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.
2022
Authors
Trine Eggen Heidi Amlund Robert Barneveld Aksel Bernhoft Gunnar Sundstøl Eriksen Belinda Eline Flem Torsten Källqvist Line Emilie Tvedt Sverdrup Stefan Trapp Anne Falk Øgaard Christiane Kruse Fæste Erik Jan Robert Lock Einar Ringø Håvard Steinshamn Robin Ørnsrud Åshild KrogdahlAbstract
Key words: VKM, risk assessment, Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment, Norwegian Environment Agency, potential toxic elements (PTEs), fertiliser, soil improver, fertiliser products, growing media, circular economy, circulation of organic fertilisers, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium Cr(tot) (Cr(III) and Cr(VI)), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn). Background and purpose of the report The potentially toxic elements (PTE) arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium Cr(tot) (Cr(III) and Cr(VI)), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) occur as ingredients or contaminants in many fertilisers, soil improvers, engineered soil and growing media. Application of these fertiliser products might represent a risk towards the environment, farm animals and humans, particularly when applied annually over several years. The present risk assessment evaluates the application of selected fertilisers according to certain scenarios for representative Norwegian agricultural areas, from Troms in the North to Ås in Southeastern and Time in Southwestern Norway, with different soil properties, precipitation and PTE concentration in present agricultural soil. There is an increasing trend to produce locally (e.g. in urban farming) and home-grown vegetables that are cultivated in engineered soil and growth media. The maximum levels (MLs) set for PTEs in different organic fertilisers, engineered soil and growing media for use in urban farming, home growing and the cultivation of vegetables and garden fruits, and a set of MLs also for application in agricultural cultivation of crops, have been evaluated. Environmental fate processes and the transfer of PTEs have been modelled and the environmental risks for terrestrial and aquatic organisms, including from secondary poisoning have been estimated. Potential risks to humans and farmed animals by increased exposure to PTEs from, respectively, agriculturally produced crops, vegetables cultivated at home and urban farming or forage and grazing have been evaluated. The recycling of nutrients is urgently needed to achieve circular economy, but the derived sustainable products have to be safe, which requires the introduction of and adherence to science-based maximum levels of unwanted substances (e.g. pollutants). This assessment evaluates consequences of the application of different fertiliser products: mineral P fertilisers, manure from cattle, pig, poultry and horse, fish sludge, digestates and sewage sludge - in order to identify PTE sources with potential environmental, animal and human health risks, and to evaluate the appropriateness of the current MLs regarding different applications of organic-based fertilisers, engineered soil and growing media at present, and in a 100-year perspective. Approach and methods applied The approach for environmental and health risk assessments builds on previous work performed for hazardous substances in soil (e.g. VKM 2019, VKM 2014, VKM, 2009, Six and Smolders, 2014). Concentrations of PTEs in soil over time were calculated using a mass balance model, which considers the input by atmospheric deposition, use of fertilisers and soil improvers, as well as loss by leaching, run-off and plant uptake. The resulting first-order differential equation was solved analytically and implemented into Excel®. Run-off and loss by leaching were estimated from data on precipitation, infiltrating fraction and run-off fraction of the water under consideration of the distribution coefficient Kd for the concentration ratio of bulk soil-to-water. This Kd value takes aging sufficiently into account and is thus more realistic than those derived from batch tests. The Kd was estimated separately for each region using established regression equations, with soil pH, organic matter content and clay content as predictors. ...........
