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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.

2020

Abstract

Optimizing phosphorus (P) application to agricultural soils is fundamental to crop production and water quality protection. We sought to relate soil P tests and P sorption characteristics to both crop yield response to P application and environmentally critical soil P status. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was grown in pot experiments with 45 soils of different P status. Half the pots were fertilized at 20 kg P ha−1, and half received no P. Soils were extracted with ammonium lactate, sodium bicarbonate (Olsen P), dilute salt (0.0025 M CaCl2), and diffusive gradient in thin films. Soil adsorption coefficients were determined using the Freundlich isotherm equation, and the degree of P saturation was determined from both oxalate and ammonium lactate extracted Fe, Al, and P. All soil P analyses showed a nonlinear and significant relationship with yield response to P application, and all analyses manifested a threshold value above which no P response was observed. For the commonly used ammonium lactate test, inclusion of Al and Fe improved prediction of plant‐available soil P. The threshold for yield response coincided with the environmentally critical values determined from the degree of P saturation. Results support the conclusion that soil P levels for which no P application is needed also have elevated risk of P loss to runoff.

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Abstract

Diseases caused by viruses threaten the production industry and food safety of aquaculture which is a great animal protein source. Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) has caused tremendous loss, and the molecular function of viral proteins during infection needs further research, as for most aquatic viruses. In this study, interaction between GCRV major outer capsid protein VP4 and RIG-I, a critical viral RNA sensor, was screened out by GST pull-down, endogenous immunoprecipitation and subsequent LC-MS/MS, and then verified by co-IP and an advanced farred fluorescence complementation system. VP4 was proved to bind to the CARD and RD domains of RIG-I and promoted K48-linked ubiquitination of RIG-I to degrade RIG-I. VP4 reduced mRNA and promoter activities of key genes of RLR pathway and sequential IFN production. As a consequence, antiviral effectors were suppressed and GCRV replication increased, resulting in intensified cytopathic effect. Furthermore, results of transcriptome sequencing of VP4 stably expressed CIK (C. idella kidney) cells indicated that VP4 activated the MyD88-dependent TLR pathway. Knockdown of VP4 obtained opposite effects. These results collectively revealed that VP4 interacts with RIG-I to restrain interferon response and assist GCRV invasion. This study lays the foundation for anti-dsRNA virus molecular function research in teleost and provides a novel insight into the strategy of immune evasion for aquatic virus.

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Abstract

Scenarios describe plausible and internally consistent views of the future. They can be used by scientists, policymakers and entrepreneurs to explore the challenges of global environmental change given an appropriate level of spatial and sectoral detail and systematic development. We followed a nine-step protocol to extend and enrich a set of global scenarios – the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) – providing regional and sectoral detail for European agriculture and food systems using a one-to-one nesting participatory approach. The resulting five Eur-Agri-SSPs are titled (1) Agriculture on sustainable paths, (2) Agriculture on established paths, (3) Agriculture on separated paths, (4) Agriculture on unequal paths, and (5) Agriculture on high-tech paths. They describe alternative plausible qualitative evolutions of multiple drivers of particular importance and high uncertainty for European agriculture and food systems. The added value of the protocol-based storyline development process lies in the conceptual and methodological transparency and rigor; the stakeholder driven selection of the storyline elements; and consistency checks within and between the storylines. Compared to the global SSPs, the five Eur-Agri-SSPs provide rich thematic and regional details and are thus a solid basis for integrated assessments of agriculture and food systems and their response to future socio-economic and environmental changes.

Abstract

Organic amendments can improve grassland productivity. Timothy and tall fescue were sown on a sandy loam and a coarse sand at Særheim, Norway, in September 2016 and on a loamy sand at Skierniewice, Poland, in April 2017, and cut and fertilised according to normal practices for the two regions from 2017 to 2019. At both sites, 0.75 kg DM m-2 of either digested or undigested manure (the latter with or without 2.9 kg biochar m-2) were incorporated prior to sowing. On the coarse sand at Særheim, total seasonal tall fescue yield in 2018 was 46–60% higher in the organic amendment treatments, and total seasonal timothy yield in the digestate treatment was 97% higher, than in the control treatment for the same species with only mineral fertiliser. On the sandy loam at Særheim and the loamy sand at Skierniewice, none of the amendments resulted in significant yield increments. These results indicate a clear effect on soil type on grassland biomass response to organic amendments.

