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.
2020
Lecture – ESS SURVEY UPDATE AND NEXT STEPS
Cornelya Klutsch, Paul Eric Aspholm, Hallvard Jensen, ...
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Aquatic microbial diversity, composition, and dynamics play vital roles in sustaining water ecosystem functionality. Yet, there is still limited knowledge on bacterial seasonal dynamics in lotic environments. This study explores a temporal pattern of bacterial community structures in lotic freshwater over a 2-year period. The aquatic bacterial communities were assessed using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Overall, the communities were dominated by α-, β-, and γ-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Flavobacteriia, and Sphingobacteriia. The bacterial compositions varied substantially in response to seasonal changes (cold vs. warm), but they were rather stable within the same season. Furthermore, higher diversity was observed in cold seasons compared to warm periods. The combined seasonal-environmental impact of different physico-chemical parameters was assessed statistically, and temperature, suspended solids, and nitrogen were determined to be the primary abiotic factors shaping the temporal bacterial assemblages. This study enriches particular knowledge on the seasonal succession of the lotic freshwater bacteria.
Abstract
Denne rapporten er en litteratursammenstilling over tap av suspendert stoff, fosfor og nitrogen fra arealer med hhv. jordbruk og skog/utmark. I tillegg er det gjort en vurdering av tilsvarende tap i perioden der nydyrking gjennomføres. I de norske studiene som er gjennomgått er gjennomsnittlige tap av nitrogen 17 ganger høyere fra jordbruk enn fra skog. Tilsvarende er fosfortap 56 ganger høyere og tap av suspendert stoff 106 ganger høyere fra jordbruk enn fra skog.
Authors
Trygve S. Aamlid Karin Juul Hesselsøe Trond Olav Pettersen Anne Friederike Borchert Tatsiana Espevig A. R. Hansen L.H.S. Nielsen Marie Rehnström J Letho Bjarni HannessonAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
During June 2019, an outbreak of campylobacteriosis occurred in Askøy, an island northwest of Bergen, Norway. According to the publicly available records, over 2000 residents fell ill and 76 were hospitalised, and two deaths were suspected to be associated with Campylobacter infection. By investigating the epidemic pattern and scope, an old caved drinking water holding pool was identified that had been faecally contaminated as indicated by the presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli). Furthermore, Campylobacter bacteria were found at several points in the water distribution system. In the escalated water health crisis, tracking down the infectious source became pivotal for the local municipality in order to take prompt and appropriate action to control the epidemic. A major task was to identify the primary faecal pollution source, which could further assist in tracking down the epidemic origin. Water from the affected pool was analysed using quantitative microbial source tracking (QMST) applying host-specific Bacteroidales 16S rRNA genetic markers. In addition, Campylobacter jejuni, Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli were detected. The QMST outcomes revealed that non-human (zoogenic) sources accounted predominantly for faecal pollution. More precisely, 69% of the faecal water contamination originated from horses.
Abstract
There is an increasing interest in plastics, both as a resource and as a pollutant. In Europe, 25.8 million tons of plastic waste are generated each year, and their effects on climate, economy, human and environmental health are major challenges that society needs to address. Although a lot of emphasis is placed on recycling, the use of recycled plastics is still low in the EU. In this context, climate change and environmental concerns have boosted the development of various types of biodegradable plastics. The use of biodegradable plastics spans from disposable containers for food/drink, serviceware and wipes, via waste bags for organic waste collected for biogas production, to agricultural films used to cover soil during vegetable production. However, biodegradable plastics are rarely degraded so quickly and completely that the products disappear in nature, and the label may encourage people think otherwise, enhancing littering. The aim of our study was to describe the fate of biodegradable materials and products during waste treatment, and more specifically during composting. How long does it take these materials to degrade? What are the conditions for degradation, and ultimately, for obtaining plastic-free compost products? To answer these questions, we selected relevant materials, including compostable serviceware, biodegradable plastic bags used for organic waste collection, and biodegradable agricultural mulch films. Composting experiments were performed both at lab-scale (1.5 L containers with externally applied heating) and larger scale (in 140 L insulated compost tumblers, with natural heating from the composting processes, continuously monitored). The endpoints studied were recovery, mass loss, changes in morphology and composition, and microbial analysis of the various composts. In addition, we assessed the applicability of chemical digestion methods used for sample pretreatment of environmental samples containing conventional plastics to biodegradable plastics. Biodegradable plastics is an umbrella term covering materials with diverse polymeric compositions and thus material properties. This was well demonstrated by our selected materials, which displayed distinct degradation behaviors under similar controlled conditions. The time-course of degradation during composting will be presented for all selected materials, together with the main parameters influencing their degradation rates. In addition, some methodological challenges in this research field will be discussed. Finally, experience from a municipal composting facility receiving biodegradable plastic waste will also be presented to put our laboratory-based results into perspective.