Authors
Siv Mari Aurdal Bente Føreid Trine Aulstad Sogn Trond Børresen Trine Hvoslef-Eide Siv Fagertun RembergAbstract
Purpose: Due to environmental concerns, there is a demand to reduce the use of peat as a growing medium for horticultural crops. Simultaneously, there is an interest to recycle organic waste materials in the form of compost. This study aimed to document effects on growth, yield, and fruit quality of tomato plants when cultivated in a sewage digestate-based compost in a subirrigation container system. Materials and methods: The compost used in this experiment consisted of 30% hygienised sewage digestate from biogas extraction and 70% garden waste. The treatments were 100% compost, a peat mix and mixtures of the two in 25/75, 50/50 and 75/25 ratios. Results and conclusion: Considering the contrast in chemical and physical properties of the treatments, variations in growth, yield and quality were expected. The plants differed in leaf area and number of leaves, but there were no differences in yield or quality of the tomato fruits. It is assumed that this is in great part due to the remediating effects of subirrigation with an ideal nutrient solution, and the use of pre-established plants. Further research should focus on benefits of this cultivation system for use in sustainable horticulture in combination with recycled organic waste.
Abstract
Three strains of chlorophyte microalgae indigenous in Norway were studied regarding their potential for nutrient removal and resource recovery from wastewater. The nutrient uptake, growth, and cell composition (total proteins and carbohydrates) were monitored under a controlled batch environment for 14 days. Additionally, the fatty acids were analyzed at the end of the study. The fastest nutrient removal was achieved by Lobochlamys segnis F12 that used up NH4+ (28 mg L-1) and PO43- (15 mg L-1) after 4 days. Similar PO43- uptake was achieved by Tetradesmus wisconsinensis H1 while its NH4+ uptake took 2 days longer. Both strains showed a higher specific growth rate (1.1 day-1) than Klebsormidium flaccidum NIVA-CHL80 (0.55 day-1). The highest biomass (1.276 ± 21 mg L-1) and carbohydrates content (40%) were achieved by T. wisconsinensis. K. flaccidum was characterized by superior protein content (53 ± 4%). In terms of total fatty acids production both K. flaccidum and L. segnis were favored (184 ± 6 and 193 ± 12 mg g-1 dry cells), especially with their high polyunsaturated fatty acid content (82 and 67%, respectively). The fatty acids of K. flaccidum consisted mainly C18:2 n-6 (73% of the total). L. segnis had a preferable n3 to n6 ratio (1.3) in their fatty acid profile. The proteins and carbohydrates content changed in all strains depending on the growth stage. Therefore, resource recovery scenarios could be further optimized for a specific cell component production combined with an appropriate strategy for nutrient removal from wastewater.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Anders AasAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Karin Juul Hesselsøe Tatsiana Espevig Erik Lysøe Christian Spring Marina Usoltseva Ingeborg Menzler-HokkanenAbstract
Denne rapporten oppsummerer foreløpige resultater fra 2020 i IPM-Golf-prosjektet "Ingergrated Management of Important Turfgrass Diseases and Insect Pests on European Golf-Courses" Feltforsøk på Microdochium flekk ble utført i Landvik, Norge og Bingley, Storbritannia. På Landvik viste resultatene at rulling ved lav N og sitronsyre, tilført fra aug.-okt. kan redusere Microdochium flekk til en viss grad blant de ikke-kjemiske behandlingene. Høy N resulterte i mer Mikrodochium flekk, men mindre antraknose. På Bingley viste resultatene at behandlingene som inneholder jernsulfat spesielt høyt jern, lyktes med å kontrollere sykdommen, men effekten varte ikke gjennom vinteren. Feltforsøkene ved Kjøpenhavns Golf Club viste at rulling to ganger i uken forbedret kvaliteten på greens gjennom vekstsesongen og at reduksjon av Microdochium flekk ble oppnådd ved å rulle fra august til desember. Feltforsøkene med UV-C-stråling ved Osnabrück Golf Club viste at denne metoden kunne kontrollere, men ikke bekjempe fullstendig dollar spot. Litteraturgjennomgangen om myrstankelbein og hageoldenborre viste at problemene varierer sterkt mellom år og de ulike landene.
