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
Authors
Maria Åsnes Moan Stefano Puliti Rasmus Astrup Ole Martin Bollandsås Terje Gobakken Maciej Wielgosz Hans Ole Ørka Lennart NoordermeerAbstract
Abstract The site index (SI) describes a site’s potential to produce wood volume. Accurate information on SI in young forests is essential for planning thinning operations and projecting future growth and yield. For tree species that form annual branch whorls, information on interwhorl distances along the stem may be used to determine the SI in young forests. Branch whorls, and consequently tree height growth trajectories, can be detected automatically using deep learning on very dense laser scanning data. In the current study, we demonstrate this approach in a case study in a young Norway spruce forest. We trained a pose estimation Convolutional Neural Network and detected branch whorls of 97 dominant trees in 54 plots scanned with mobile laser scanning data. We predicted SI determined from detected branch whorls in three different sections of each tree, selected in the stem height range between 2.5 and 8 m: all whorls, the lowest six whorls, and whorls selected with an automatic selection procedure. We compared the obtained SI to the SI determined from field-measured branch whorls. Obtained values of precision, recall, and F1 score for the branch whorl detection were 0.66, 0.58, and 0.62, respectively. Values of root mean square error and mean differences between reference and predicted SI ranged between 19.8%–20.9% and −3.6%–4.0%, respectively. Although the tested approach showed potential for SI determination in young forests, the obtained errors were large. This was due to detection errors and high sensitivity to small changes in height increment. These issues highlight the need for further research to improve branch whorl detection accuracy and address challenges associated with determining the SI in young forests.
Authors
Jingwei Li Min-Rui Wang Zhibo Hamborg Dag-Ragnar Blystad Gayle Volk Jean Carlos Bettoni QiaoChun WangAbstract
Rapid population growth poses a major challenge to global food security. Promoting sustainable agricultural production is necessary to ensure the global food security. Horticultural plants are a high-valued part in agricultural production. Virus and viroid diseases have long been a key factor limiting the horticultural production. Cultivation and distribution of pathogen-free plants is currently the most efficient practice for managing virus and viroid diseases, and their spread in the landscape. Cryotherapy-based methods are recently developed novel biotechnologies for the efficient production of pathogen-free plants. This review outlines updated information on the development and advances in cryotherapy-based methods for efficiently eradicating viruses and viroids in horticultural plants. Mechanisms underlining cryotherapy-based methods for improved pathogen eradication are discussed, and suggestions for further studies are proposed.
Authors
Jiunn Luh Tan Igor Koloniuk Ondřej Lenz Jana Veselá Jaroslava Přibylová Rostislav Zemek Josef Špak Radek Čmejla Jiří Sedlák Dag-Ragnar Blystad Zhibo Hamborg Jana FránováAbstract
Although global raspberries production has grown in the past decade, it remains threatened by plant viruses. This study surveyed raspberry viruses and associated arthropods in the Czech Republic between 2021 and 2022 across five regions. A total of 257 plant and 151 arthropod samples were tested using RT-(q)PCR for 12 viruses listed in the EPPO Certification scheme, plus raspberry leaf blotch virus (RLBV) and a novel virus, tentatively named raspberry-associated virus A (RaVA). Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) was most prevalent (51.8%), followed by black raspberry necrosis virus (BRNV, 42.0%) and raspberry leaf mottle virus (RLMV, 28.4%). Four viruses—arabis mosaic virus, apple mosaic virus, strawberry latent ringspot virus, raspberry ringspot virus—were not detected. RBDV was also identified in Sambucus nigra, a new host, while mixed RLBV and RaVA infection was found in wild Rubus occidentalis. RLBV was experimentally transmitted to Nicotiana occidentalis 37B in the presence of Phyllocoptes gracilis. Seven of 39 arthropod species carried viruses, but only two—Amphorophora rubi idaei and Aphis idaei—are known vectors. PCR amplicons from 92 isolates were sequenced, revealing high variability in several viruses. These findings offer new insights but highlight the need for continued monitoring and research.
Authors
Marius Dobbe Klemetsen Marte Marie Fossum Ranvik Thomas Georges A Bawin Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Sangharsha Thapa El Houssaine Bouras Sylvain Poque Andrius Aleliūnas Rita Armoniene Egli Norkevičienė Kristiina Himanen Svante Resjö Qinlin Xiao Ameneh Khani Thomas G. Roitsch Erik Alexandersson Sajeevan R. SivarajanAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Marius Dobbe Klemetsen Otso Turunen Wojchiec Leoniuk Thomas Georges A Bawin Esa Tyystjärvi Laura Jaakola Taina TyystjärviAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Cristina Micheloni Frank Willem Oudshoorn Maria Isabel Blanco Penedo Sari Autio Andrea Beste Jacopo Goracci Matthias Koesling Ursula Kretzschmar Eligio Malusá Maria Dolores Raigon Jiminez Bernhard Speiser Jan van der Blom Felix Wäckers Stéphane Becquet Johanna Döring Nagore Guerra Gorostegi Alessandra TrincheraAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances with plant protection or fertilising effects in organic production. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances and methods is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production, and whether they should be included in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/11652. Recommendations with respect to Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/11652: • The Group recommends authorising calcium carbonate also for plant protection. It should be included in Part 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/11652 with the restriction ‘Only of natural origin’. Recommendations with respect to the production (‘forcing’) of ornamental bulbs and chives on pure water or an allowed growing medium: • The Group recommends authorising the forcing of flower bulbs outside the soil in water or authorised substrates. Point 1.3 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/8481 as follows : ‘By way of derogation from point 1.1,the following shall be allowed: the obtaining of chicory heads including by dipping in clear water and the forcing of flower bulbs outside the soil in pure water or authorised substrates shall be allowed’. • The Group could not reach a common conclusion regarding the forcing of chives and therefore does not give a recommendation.
