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.
2026
Authors
Nora Røhnebæk Aasen Sybil A. Herrera-Foessel Silius Mortensønn Vandeskog Therése Bengtsson Mulatu G. Dida Isak Drozdik Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Egill Gautason Jaroslaw S. Grodek Hrannar S. Hilmarsson Ortrud Jäck Janne Kaseva Antti Laine Alex Lenkoski Morten Lillemo Min Lin Anne Marthe Lundby Shirin Mohammadi Per Jarle Møllerhagen Markku Niskanen Rodomiro Ortiz Maxie Skalshøi Anna G. Þórðardóttir Maria ThorkildsenAbstract
We present a harmonized database of national variety trials and official Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) trials from the five Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland, focusing on three key crops for that region: spring barley (Hordeum vulgare), red clover (Trifolium pratense), and potato (Solanum tuberosum). Yield is the primary phenotypic trait reported. The location of each trial is also reported, which enables analysis of how weather variability impacts crop performance. Climate change will have a substantial impact on agriculture, requiring the development of new crop cultivars adapted for resilience to future stresses. Developing a new crop cultivar is a decades-long process, therefore climate change considerations must already be incorporated into breeding programs. National breeding programs have typically involved field trials in a single country, which has functioned satisfactorily during periods of stable climate variability. However, it is widely acknowledged that when field trial information across borders is made available, it can significantly aid plant breeding programs. Here, we present a pan-Nordic multi-environment database that consolidates national trial data and data from VCU trials for spring barley, red clover, and potato. The database harmonizes information on yield across diverse environments, enabling comparative analyses and cross-regional assessments. By providing a unified resource for the Nordic region, this dataset supports the development of more resilient crop varieties and facilitates data-driven breeding strategies under changing climatic conditions.
Authors
Jørgen A.B. MølmannAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Susanne Zazzera Bjørn Arild Hatteland Silje Maria Midthjell Høydal Ieva Rozite-Arina Inger Elisabeth MårenAbstract
Land-use changes and agricultural intensification have been attributed as the main anthropogenic drivers of declines in insect pollinators. Anthropogenic coastal heathlands are one of the ecosystems that have suffered the most from these intensifications, as traditional management practices have discontinued and only 10% of last century´s coastal heathlands remain. We collected data during the field season of 2022 on pollinator communities with emphasis on bumblebees, in two different habitat types: open and degenerate heathlands in an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Western Norway. Here, we aim to get an insight into how pollinator communities may change as more heathlands are left without active management practices like prescribed burning and livestock grazing. Species composition varied between the two habitat types. Degenerate heathlands typically had a higher abundance of some relatively common species in Norway, like B. pratorum, while the red-listed species B. muscorum was recorded exclusively in open heathlands. B. jonellus was more abundant in degenerate sites despite being known to forage on Ericaceae. This may be due to an additional floral diversity and nesting/over-wintering sites here compared to the open sites. Further research should explore potential impacts of landscape characteristics like fragmentation and land-use change on the abundance and diversity of pollinators in heathlands.
Authors
Marit Jørgensen Ragnhild Borchsenius Ellen Elverland Frøydis Gillund Khaled Murad Agha Kauê de Sousa Ievina SturiteAbstract
A stable supply of high-quality forage is essential for the economic sustainability of milk and meat production, the most important agricultural sectors in Norway. Successful forage production relies on selecting species, cultivars, and seed mixtures suited to the diverse agroecological conditions, which vary widely in latitude and altitude. Climate change modifies production boundaries unpredictably. Without on-farm performance data, there is a risk of recommending new varieties or seed mixtures that underperform in farmers' fields. To address this, we propose the tricot method: a participatory, large-scale, and cost-effective testing approach where farmers test new seed mixtures directly in their fields. This approach involves many farmers in conducting small, simple experiments. Each trial consists of an incomplete block with three options out of the total ten options in the trial. Farmers evaluate these options based on predetermined criteria using digital tools. These mini trials, combined with data on management, climate, and soil, are collected into the ClimMob software, which performs statistical analyses and provides feedback. When all data are aggregated, this approach can provide robust statistical results on optimal seed mixtures for various local conditions. This method also strengthens collaboration between researchers, advisors, and farmers, contributing to more sustainable and resilient agricultural practices.
