Hopp til hovedinnholdet

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.

2025

To document

Abstract

A controlled peatland rewetting experiment was conducted on two adjacent drained peatland sites in southeastern Norway. Eddy covariance monitoring of CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes at both sites began in 2019. In 2021, the Treatment Site was rewetted while the Control Site remained drained. Using nine environmental variables and the processed flux data as training data, Bayesian Additive Regression Tree (BART) models were used to generate annual flux balances for CO 2 and CH 4 . The 4-year mean annual flux at the Control Site was 17.3 ± 10 g CO 2 -C m − 2 yr − 1 and 4.6 ± 0.1 g CH 4 -C m − 2 yr − 1 . At the Treatment Site, the 2-year mean annual flux before the rewetting was 12.2  ±  3.8 g CO 2 -C m − 2 yr − 1 and 1.8  ±  0.04 g CH 4 -C m − 2 yr − 1 . In the first year after rewetting the annual flux was 53.3  ±  13 g CO 2 -C m − 2 yr − 1 and 3.8  ±  0.3 g CH 4 -C m − 2 yr − 1 , and in the second year after rewetting the annual flux was 41.2  ±  18 g CO 2 -C m − 2 yr − 1 and 3.4  ±  0.4 g CH 4 -C m − 2 yr − 1 . BART counterfactual modeling was able to estimate the effect of the rewetting on CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes. Two years after the rewetting, the BART counterfactual modeling estimated that the cumulative fluxes had increased by 80.3 ± 49 g CO 2 -C m − 2 and 3.4 ± 0.47 g CH 4 -C m − 2 because of the rewetting. Carbon flux monitoring of both sites is ongoing as the Control Site remains drained and the soil and vegetation at the Treatment Site continues to adjust to the altered hydrological regime after rewetting.

Abstract

The value of genetic resources in agriculture is hard to overestimate as they are decisive for food safety, provide options for adaptation of future diet needs, and underpin a vast amount of biodiversity. To enable an effective conservation of these resources, we need knowledge about where they are located. The EU project GenRes Bridge showed that this knowledge is indeed modest at the European level. A source of genetic resources with particular potential for use in agriculture, e.g. related to the future adaptation to climate change, are crop wild relatives (CWR). Crop wild relatives are plant species categorized as wild relatives of cultivated plants and are used here as an indicator of genetic resources in the landscape. We therefore wanted to explore new ways of identifying hotspots of genetic resources, highlighting the landscape as a starting point. It is well established that landscape heterogeneity is closely related to biodiversity, although to our knowledge studies hitherto have rarely looked at the relation between landscape and genetic resources. Focusing on crop wild relatives, used here as an indicator for genetic resources in the landscape, we wanted to assess whether we could identify how landscape variation in topography and land cover has consequences for the spatial distribution of genetic resources that may be important in the future development of agriculture. Here we report the results from this pilot study where we have tested whether there is a correlation between landscape heterogeneity and agricultural genetic resources, using 5 x 5 km grid cells as spatial units. We used the presence of the crop wild relatives (CWR) which are prioritized for conservation in Norway as indicators of agricultural genetic resource diversity and extracted landscape heterogeneity descriptors from publicly available sources. The results from our study do suggest that landscape diversity could be a path worth following in searching for these resources in the landscape, and thus also important in decision-making on planning and management in these diverse landscapes.

Abstract

Several aphid species pose serious treats to potato crops by causing direct damage to the plants and/or indirectly by transmitting viruses. Different morphological forms and phenotypic plasticity among aphids complicates taxonomy and identification and thus makes targeted pest management in potatoes challenging. To obtain an overview of aphids frequenting potato fields in Norway, we investigated seasonal and annual changes in aphid populations in five potato fields (58–64 °N) over a three-year period (2016–2018), using yellow pan traps. In total 2218 of the 6136 collected aphids were identified by traditional barcoding, meaning sequencing a ~ 650 fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene. This revealed 137 different species, of which 111 were identified at the species level. The remaining were identified only to the genus level, indicating potential novel species. The southernmost sampling location yielded the highest number of species and individual counts, although no clear correlations to climate factors (temperature/precipitation) was observed. Of the 111 species identified, at least 39 are potential vectors of potato virus Y (PVY) and nine species may also transmit potato virus A (PVA). Knowledge on virus vector and non-vector aphid abundance and phenology have the potential to improve pest management of potato cultivation.

