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.
2024
Authors
Jarle W. Bjerke Kristin Magnussen Ryan Bright Ståle Navrud Rasmus Erlandsson Eirik Aasmo Finne Hans TømmervikAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Jarle W. Bjerke Kristin Magnussen Ryan Bright Ståle Navrud Rasmus Erlandsson Eirik Aasmo Finne Hans TømmervikAbstract
Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) pastoralism utilizes vast boreo-arctic taiga and tundra as grazing land. Highly fluctuating population sizes pose major challenges to the economy and livelihood of indigenous herder communities. In this study we investigated the effect of population fluctuations on core provisioning and regulating ecosystem services in two Sámi reindeer herding districts with contrasting fluctuation trends. We compared 50-year long time series on herd size, meat production, forage productivity, carbon footprint, and CO2-equivalence metrics for surface albedo change based on the radiative forcing concept. Our results show, for both districts, that the economic benefits from the provisioning services were higher than the costs from the regulating services. Still, there were major contrasts; the district with moderate and stable reindeer density gained nearly the double on provisioning services per unit area. The costs from increasing heat absorption due to reduction in surface albedo caused by replacement of high-reflective lichens with low-reflective woody plants, was 10.5 times higher per unit area in the district with large fluctuations. Overall, the net economic benefits per unit area were 237 % higher in the district with stable reindeer density. These results demonstrate that it is possible to minimize trade-offs between economic benefits from reindeer herding locally and global economic costs in terms of climate-regulating services by minimizing fluctuations in herds that are managed at sustainable densities.
Authors
Tor MykingAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Johan Asplund Jenni Nordén O. Janne Kjønaas Rieke Lo Madsen Lisa Fagerli Lunde Tone Birkemoe Eivind Kverme Ronold Milda Norkute Ulrika Jansson Damian Petkovic Karlsen Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson Inger Skrede Ine-Susanne Hopland Methlie Sundy Maurice Ulrik Geiran Botten Regine Jusnes Krok Håvard Kauserud Line NybakkenAbstract
The history of forestry in Fennoscandia spans five centuries, with clear-cutting being the dominant practice since the mid-20th century. This has led to a significant transformation of the forest landscape. In this study we investigated long-term effects of clear-cutting on forest structure and dead wood volumes. We established twelve pairs of spruce forest sites in southeastern Norway, each pair constituting of a mature, previously clear-cut stand and its near-natural counterpart with similar edaphic factors. The near-natural stands had 2.8 times higher volumes of dead wood and a larger proportion of dead wood in late stages of decay. The near-natural stands had on average 36.8 ± 9.1 m3 ha−1 of downed dead wood and 24.1 ± 6.2 m3 ha−1 of standing dead wood. Corresponding numbers for the previously clear-cut stands were 10.2 ± 2.8 m3 ha−1 and 11.9 ± 3.7 m3 ha−1. Forests with lower volumes of dead wood often also had lower connectivity of old spruce forests, which potentially have further negative effects on biodiversity. Furthermore, near-natural stands displayed greater tree size heterogeneity, resulting in a wider variation in light conditions. While no difference was observed in living tree volume, we found only weak evidence for higher basal area in the previously clear-cut stands, which had a higher stem density with more slender stems and shorter crowns. Our findings suggest that managed forests do not develop structures typical of near-natural forests before they become mature for logging. We stress the importance of a thorough site selection for studies of management effects, as forest management history may be confounded with productivity and other edaphic factors. Experimental designs like ours are vital for testing how differences in structure and deadwood volumes, driven by forest management, translate into variations in biodiversity, carbon sequestration and ecosystem functioning in future studies.