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Abstract

SCANTURF is a joint Nordic programme for turfgrass variety testing, set up in 2005 and funded by variety entrance fees only. It replaced and simplified the former government‐funded national evaluation programmes in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The programme includes testing of all cool‐season grasses on lawn/fairways at 15–20 mm mowing height (“lawn trials”) and optional testing of Poa pratensis L. and Lolium perenne L. on simulated football pitches with wear, mowed at 30 mm (“wear trials”). Since 2013, the program has regarded the Nordic countries as one trial zone with three test sites: Tystofte Denmark (55°15′ N, 11°20′ E), Landvik, Norway (58°21’ N, 8°32’ E) and Ylistaro, Finland (62°57′ N, 22°31’ E). Wear trials are carried out at the intermediate location Landvik only. Candidate varieties are tested against two reference varieties of the same species or subspecies. In the lawn trials, candidate varieties are evaluated for visual merit (overall turfgrass quality), winter damage, winter color, diseases and daily height growth at all three locations and for tiller density, fineness of leaves, in‐season (genetic) color, at Landvik only. Based on the results from the SCANTURF trials in 2014–2016 and 2016–2018, the candidate varieties Fabian, Tetrastar, Annecy, and Monroe (Lolium perenne), Becca, Harmonie, Traction, and Markus (Poa pratensis) and Lystig, Greenmile, and Humboldt (Festuca rubra ssp. commutata) were recommended for lawns in the Nordic countries, while Eurocordus, Columbine, Monroe, and Annecy (Lolium perenne) and Harmonie (Poa pratensis) were recommended for sports grounds. More use of the recommended varieties will have a positive effect on quality of lawns and sport grounds in the Nordic countries. Less winter injury and increasing relative performance with increasing latitude of the tetraploid perennial ryegrass variety Fabian in the lawn trials may possibly lead to more use of perennial ryegrass in the northern and more continental parts of the region.

2019

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Abstract

Habitat discontinuity, anthropogenic disturbance, and overharvesting have led to population fragmentation and decline worldwide. Preservation of remaining natural genetic diversity is crucial to avoid continued genetic erosion. Brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) is an ideal model species for studying anthropogenic influences on genetic integrity, as it has experienced significant genetic alterations throughout its natural distribution range due to habitat fragmentation, overexploitation, translocations, and stocking. The Pasvik River is a subarctic riverine system shared between Norway, Russia, and Finland, subdivided by seven hydroelectric power dams that destroyed about 70% of natural spawning and nursing areas. Stocking is applied in certain river parts to support the natural brown trout population. Adjacent river segments with different management strategies (stocked vs. not stocked) facilitated the simultaneous assessment of genetic impacts of dams and stocking based on analyses of 16 short tandem repeat loci. Dams were expected to increase genetic differentiation between and reduce genetic diversity within river sections. Contrastingly, stocking was predicted to promote genetic homogenization and diversity, but also potentially lead to loss of private alleles and to genetic erosion. Our results showed comparatively low heterozygosity and clear genetic differentiation between adjacent sections in nonstocked river parts, indicating that dams prevent migration and contribute to genetic isolation and loss of genetic diversity. Furthermore, genetic differentiation was low and heterozygosity relatively high across stocked sections. However, in stocked river sections, we found signatures of recent bottlenecks and reductions in private alleles, indicating that only a subset of individuals contributes to reproduction, potentially leading to divergence away from the natural genetic state. Taken together, these results indicate that stocking counteracts the negative fragmentation effects of dams, but also that stocking practices should be planned carefully in order to ensure long‐term preservation of natural genetic diversity and integrity in brown trout and other species in regulated river systems.