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.
2010
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We have mapped the quality of pasture resources for sheep grazing outdoor all year on ten localities along the west coast of Norway, using a classification scheme developed for this purpose. The classes reflect fodder value throughout the year. We performed an accuracy assessment, and identified possible sources of error. The accuracy is relatively low, and like others, we found that separating heath classes is a challenge. However, most errors can be explained by special mislocation and temporal change. Our further work with exploring grazing habits and landscape use of Old Norse sheep will include a GPS study of sheep movements overlaid with our pasture maps. We will update the map on that locality through field visits to enhance its accuracy.
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Norwegian agriculture is mainly dominated by grass-based milk and livestock production, so winter damage to overwintering grasses may have large economic consequences. We assessed the impact of climate change on the winter survival of timothy (Phleum pratense L) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L) under Norwegian conditions using agroclimatic indices and a simulation model of frost tolerance. This study was based on locally adjusted future climate scenarios (two for the period 2071-2100; one for the period 2020-2049) for six important agricultural regions, represented by one location each. We proposed and validated a rough way to estimate the daily minimum air temperatures from scenario data. compared with the control period 1961-1990, the future hardening period will be shortened by up to 21 days. As a consequence, the modelled maximum frost tolerance is expected to be reduced by up to 3.9 degrees C and 1.9 degrees C for timothy and perennial ryegrass, respectively, under the warmest scenario. In spite of this reduction, the plants are expected to be hardy enough to withstand the predicted autumn frosts, and we also expect a general reduction in the risk of winter frost injuries. The plant data available to this study suggest that agroclimatic indices developed for Canadian conditions can be useful for assessing the hardening status in timothy and perennial ryegrass. However, such indices are less suitable for assessing the risk of plant injury related to frost and ice encasement in Norway, since they do not account for the dynamics of cold adaptation. Although less snow is expected, in most cases this will not be accompanied by an increase in the risk of ice encasement injuries. However, a slight increase in the number of ice encasement events was predicted for one location. An earlier start of growth was predicted for all locations, accompanied at one coastal location by a slightly increased predicted risk of spring frosts. There is little risk of winter injuries related to frost and ice encasement in the hardier grass species timothy. The better overwintering conditions in general indicate that it will be possible to grow perennial ryegrass in areas where it is not grown today, provided the risk of fungal diseases does not increase. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Timothy (Phleum pratense L) is the most important forage grass in Scandinavia and it is therefore highly interesting to study how it will perform in a changing climate. In order to model winter survival, the dynamics of hardening and dehardening must be simulated with satisfactory precision. We investigated an early timothy frost tolerance model (LT50 model), and an LT50 model for winter wheat. Based on the assumption that timothy has no vernalization requirement, unlike winter wheat, but does have the ability to adapt to cold temperatures in a process linked to stage of development, two alternative versions of the winter wheat model were also constructed. In total, these four candidate models were calibrated by a Bayesian approach for the timothy cultivar Engmo. The candidate models were validated using independent observations on LT50 in timothy at different locations reflecting differences in climate. A sensitivity analysis, using the Morris method, to identify important model parameters suggested that there is a connection between frost tolerance and stage of plant development, even if there is no vernalization requirement. The simplified winter wheat model was selected as the best candidate model for LT50 in timothy based on model selection criteria and its ability to capture the hardening and dehardening processes. The results from the Bayesian calibration suggest that there are no major regional differences in Norway calling for regional calibration. However, cultivar-specific calibration is probably required, since there are hardy and less hardy cultivars within the same species. A functional LT50 model would allow risk assessments to be made of future winter survival using specifically tailored and downscaled climate scenarios. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum, cv. Suzanne) were subjected to complete nutrient solution or a solution without nitrogen (N), and placed at different temperatures and light conditions to test the effects of environment on flavonoids and caffeoyl derivatives and related gene expression. N depletion during 4-8 days resulted in enhanced levels of flavonoids and caffeoyl derivatives. Anthocyanins showed pronounced increased levels when lowering the growth temperature from 24 degrees C to 18 degrees C or 12 degrees C. Flavonol levels increased when the light intensity was increased from 100 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) to 200 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) PAR. Synergistic effects of the various environmental factors were observed. The increase in content of quercetin derivatives in response to low temperatures was only found under conditions of N depletion, and especially at the higher light intensity. Expression of structural genes in the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathways, PAL (phenylalanine ammonia lyase), CHS (chalcone synthase), F3H (flavanone 3-hydroxylase), and FLS (flavonol synthase) increased in response to N depletion, in agreement with a corresponding increase in flavonoid and caffeoyl content. Expression of these structural genes generally also increased in response to lower temperatures. As indicated through expression studies and correlation analysis, effects of N depletion were apparently mediated through the overall regulators of the pathway the MYB transcription factor ANT1 (ANTHOCYANIN 1) and SlJAF13 (a bHLH transcription factor orthologue of petunia JAF13 and maize RED genes). A PAL gene (PAL6) was identified, and correlation analysis was compatible with PAL6 being an actively expressed gene with function in flavonoid synthesis. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.