Abstract
Organic industrial and household waste is increasingly used in biogas plants to produce bioenergy, generating at the same time extensive amounts of organic residues, called biogas digestates. While agricultural soils can benefit from the organic matter and nutrients, in particular nitrogen and phosphorus, contained in biogas digestates, we need to assess the environmental and health risks associated to the undesirable substances that may come along. Among those, only a few are covered by actual regulations. For instance, the quantity of plastic materials below 4 mm in biogas digestate is currently not limited to any threshold, despite its likely occurrence in organic waste (waste bag remains and wrong waste sorting) and persistence in the environment. The aim of our study was identify and quantify plastic materials in digestates from Norwegian biogas plants, that are using various types of organic waste sources (e.g. sewage sludge, food waste, animal manure). In addition, a lab-scale experiment was set up to assess the physical and chemical transformations undergone during biogas processes by plastic materials commonly found in digestates. The methods used in our study included simultaneous thermal analysis coupled to Fourier transform-Infrared spectroscopy (for analysis of polymer composition), scanning electron microscopy (for assessment of physical transformations), and a range of physical and chemical extractions for recovering plastic materials from biogas digestates. While all digestates complied with current regulations, plastic particles with a size of 0.2-3 mm made up to 1% (on dry mass basis) of the samples analyzed. Analysis of the polymeric composition of the recovered plastic fragments confirmed that they originated both from the waste bags themselves (shredded during the first steps of waste handling) and from wrong waste sorting. In addition, the lab-scale biogas treatment was shown to considerably change the structure of the studied plastic materials, illustrating a pathway for the formation of secondary microplastics. Some analytical challenges linked to the size and aging of the plastic materials, as well as the complex composition of the digestates, will be discussed. From a broader perspective, a few options will be presented to address the presence of plastic materials in biogas digestates, and thereby minimize the risk associated to their use as soil amendment.
Abstract
Plastics in terrestrial ecosystems negatively affect their functioning by altering physical properties and disturbing soil microorganisms. The same could be true for biodegradable plastics entering nature through incomplete degradation in composting plants, and their subsequent application to soil in fertilizer substrate. So far, no standard analysis protocol for biodegradable plastic degradation exist. This Master's thesis has focused on developing methods for the analysis of biodegradable plastic degradation in a compost matrix and lays a foundation which later research can be built upon. Fenton's reagent and hydrogen peroxide were tested as a sample up-concentrating pre-treatment of an organic matter matrix containing biodegradable microplastics. The degradation of four different biodegradable plastics in nylon bags in a compost tumbler and a compost oven incubation were assessed. Samples for pH and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) of different treatments were collected to compare their development and interchangeability. Fenton's reagent was the better suited up-concentrating pre-treatment for samples with some uncertainty remaining. Assessing the biodegradable plastic degradation indicated an incomplete process in home composts and (Norwegian) composting plants. pH values coarsely reflected the composting conditions and suggested interchangeability of most treatments. Analysis of pH together with PLFA results would have been optimal, but could not be accomplished as the COVID-19 epidemic hindered the PLFA analysis. While some uncertainties in the developed methods remain, it can be concluded that a basis for establishing biodegradable plastic degradation analysis was created. Subsequent research should continue their development to assess whether biodegradable plastic remains from composting plants contribute to the accumulation of plastics in terrestrial ecosystems.
