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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.

2026

Abstract

Wood continues to evolve as a sustainable construction material in response to global demands for circularity, climate resilience, and resource efficiency. This study develops lightweight bio-based insulation panels from wood chips, cellulose nanofibrils, and macroalgae processing residues, demonstrating enhanced fire resistance, thermal and acoustic properties. By transforming wood and marine biomass into high-value multifunctional products, the work extends the life of wood beyond traditional applications. The study highlights how innovative wood-based composites can strengthen circular bioeconomy value chains and support resilient, low-carbon buildings in an ever-changing world.

Abstract

An overview of the European Heathland Network, its history, purpose and role in connecting research, management and policy across Europe. The presentation also highlighted past workshops, current management challenges and priorities for strengthening the network in the future.

To document

Abstract

Insect pollinators are important drivers of fruit quality and yield in horticultural systems. The global reduction in wild bee populations has increased the demand for managed honeybees, despite honeybees relatively low pollination efficiency. Here, we assessed how bee communities, bee behaviour, and orchard design in Norwegian apple orchards affects apple pollination success, an important determinant of apple quality. We placed pan and vane traps in 18 apple orchards, in six distinct locations, within the two main apple growing regions in Norway. We also tracked individual bees (honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary bees) throughout the apple flowering season, and recorded their flower handling time, number of flower visits, stigma contact, and movement between apple flowers. Finally, we calculated the seed set rate (ovules developed into seeds / total number of ovules) from 908 harvested apples to estimate pollination success. Our key finding is that pollination success was driven by the abundance of wild bees and overall orchard planting design. We found lower pollination success in block design orchards where a single cultivar is planted continuously over a large area, compared to orchards with an integrated design where compatible cultivars are planted within the orchard. We also found that stigma contact decreased as apple flowering progressed, and that solitary bees visited fewer flowers per foraging event but were potentially more thorough foragers. Our results highlight the importance of promoting wild bees in apple orchards while also ensuring there is compatible pollen in the orchards for optimal pollination.

To document

Abstract

Greenhouse cultivation can help meet food demand in a growing and increasingly urbanised population. Reliance on fossil-fuel heating and natural ventilation often makes conventional greenhouses energy- and carbon-inefficient. Closed greenhouses address these limitations through resource recycling and energy recovery. While a centralised environmental control system (ECS) integrating climate control and heat harvesting has shown potential to improve greenhouse crop performance at high latitudes, its year-round energy use and energy-related carbon footprint reduction potential remains insufficiently quantified. This study extends an existing dynamic greenhouse climate model to incorporate a novel centralised ECS integrating air recirculation, heating, cooling, and heat harvesting in (semi-)closed greenhouses. The model was validated using experimental data from Norway, reproducing temperature and relative humidity with RMSEs of 1.40–1.63 °C and 7.60–8.55%, respectively. Energy use and tomato yield were predicted with relative errors of 3.8–8.4% and 1.6–4.2%, respectively. Scenario simulations under Norwegian conditions showed that (semi-)closed greenhouses with heat harvesting can reduce fossil fuel use by over 80% while increasing tomato yields by 15–41% relative to open greenhouses, driven by changes in CO2 concentration and temperature following reduced ventilation and heat recovery. The performance of a fully closed greenhouse relying solely on on-site cold storage is constrained by cooling capacity and buffer size, particularly during summer; adding a supplemental cold energy source such as surface water can improve its performance. Despite heat harvesting, a residual boiler heating demand of 3–10% remains. Further gains in energy efficiency and crop performance may be achieved through optimised climate control.