Authors
Eivind Kverme Ronold Sundy Maurice Vilde Åvesland Torp Celina Alexandria Kostich-Nilsen Ine-Susanne Hopland Methlie Frida Schmidt Markus Osaland Fjelde Ella Thoen Anders Kristian Krabberød Johan Asplund O. Janne Kjønaas Jenni Nordén Rune Halvorsen Tone Birkemoe Line Nybakken Inger Skrede Håvard KauserudAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
We document the presence of Schistidium marginale (Grimmiaceae) in Trollheimen, central Norway. The sequence of the nuclear ITS region aligns identically with an accession from the Caucasus, distinct from Alpine accessions. This may suggest post-glacial colonization originating from south-eastern rather than southern populations. The new locality exhibited only a few tufts and shared habitat similarities with Alpine locations, albeit with a potentially more base-rich substrate.
Authors
Belachew Gizachew Zeleke Deo D. Shirima Jonathan Rizzi Collins Byobona Kukunda Eliakimu ZahabuAbstract
Tanzania dedicates a substantial proportion (38%) of its territory to conservation, with a large number of Protected Areas (PAs) managed under various regimes. Nevertheless, the country still experiences high rates of deforestation, which threaten the ecological integrity and socio-economic benefits of its forests. We utilized the Global Forest Change Dataset (2012–2022) and implemented a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach followed by a series of binomial logit regression modeling. Our objectives were to evaluate (1) the likelihood of PAs in avoiding deforestation compared with unprotected forest landscapes, (2) the variability in effectiveness among the different PA management regimes in avoiding deforestation, (3) evidence of leakage, defined here as the displacement of deforestation beyond PA boundaries as a result of protection inside PAs. Our findings reveal that, despite ongoing deforestation within and outside of PAs, conservation efforts are, on average, three times more likely to avoid deforestation compared with unprotected landscapes. However, the effectiveness of avoiding deforestation significantly varies among the different management regimes. National Parks and Game Reserves are nearly ten times more successful in avoiding deforestation, likely because of the stringent set of regulations and availability of resources for implementation. Conversely, Nature Forest Reserves, Game Controlled Areas, and Forest Reserves are, on average, only twice as likely to avoid deforestation, indicating substantial room for improvement. We found little evidence of the overall leakage as a consequence of protection. These results highlight the mixed success of Tanzania’s conservation efforts, suggesting opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of many less protected PAs. We conclude by proposing potential strategic pathways to enhance further the climate and ecosystem benefits of conservation in Tanzania.
Authors
Aline Fugeray-Scarbel Laurent Bouffier Stéphane Lemarié Leopoldo Sánchez Ricardo Alia Chiara Biselli Joukje Buiteveld Andrea Carra Luigi Cattivelli Arnaud Dowkiw Luis Fontes Agostino Fricano Jean-Marc Gion Jacqueline Grima-Pettenati Andreas Helmersson Francisco Lario Luis Leal Sven Mutke Giuseppe Nervo Torgny Persson Laura Rosso Marinus JM Smulders Arne Steffenrem Lorenzo Vietto Matti HaapanenAbstract
Genetically improved forest reproductive materials are now widely accessible in many European countries due to decades of continuous breeding efforts. Tree breeding does not only contribute to higher-value end products but allows an increase in the rate of carbon capture and sequestration, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. The usefulness of breeding programmes depends on (i) the relevance of the set of selected traits and their relative weights (growth, drought tolerance, phenology, etc.); (ii) the explicit management of targeted and “neutral” diversity; (iii) the genetic gain achieved; and (iv) the efficiency of transferring diversity and gain to the plantation. Several biological factors limit both operational breeding and mass reproduction. To fully realise the potential of tree breeding, the introduction of new technologies and concepts is pivotal for overcoming these constraints. We reviewed several European breeding programmes, examining their current status and factors that are likely to influence tree breeding in the coming decades. The synthesis was based on case studies developed for the European Union-funded B4EST project, which focused on eight economically important tree species with breeding histories and intensities ranging from low-input breeding (stone pine, Douglas-fir and ash) to more complex programmes (eucalyptus, maritime pine, Norway spruce, poplar, and Scots pine). Tree breeding for these species is managed in a variety of ways due to differences in species’ biology, breeding objectives, and economic value. Most