Abstract

Studien undersøker hvordan vegetasjonsdekke (NDVI) og overflaterefleksjon (albedo) varierer gjennom året i norske utmarksområder som er beitet og ubeitet. Utmarkene har stor betydning for beitebruk, biologisk mangfold og karbonlagring, men endringer i landbruk og redusert beitepress påvirker vegetasjonen og kan ha klimakonsekvenser. Analysen bygger på satellittdata fra 18 lokaliteter i perioden 2019–2023. Resultatene viser tydelige sesongmønstre: NDVI er lav om vinteren og høy om sommeren, mens albedo er høy i snødekte perioder og lav når vegetasjon dominerer. Det ble ikke funnet signifikante forskjeller mellom beitede og ubeitede områder samlet sett, selv om enkelte lokaliteter viste små variasjoner. Dette tyder på at sesong og fenologi har større betydning enn beite, og at metodiske begrensninger – særlig grov oppløsning i albedodata – kan maskere lokale effekter. Studien anbefaler bruk av høyoppløselige data og mer avanserte metoder for å bedre forstå klimaeffektene av endret beitebruk.

To document

Abstract

This paper outlines the rationale for, and the current state of, mapping habitat diversity. It provides an overview of progress in assessing and monitoring farmland habitat biodiversity at the national level, in line with the proposed OECD Farmland Habitat Biodiversity Indicator (FHBI). The paper describes pilot studies by eight countries, summarising the approaches to mapping habitats, assessing habitat quality, and implementing the FHBI at the national level. Drawing from the experience of the FHBI pilot countries, this paper offers general guidelines for defining habitats and assigning biodiversity values of habitats for calculation of the FHBI. It provides guidance on selecting the appropriate tier level for data acquisition, processing, and reporting, and summarises strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the current FHBI structure used in the pilot studies.

Abstract

In modern agricultural landscapes, field margins are important for the survival of many species of plants and animals. We recorded vascular plant species in three kinds of field margins: road verges, margins adjacent to pasture, and strips of vegetation with arable fields on either side (“corridors”). Field margins are not included in the current national monitoring programme, due to limited funds and difficulties standardising recording methods. In this study, we repeated a survey done 15 years earlier. For both surveys, recording effort was standardised by using the shape and size of the mapped field margin to calculate the time allocated for recording a full species list. We found that there were fewer flowering plants in the margins than previously, including a decline in many pollinator plants. However, invasive species had increased in frequency. Road verges were the most species rich, presumably because the vegetation is regularly cut for traffic safety reasons. But the Norwegian Public Roads Administration are also managing species-rich roadsides through adapted mowing. Considering international ambitions to restore nature, regular management of field boundaries could be a suitable measure in agricultural landscapes, to increase their value for biodiversity.

Abstract

Over recent decades, farmland and meadow-breeding bird populations in Europe have markedly declined, attributed to factors like agricultural intensification and land abandonment. Parts of the Norwegian Monitoring Programme for Agricultural Landscapes explore the correlation between land use and bird species, aiming to understand how spatial heterogeneity and land use diversity affect the richness, abundance, and distribution of farmland birds. Between 2000 and 2023, we saw declining populations and reduced distributions of several farmland bird species within the monitoring squares. Additionally, we found that both spatial heterogeneity of land use and high land type diversity positively influenced farmland birds. This gives important insight on how to design biodiverse agricultural landscapes. We also examined the impact of agricultural intensity on 25 farmland bird species, using livestock density and pasture size as indicators. Larger pastures generally benefited a wide range of farmland bird species. Different bird species responded variably to livestock numbers, but high livestock density led to a decrease in overall farmland bird abundance. Many countries subsidize sustainable farming to protect biodiversity. We studied Norwegian agri-environmental schemes' impact on farmland and meadow-breeding birds. We found that bird observations rose when these measures were in place but often declined once the support ended. Furthermore, the schemes were geographically limited and relatively few farmers participated. While short-term benefits were evident, long-term effects remain uncertain, highlighting the need for improved conservation strategies. Emphasizing the importance of spatially heterogeneous agricultural landscapes with high land type diversity and natural areas, the study indicates the type of agricultural landscapes we should be aiming for to maintain and restore biodiversity.