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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.

2022

Abstract

The three-dimensional structure of forest canopies is essential for light use efficiency, photosynthesis and thus carbon sequestration. Therefore, high-quality characterization of canopy structure is critical to improving our carbon cycle estimates by Earth system models and better understanding disturbance impacts on carbon sequestration in forested ecosystems. In this context, a widely used observable is the Leaf Area Density (LAD) and its integral over the vertical dimension, the Leaf Area Index (LAI). A multitude of methods exists to determine LAD and LAI in a forest stand. In this contribution, we use a mature Norway spruce forest surrounding an ICOS flux tower at Hurdal site (NO-Hur) to investigate LAD and LAI with six different methods: field campaigns using (1) the Plant Canopy Analyzer LAI-2000; (2) the LaiPen LP 110; (3) Digital Hemispheric Photography at a set of plots within the area; (4) a Lidar drone flight covering the footprint area of the tower; (5) an airborne Lidar campaign, and (6) a satellite LAI product (MODIS). The horizontal spatial structure of LAI values is investigated using marked point process statistics. Intercomparison of the methods focusses not only on biases and root mean squared errors, but also on the spatial patterns observed, quantifying to which extent a simple bias correction between the methods is sufficient to make the different approaches match to each other.

Abstract

As a way to estimate evapotranspiration (ET), Heat Field Deformation (HFD) is a widely used method to measure sap flow of trees based on empirical relationships between heat transfer within tree stems and the sap flow rates. As an alternative, the Linear Heat Balance (LHB) method implements the same instrumental configuration as HFD but calculates the sap flow rates using analytical equations that are derived from fundamental conduction-convection heat transfer equations.

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Abstract

Historically, the autumn dynamics of deciduous forest trees have not been investigated in detail. However, autumn phenological events, like onset of loss of canopy greenness (OLCG), onset of foliar senescence (OFS) and cessation of wood growth (CWG), have an important impact on tree radial growth and the entire ecosystem's seasonal dynamics. Here, we monitored the leaf and wood phenological events of silver birch (Betula pendula) at four different sites in Ås, southeastern Norway: (a) a natural mature stand, (b) a plantation on former agricultural ground, (c) young natural trees, and (d) young trees in pots under different fertilization levels. The study took place over four consecutive years (from 2017 to 2020), with a particular focus on 2018, a year in which there was a severe summer drought, and the next year, 2019, which featured more normal conditions. First, we provided a description of birch phenology within its mid-north distributional. Second, we showed that drought advanced CWG by about 5 to 6 weeks and it delayed OLCG and OFS up to 30 days. Third, we observed an unexpected advance in OLCG in 2019 compared to 2018 (30 days) and 2020 (14 days). OFS presented similar dynamics as OLCG, whereas CWG was advanced only in 2018. These findings might indicate lag-effects of severe drought on the next year autumn leaf phenology but not on wood growth. On the other hand, the comparison between the natural stand and the plantation showed that, under drought conditions, wood growth is more sensitive to site fertility than autumn leaf phenology. In summary, our study elucidated the autumn dynamics of an important deciduous forest species in the northern temperate zone and showed unexpected impacts of a severely dry and warm summer on the current and next year leaf phenology.

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Abstract

Accurate estimations of phenophases in deciduous trees are important to understand forest ecosystems and their feedback on the climate. In particular, the timing of leaf senescence is of fundamental importance to trees’ nutrient stoichiometry and drought tolerance and therefore to trees’ vigor and fecundity. Nevertheless, there is no integrated view on the significance, and direction, of seasonal trends in leaf senescence, especially for years characterized by extreme weather events. Difficulties in the acquisition and analyses of hierarchical data can account for this. We collected four years of chlorophyll content index (CCI) measurements in thirty-eight individuals of four deciduous tree species (Betula pendula, Fagus sylvatica, Populus tremula and Quercus robur) in Belgium, Norway and Spain, and analyzed these data using generalized additive models for location, scale and shape (GAMLSS). As a result, (I) the phenological strategy and seasonal trend of leaf senescence in these tree species could be clarified for exceptionally dry and warm years, and (II) the daily average (air) temperature, global radiation, and vapor pressure deficit could be established as main drivers behind the variation in the timing of the senescence transition date. Our results show that the onset of the re-organization phase in the leaf senescence, which we approximated and defined as local minima in the second derivative of a CCI graph, was in all species mainly negatively affected by the average temperature, global radiation and vapor pressure deficit. All together the variables explained 89 to 98% of the variability in the leaf senescence timing. An additional finding is that the generalized beta type 2 and generalized gamma distributions are well suited to model the chlorophyll content index, while the senescence transition date can be modeled using the normal-exponential-student-t, generalized gamma and zero-inflated Box-Cox Cole and Green distributions for beech, oak and birch, and poplar, respectively.

Abstract

We determined the mitogenome of Cyclopterus lumpus using a hybrid sequencing approach, and another four closely related species in the Liparidae based on available next-generation sequence data. We found that the mitogenome of C. lumpus was 17,266 bp in length, where the length and organisation were comparable to those reported for cottoids. However, we found a GC-homopolymer region in the intergenic space between tRNALeu2 and ND1 in liparids and cyclopterids. Phylogenetic reconstruction confirmed the monophyly of infraorders and firmly supported a sister-group relationship between Cyclopteridae and Liparidae. Purifying selection was the predominant force in the evolution of cottoid mitogenomes. There was significant evidence of relaxed selective pressures along the lineage of deep-sea fish, while selection was intensified in the freshwater lineage. Overall, our analysis provides a necessary expansion in the availability of mitogenomic sequences and sheds light on mitogenomic adaptation in Cottoidei fish inhabiting different aquatic environments.