programmes are managed by governmental institutes with full or partial public support because of the relatively late return on investment. Eucalyptus is the only tree species whose breeding is entirely sponsored and managed by a private company. Several new technologies have emerged for both phenotyping and genotyping. They have the potential to speed up breeding processes and make genetic evaluations more accurate, thereby reducing costs and increasing genetic gains per unit of time. In addition, genotyping has allowed the explicit control of genetic diversity in selected populations with great precision. The continuing advances in tree genomics are expected to revolutionise tree breeding by moving it towards genomic-based selection, a perspective that requires new types of skills that are not always available in the institutions hosting the programmes. We therefore recognise the importance of promoting coordination and collaboration between the many groups involved in breeding. Climate change is expected to bring in new pests and diseases and increase the frequency of extreme weather events such as late frosts and prolonged droughts. Such stresses will cause slow growth and mortality, reducing forest productivity and resilience. Most of these threats are difficult to predict, and the time-consuming nature of conventional breeding does not allow for an adequate and timely reaction. We anticipate that most breeding programmes will need to revise their selection criteria and objectives to place greater emphasis on adaptive performance, tolerance to multiple environmental stresses, stability in different environments, and conservation of genetic diversity. Testing breeding materials in a variety of environments, including potentially contrasting climates, will become increasingly important. Climate change may also force the incorporation of new genetic resources that provide new useful adaptations, which may involve the use of new, previously unexplored gene pools or hybridisation, with the enormous challenge of incorporating useful alleles without adding along an unfavourable genetic background. Decision-support tools to help landowners and foresters select the best-performing forest reproductive material in each specific environment could also help reduce the impact of climate change.
Authors
Jose Climent Ricardo Alía Katri Karkkainen Catherine Bastien Marta Benito-Garzon Laurent Bouffier Giovanbattista De Dato Sylvain Delzon Arnaud Dowkiw Margarita Elvira-Recuenco Delphine Grivet Santiago C. González-Martínez Haleh Hayatgheibi Sonja Kujala Jean-Charles Leplé Ruth C. Martín-Sanz Marina de Miguel M. Cristina Monteverdi Sven Mutke Christophe Plomion José Alberto Ramírez-Valiente Leopoldo Sanchez Aida Solé-Medina Jean-Paul Soularue Arne Steffenrem Angela Teani Johan Westin Richard Whittet Harry Wu Rafael Zas Stephen CaversAbstract
Purpose of Review In this review, we synthesise current knowledge on trade-offs among traits in key fitness dimensions and identify major research gaps with the intention of laying the groundwork for a rapid advance in tree breeding for multiple objectives as a key contribution to the sustainability of planted forests in the future. Recent Findings Trade-offs among growth, reproduction, defence, stress tolerance and product quality predicted theoretically have been reported experimentally in many breeding programmes. Among these trade-offs, the genetic linkage between resistance against biotic threats and growth (or other relevant traits) is particularly critical for the current and future management of forest genetic resources. Maintaining tree growth and wood quality in the novel environments of the future requires the assessment of genetic correlations of target traits with phenology, closely linked to survival to temperature extremes. Improving our current knowledge on the genetic trade-offs of drought tolerance as a breeding objective in forest trees obligates a more precise definition of both the specific traits and the experimental conditions. Published evidence suggests that common target traits in breeding programmes may trade-off with reproductive success and fire-adaptation, and the simultaneous improvement of growth and wood quality traits still remains as a constraint in traditional tree breeding. Summary Changing environments combined with pests and diseases are challenging plantation forestry worldwide, which implies an urgent need to develop new improvement strategies to build the resilience of forestry for our future environments. It is essential to have a better understanding of how traits interact, especially those important for production, climate and biotic threat resilience, but much of the information is still missing. Since many key trade-offs are affected by the environment, we need new studies under novel environments to forecast levels of multi-trait integration in breeding populations.