Authors
Isobel Phoebus John Boulanger Hans Geir Eiken Ida Marie Bardalen Fløystad Karen Graham Snorre Hagen Anja Sorensen Gordon StenhouseAbstract
Wildlife managers conduct population inventories to monitor species, particularly those at-risk. Although costly and time consuming, grid-based DNA hair-snag sampling has been the standard protocol for grizzly bear inventories in North America, while opportunistic fecal DNA sampling is more commonly used in Europe. Our aim is to determine if low-cost, low-effort scat sampling along roads can replace the current standard. We compare two genetic non-invasive techniques using concurrent sampling within the same grid system and spatially explicit capture–recapture. We found that given our methodology and the present status of fecal genotyping for grizzly bears, scat sampling along roads cannot replace hair sampling to estimate population size in low-density areas. Hair sampling identified the majority of individual grizzly bears, with a higher success rate of individuals identified from grizzly bear samples (100%) compared to scat sampling (14%). Using scat DNA to supplement hair data did not change population estimates, but it did improve estimate precision. Scat samples had higher success identifying species (98%) compared with hair (80%). Scat sampling detected grizzly bears in grid cells where hair sampling showed non-detection, with almost twice the number of cells indicating grizzly bear presence. Based on our methods and projected expenses for future implementation, we estimated an approximate 30% cost reduction for sampling scat relative to hair. Our research explores the application of genetic non-invasive approaches to monitor bear populations. We recommend wildlife managers continue to use hair-snag sampling as the primary method for DNA inventories, while employing scat sampling as supplemental to increase estimate precision. Scat sampling may better indicate presence of bear species through greater numbers and spatial distribution of detections, if sampling is systematic across the entire area of interest. Our findings speak to the management of other species and regions, and contribute to ongoing advances of monitoring wildlife populations.
Authors
Benedicte Lissner Beddari Sergey Ogurtsov Sari Magga Jaru Kangasniemi Ida Marie Bardalen Fløystad Inger Søvik Tom Sotkajærvi Rolf Randa Leif E. Ollila Vetle Lindgren Beate Banken Bakke Vilde Rushfeldt Beddari Natalia Polikarpova Tuomo Ollila Snorre Hagen Hans Geir EikenAbstract
Siden 2005 har populasjonen av grenseoverskridene brunbjørn (Ursus arctos) i Trilateral Park Pasvik-Inari-Pechenga (Norge-Finland-Russland) blitt overvåket ved å bruke genetiske analyser av hår og ekskrement-prøver samlet inn opportunistisk i felt. En mer systematiske metode med hårfeller hvert fjerde år ble i 2007 startet opp for å samle inn bjørnehår til genetisk analyse. Metoden består i å sette ut 56 hårfeller med luktstoff i Norge, Finland og Russland i et 5 x 5 km2 rutenett (totalt ca. 1400 km2). Dette prosjektet ble gjentatt i 2011, 2015 og nå i sesongen 2019 med 58 ruter og ved bruk av samme metode som i 2007. I 2019 sesongen ble det samlet inn 182 prøver, der 66 av disse var fra Finland, 59 fra Norge og 57 fra Russland. For 144 (79,1 %) av de 182 hårprøvene var det positivt resultat i den bjørne-spesifikke analysen, og en komplett DNA profil kunne bestemmes for 136 av de positive prøvene. Det ble totalt påvist 47 forskjellige bjørner (25 hunner og 22 hanner). Av disse 47 individene var 24 påvist i tidligere år, mens 23 var til nå ukjente bjørner. Totalt ble det påvist 20 bjørner i Finland, 14 bjørner i Norge og 16 bjørner i Russland...