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
Authors
Johannes BreidenbachAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Forest inventories provide predictions of stand means on a routine basis from models with auxiliary variables from remote sensing as predictors and response variables from field data. Many forest inventory sampling designs do not afford a direct estimation of the among-stand variance. As consequence, the confidence interval for a model-based prediction of a stand mean is typically too narrow. We propose a new method to compute (from empirical regression residuals) an among-stand variance under sample designs that stratify sample selections by an auxiliary variable, but otherwise do not allow a direct estimation of this variance. We test the method in simulated sampling from a complex artificial population with an age class structure. Two sampling designs are used (one-per-stratum, and quasi systematic), neither recognize stands. Among-stand estimates of variance obtained with the proposed method underestimated the actual variance by 30-50%, yet 95% confidence intervals for a stand mean achieved a coverage that was either slightly better or at par with the coverage achieved with empirical linear best unbiased estimates obtained under less efficient two-stage designs.
Authors
Arne SteffenremAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Arne SteffenremAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Nanna Bjerregaard Pedersen Henning Matthiesen Robert A. Blanchette Gry Alfredsen Benjamin W. Held Andreas Westergaard‑Nielsen Jørgen HollesenAbstract
Climate change is expected to accelerate the microbial degradation of the many extraordinary well-preserved organic archaeological deposits found in the Arctic. This could potentially lead to a major loss of wooden artefacts that are still buried within the region. Here, we carry out the first large-scale investigation of wood degradation within archaeological deposits in the Arctic. This is done based on wooden samples from 11 archaeological sites that are located along a climatic gradient in Western Greenland. Our results show that Ascomycota fungi are causing extensive soft rot decay at all sites regardless of climate and local environment, but the group is diverse and many of the species were only found once. Cadophora species known to cause soft rot in polar environments were the most abundant Ascomycota found and their occurrence in native wood samples underlines that they are present locally. Basidiomycota fungi were also present at all sites. In the majority of samples, however, these aggressive and potentially very damaging wood degraders have caused limited decay so far, probably due to unfavorable growth conditions. The presence of these wood degrading fungi suggests that archaeological wooden artefacts may become further endangered if climate change leads to more favorable growth conditions.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Wood in service is sequestering carbon, but it is principally prone to deterioration where different fungi metabolize wood, and carbon dioxide is released back to the atmosphere. A key prerequisite for fungal degradation of wood is the presence of moisture. Conversely, keeping wood dry is the most effective way to protect wood from wood degradation and for long-term binding of carbon. Wood is porous and hygroscopic; it can take up water in liquid and gaseous form, and water is released from wood through evaporation following a given water vapour pressure gradient. During the last decades, the perception of wood-water relationships changed significantly and so did the view on moisture-affected properties of wood. Among the latter is its susceptibility to fungal decay. This paper reviews findings related to wood-water relationships and their role for fungal wood decomposition. These are complex interrelationships not yet fully understood, and current knowledge gaps are therefore identified. Studies with chemically and thermally modified wood are included as examples of fungal wood substrates with altered moisture properties. Quantification and localization of capillary and cell wall water – especially in the over-hygroscopic range – is considered crucial for determining minimum moisture thresholds (MMThr) of wood-decay fungi. The limitations of the various methods and experimental set-ups to investigate wood-water relationships and their role for fungal decay are manifold. Hence, combining techniques from wood science, mycology, biotechnology and advanced analytics is expected to provide new insights and eventually a breakthrough in understanding the intricate balance between fungal decay and wood-water relations.
Authors
Gunnhild SøgaardAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The Norwegian coastal goat is a national and endangered breed. Coastal goat populations are mainly divided with a large mainland and two small island populations. The objective of this study is to describe genetic diversity in the feral Skorpa island population and its relationship to the mainland coastal goat population (Selje) using the Norwegian milk goat population as a reference. Analyses were based on 96 samples genotyped by the CaprineSNP50 Beadchip from three populations; 7 Skorpa (SK), 37 Selje (SE) and 52 Norwegian milk goats (MG). The SK population had significantly less genetic variation and higher levels of inbreeding than the two other populations. It was more distant from the two mainland populations than they were from each other. The marginal contribution of the SK population to genetic diversity was small. Means of introducing genetic diversity into the SK population should be considered if the population is prioritized for conservation.