Abstract
In a fertiliser experiment in a Norway spruce forest in SE Norway, four treatments were applied in a block design with three replicates per treatment. Treatments included 3 t wood ash ha−1 (Ash), 150 kg nitrogen ha−1 (N), wood ash and nitrogen combined (Ash + N), and unfertilised control (Ctrl). Treatment effects on understory plant species numbers, single abundances of species and (summarised) cover of main species groups were studied. Two years after treatment there were no significant changes for species numbers or abundances of woody species, dwarf shrubs or pteridophytes, nor for Sphagnum spp. in the bottom layer. The cover of graminoids decreased in Ctrl plots. Herb cover increased significantly in Ash + N and N plots due to the increase of Melampyrum sylvaticum. In Ash + N plots, mosses decreased significantly in species number, while their cover increased. Moss cover also decreased significantly in N plots. The species number and cover of hepatics decreased significantly in Ash and Ash + N plots. Hepatics cover also decreased in Ctrl plots. Both the lichen number and cover decreased in Ash + N plots. Single species abundances decreased for many bryophytes in fertilised plots. To conclude, fertilisation had modest effects on vascular plants, while bryophytes were more strongly affected, especially by Ash + N.
Authors
Yong Q. Tian Qian Yu Hunter J. Carrick Brian L. Becker Remegio Confesor Mark Francek Olivia C. AndersonAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Haley Kujawa Margaret Kalcic Jay Martin Anna Apostel Jeffrey Kast Asmita Murumkar Grey Evenson Noel Aloysius Richard Becker Chelsie Boles Remegio Confesor Awoke Dagnew Tian Guo Rebecca Logsdon Muenich Todd Redder Yu-Chen Wang Donald ScaviaAbstract
This study investigates the combined impacts of climate change and agricultural conservation on the magnitude and uncertainty of nutrient loadings in the Maumee River Watershed, the second-largest watershed of the Laurentian Great Lakes. Two scenarios — baseline agricultural management and increased agricultural conservation — were assessed using an ensemble of five Soil and Water Assessment Tools driven by six climate models. The increased conservation scenario included raising conservation adoption rates from a baseline of existing conservation practices to feasible rates in the near future based on farmer surveys. This increased adoption of winter cover crops on 6%–10% to 60% of cultivated cropland; subsurface placement of phosphorus fertilizers on 35%–60% to 68% of cultivated cropland; and buffer strips intercepting runoff from 29%–34% to 50% of cultivated cropland. Increased conservation resulted in statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) reductions in annual loads of total phosphorus (41%), dissolved reactive phosphorus (18%), and total nitrogen (14%) under the highest emission climate scenario (RCP 8.5). While nutrient loads decreased with increased conservation relative to baseline management for all watershed models, different conclusions on the true effectiveness of conservation under climate change may be drawn if only one watershed model was used.
Authors
Vindhya Basnayaka Jayanga T. Samarasinghe Miyuru Gunathilake Nitin Muttil Dileepa C. Hettiarachchi Amila Abeynayaka Upaka RathnayakeAbstract
River meandering and anabranching have become major problems in many large rivers that carry significant amounts of sediment worldwide. The morphodynamics of these rivers are complex due to the temporal variation of flows. However, the availability of remote sensing data and geographic information systems (GISs) provides the opportunity to analyze the morphological changes in river systems both quantitatively and qualitatively. The present study investigated the temporal changes in the river morphology of the Deduru Oya (river) in Sri Lanka, which is a meandering river. The study covered a period of 32 years (1989 to 2021), using Landsat satellite data and the QGIS platform. Cloud-free Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 satellite images were extracted and processed to extract the river mask. The centerline of the river was generated using the extracted river mask, with the support of semi-automated digitizing software (WebPlotDigitizer). Freely available QGIS was used to investigate the temporal variation of river migration. The results of the study demonstrated that, over the past three decades, both the bend curvatures and the river migration rates of the meandering bends have generally increased with time. In addition, it was found that a higher number of meandering bends could be observed in the lower (most downstream) and the middle parts of the selected river segment. The current analysis indicates that the Deduru Oya has undergone considerable changes in its curvature and migration rates.