different recovery histories and population densities. By aligning monitoring between neighboring countries, we were able to better understand the biological processes across the relevant spatial scale. Brown bear Genetic structure Male gene flow Microsatellites Migration Recovery Ursus arctos Wildlife monitoring Y chromosome
Abstract
This study describes microbial and chemical source tracking approaches for water pollution in rural and urban catchments. Culturable faecal indicator bacteria, represented by Escherichia coli, were quantified. Microbial source tracking (MST) using host-specific DNA markers was applied to identify the origins of faecal contamination. Chemical source tracking (CST) was conducted to determine contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) of human/anthropogenic origin, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In addition, the eutrophication-causing macronutrients nitrogen and phosphorus were studied. MST tests revealed both anthropogenic and zoogenic faecal origins, with a dominance of human sources in the urban stream; non-human/environmental sources were prevalent in the rural creek. CST analyses revealed a higher number of CECs in the urban stream than in the rural watercourse. Positive correlations between PPCPs and both E. coli and the human DNA marker were uncovered in the urban stream, while in the rural creek, PPCPs were only highly correlated with the anthropogenic marker. Interestingly, macronutrients were strongly associated with primary faecal pollution origins in both watercourses. This correlation pattern determines the main pollutant contributors (anthropogenic or zoogenic) to eutrophication.
Abstract
Wastewater (WW) has been widely recognized as the major sink of a variety of emerging pathogens (EPs), antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), which may disseminate and impact wider environments. Improving and maximizing WW treatment efficiency to remove these microbial hazards is fundamentally imperative. Despite a variety of physical, biological and chemical treatment technologies, the efficiency of ARG removal is still far from satisfactory. Within our recently accomplished M-ERA.NET project, novel functionalized nanomaterials, i.e., molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) films and quaternary ammonium salt (QAS) modified kaolin microparticles, were developed and demonstrated to have significant EP removal effectiveness on both Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) and Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) from WW. As a continuation of this project, we took the further step of exploring their ARG mitigation potential. Strikingly, by applying MIP and QAS functionalized kaolin microparticles in tandem, the ARGs prevalent in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), e.g., blaCTXM, ermB and qnrS, can be drastically reduced by 2.7, 3.9 and 4.9 log (copies/100 mL), respectively, whereas sul1, tetO and mecA can be eliminated below their detection limits. In terms of class I integron-integrase I (intI1), a mobile genetic element (MGE) for horizontal gene transfer (HGT), 4.3 log (copies/100 mL) reduction was achieved. Overall, the novel nanomaterials exhibit outstanding performance on attenuating ARGs in WW, being superior to their control references. This finding provides additional merit to the application of developed nanomaterials for WW purification towards ARG elimination, in addition to the proven bactericidal effect.
Abstract
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Abstract
Biochar-based fertilizer products (BCF) are receiving increasing attention as potential win-win solutions for mitigating climate change and improving agricultural production. BCFs are reported to increase yields through increased N use efficiency, an effect which is often assumed to result from the slow-release of adsorbed N forms into the soil. Here, we review the magnitude of this effect, the potential for further improvement and the need to consider other mechanisms in product development. Current high-N commercial BCFs are mostly physical blends of biochar and mineral fertilizer, with little evidence of slow-release effects supported by sorption mechanisms. For such products, the main effect potentially results from root-growth promoting factors and from increases in soil pH and Eh and stimulation of beneficial micro-organisms in the rhizosphere, which all result in an increase in uptake of specific nutrients. Our reanalysis of literature data indicates that the median sorption capacity of untreated biochar for mineral N forms requires applying 200 times more biochar than N fertilizer. This ratio needs reducing by at least an order of magnitude for producing efficient sorption-based BCFs. Activation of biochar with acids and oxidizing agents, as reported in many studies, appears to only marginally increase sorption capacity in absolute values. Fixation of clay and organics within the porous structure of biochar appears a more promising technology, suggesting that macro- and mesoporosity is a key biochar property that deserves greater scrutiny and research towards making efficient sorption-based BCFs. Mechanisms of action and dose responses need to be more systematically studied in order to devise products that combine positive effects and can be used within realistic agronomic management practices. Long-term effects resulting from accumulated annual inputs of BCF also need to be better evaluated in terms of nutrient cycling and the progressive improvement of soil health.
Authors
Alexandre Tisserant Marjorie Morales Otávio Cavalett Adam O'Toole Simon Weldon Daniel Rasse Francesco CherubiniAbstract
Limiting temperature rise below 2 °C requires large deployment of Negative Emission Technologies (NET) to capture and store atmospheric CO2. Compared to other types of NETs, biochar has emerged as a mature option to store carbon in soils while providing several co-benefits and limited trade-offs. Existing life-cycle assessment studies of biochar systems mostly focus on climate impacts from greenhouse gasses (GHGs), while other forcing agents, effects on soil emissions, other impact categories, and the implications of a large-scale national deployment are rarely jointly considered. Here, we consider all these aspects and quantify the environmental impacts of application to agricultural soils of biochar from forest residues available in Norway considering different scenarios (including mixing of biochar with synthetic fertilizers and bio-oil sequestration for long-term storage). All the biochar scenarios deliver negative emissions under a life-cycle perspective, ranging from -1.72 ± 0.45 tonnes CO2-eq. ha−1 yr−1 to -7.18 ± 0.67 tonnes CO2-eq. ha−1 yr−1 (when bio-oil is sequestered). Estimated negative emissions are robust to multiple climate metrics and a large range of uncertainties tested with a Monte-Carlo analysis. Co-benefits exist with crop yields, stratospheric ozone depletion and marine eutrophication, but potential trade-offs occur with tropospheric ozone formation, fine particulate formation, terrestrial acidification and ecotoxicity. At a national level, biochar has the potential to offset between 13% and 40% of the GHG emissions from the Norwegian agricultural sector. Overall, our study shows the importance of integrating emissions from the supply chain with those from agricultural soils to estimate mitigation potentials of biochar in specific regional contexts.
Authors
Sophie Zechmeister-Boltenstern Arezoo Taghizadeh-toosi Maria Knadel, Trine Nørgaard Emmanuel Arthur Johannes Lund Jensen Mansonia Pulido-Moncada Chiara de Notaris Lars J. Munkholm Julia Fohrafellner Julia Miloczki Erich Inselsbacher Martina Kasper Maarten De Boever Peter Maenhout Brieuc Hardy Lenka Pavlů Mansonia Pulido-Moncada Arezoo TaghizadehToosi Mika Tutunen Nils Borchard Eloïse Mason Daria Seitz Axel Don Peter Laszlo Béla Pirkó Eszter Tóth Lilian O’Sullivan David Wall Sergio Pellegrini Raimonds Kasparinskis Žydrė Kadžiulienė Wieke Vervuurt Frederik Bøe Kamilla Skaalsveen Teresa Gómez de la Bárcena Jannes Stolte Grzegorz Siebielec Nádia Castanheira Corina Carranca Maria Gonçalves Michal Sviček Rok Mihelič Sara Mavsar Benjamin Sanchez Diego Intrigliolo Katharina Meurer Olivier Heller Sevinc Madenoglu Dario Fornara Alex Higgins Suzanne Higgins Jill MellonEditors
Lars J. MunkholmAbstract
No abstract has been registered