Authors
Marit Jørgensen Ragnhild Borchsenius Ellen Elverland Frøydis Gillund Khaled Murad Agha Kauê de Sousa Ievina SturiteAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Energy-efficient greenhouse climate control is important in high-latitude regions, where heating demand is high and minimizing environmental impacts is increasingly necessary. In this study, a novel centralized environmental control system (ECS) was implemented in a semi-closed tomato greenhouse under Norwegian conditions. The ECS integrates heating, cooling, dehumidification, and heat recovery through air-to water heat exchangers, a heat pump, and thermal energy storage system to support climate control and energy management. The ECS was monitored across three tomato production experiments conducted during summer and winter seasons, and its operational performance was evaluated based on greenhouse climate, tomato yield, and energy use. The experiments included variations in temperature setpoints and cooling capacity. The ECS maintained greenhouse climate that was suitable for tomato production across all experiments. Changes in temperature setpoints and cooling capacity affected ECS electricity consumption and influenced the balance between recovered heat and boiler heating, while having limited effects on tomato yield. The results indicate the potential of centralized ECS technology to sustain tomato production while reducing reliance on fossil-energy, supporting the transition towards energy-efficient and emission-free smart greenhouse production.
Abstract
Greenhouse tomato production at high latitudes requires substantial inputs of supplemental lighting, heating and climate control. (Semi-) closed greenhouses can improve heat, water and CO₂ retention, but require additional electricity, climate control system capacities and investment. Crop productivity and resource use must therefore be evaluated jointly. This paper presents the EFREE-Green systems framework for integrating local production conditions, greenhouse environmental control, crop physiological responses, resource flows, and economic and environmental performance. The framework is implemented in two experimental greenhouse compartments operating at a semi-commercial scale at NIBIO Særheim, Norway, connected to a centralized environmental control system (ECS). Measurements at leaf, canopy and greenhouse scale link environmental control with crop carbon gain, biomass partitioning, marketable yield and resource use. Illustrative observations demonstrate that crop responses to supplemental lighting depend on interactions among light availability, CO₂ supply and climate management. Experimental measurements, modelling, techno-economic assessment and life-cycle assessment are combined to evaluate crop productivity, energy efficiency, resource recovery, production costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The framework is transferable to other climatic and production settings, but optimal technologies, capacities and control strategies remain location-specific.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Vibeke LindAbstract
This report reviews the potential use of seaweed as a feed ingredient for ruminants under Northern-Norwegian conditions. Seaweed has a long history in coastal livestock farming, especially where conventional forage was scarce, but its use declined as farms became larger, more specialised and dependent on high-quality feeds. Renewed interest is driven by the need to increase national feed self-sufficiency, reduce reliance on imported protein sources, and explore strategies to lower enteric methane emissions. Seaweed species differ greatly in nutritional value, digestibility, mineral composition and effects on rumen fermentation. Red species such as Porphyra and Palmaria palmata appear most promising as protein sources, whereas several brown species show lower protein digestibility and may contain high iodine levels or potentially harmful elements. Preservation is a major barrier because fresh seaweed decomposes rapidly; ensiling, drying and multi-nutrient blocks require further development to improve dry matter content, palatability, shelf-life and nutrient quality. Seaweed has also been studied as a methane inhibitor. Asparagopsis can strongly reduce methane emissions, but concerns about bromoform content, animal health, productivity and suitability for Norwegian systems limit its relevance. Norwegian studies with locally available seaweeds have not shown consistent in vivo methane mitigation. Overall, seaweed may support more circular and locally based feed systems, but practical use requires species-specific evaluation, safe inclusion levels, improved preservation methods and stronger in vivo documentation.
Authors
Habtamu Alem Diress Tsegaye Alemu Ibrahim Issifu Daniel D.N. Nortey Linda Bana Denis W. Aheto Belachew Gizachew ZelekeAbstract
Mangrove condition reflects interactions among ecological pressures, livelihood dependence, institutional arrangements, and biophysical constraints on regeneration. This study compares seven purposively selected rapid-appraisal sites in Ghana's Greater Amanzule Wetlands in the Western Region and the Lower Volta Delta. Evidence combines May 2025 site appraisals, 14 semi-structured interviews, three group discussions, spatial and secondary ecological information, and historical livelihood context from GLSS7 (2016–2017). Institutional functioning was assessed descriptively through rule recognition and participation, monitoring and responses to violations, and collective action, without assigning unsupported site-level scores. Visible disturbance was lower in the Western sites, with a median score of 2 (range 2–3), than in the Lower Volta sites, where the median was 4. Stakeholder accounts also indicated more consistently recognised rules and participation in the Western system, while implementation was described as less consistent in the Lower Volta. Monitoring responsibilities, frequency, and responses to violations were insufficiently documented in both systems, preventing comparison of monitoring effectiveness. Because governance evidence was primarily regional and sites were purposively selected, these findings represent a descriptive association between two coastal systems, not seven independent institutional observations or a causal institutional effect. Hydrology, hydroperiod, sediment supply, salinity, geomorphology, and the scale of pressure also condition disturbance and regeneration opportunities. Effective responses should therefore combine participatory rule implementation, collective action, transparent monitoring arrangements, livelihood measures, and restoration strategies matched to local biophysical conditions and the geographical scale of dominant stressors.