Authors
Micheloni, Cristina Oudshoorn, Frank Willem Blanco Penedo, Maria Isabel Autio, Sari Beste, Andrea Goracci, Jacopo Matthias Koesling Kretzschmar, Ursula Malusá, Eligio Speiser, Bernhard van der Blom, Jan Wäckers, Felix Capodieci, Luca Minguito, Pablo Molteni, RobertoAbstract
The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of sulphur dioxide (SO2) in malting during the kilning process in organic production, on ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) as a processing aid for the production of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin and on sulphuric acid (H2SO4) as a processing aid in the production of organic pea protein. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production and whether they should therefore be included in Annex V, part A of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/11652. The Group recommends the following: • not to include sulphur dioxide as a processing aid in malting; • not to include ammonium hydroxide as a processing aid for the production of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin; • not to include sulphuric acid as a processing aid in the production of organic pea protein.
Authors
Zuzana Vaneková Martina Redl Lorenz Fischer Karin Ortmayr Laura Jaakola Judith M. RollingerAbstract
Vaccinium uliginosum (bog bilberry) is widely consumed in North America and Asia but has been historically avoided in many parts of Europe due to its alleged poisonous effects. We aimed to address this discrepancy in a systematic way with a combined phytochemical and ethnopharmacological approach, using UHPLC and UHPSFC for the chemical analysis, model organisms Caenorhabditis elegans and human liver cells GFP-Huh-7 for the bioactivity and toxicity testing, as well as fermentation experiments. Phytochemical analysis revealed minimal differences in the metabolite pattern between European and North American samples, with no evidence of toxic alkaloids or harmful secondary metabolites. Extracts exhibited no strongly toxic effects in the tested concentrations, neither in vitro (cell viability) nor in vivo (C. elegans). Berries infected by Monilinia megalospora showed altered flavonoid and anthocyanin contents but no increased toxicity. Notably, bog bilberries demonstrated a fermentation potential superior to Vaccinium myrtillus, resulting in an alcohol content of 4.8–5.8% ABV in unsweetened juices, thus potentially explaining historical accounts of inebriation. In conclusion, direct toxicity derived from these fruits is unlikely, but the alcohol content due to fruit fermentation is a plausible explanation for the folklore names (“drunk, inebriating berry”). However, additional factors such as human error, individual intolerance, or endophytic activity need to be considered.
Authors
Timothy Ohlert Melinda D. Smith Scott L. Collins Alan K. Knapp Jeffrey S. Dukes Osvaldo Sala Kate D. Wilkins Seth M. Munson Maggie I. Anderson Meghan L. Avolio Anping Chen Meghan T. Hayden Martin C. Holdrege Ingrid J. Slette Peter Wilfahrt Claus Beier Lauchlan H. Fraser Anke Jentsch Michael E. Loik Yiqi Luo Fernando T. Maestre Richard P. Phillips Sally A. Power Laura Yahdjian Qiang Yu Angel Chen Andrew J. Felton Laureano A. Gherardi Nicholas J. Lyon Hamed Abdoli Mehdi Abedi Juan Alberti Antonio I. Arroyo Heidi Asbjornsen Harald Auge Seton Bachle Michael Bahn David C. Bartholomew Amgaa Batbaatar Taryn L. Bauerle Karen H. Beard Kai Behn Ilka Beil Lucio Biancari Irmgard Blindow Viviana Florencia Bondaruk Elizabeth T. Borer Edward W. Bork Carlos Martin Bruschetti Kerry M. Byrne James F. Cahill Dianela A. Calvo Michele Carbognani Cameron N. Carlyle Karen Castillioni Miguel Castillo-Garcia Manjunatha H. Chandregowda Scott X. Chang Jeff Chieppa Amber C. Churchill Marcus Vinicius Cianciaruso Amanda L Cordeiro Sara A. O. Cousins Daniela F. Cusack Sven Dahlke Pedro Daleo Lee H. Dietterich Maren Dubbert Nico Eisenhauer T’ai G. W. Forte Flavia A. Funk Darcy Galiano Aaron C. Greenville Liebao Han Siri Vatsø Haugum Yann Hautier Andy Hector Hugh A. L. Henry Daniela Hoss Forest Isbell Samuel E. Jordan Yuguang Ke Eugene F. Kelly Sally E. Koerner Juergen Kreyling György Kröel-Dulay Alicia I. Kröpfl Angelika Kübert Andrew Kulmatiski Eric G. Lamb Klaus Steenberg Larsen Steven Lee Smriti Pehim Limbu Anja Linstädter Shirong Liu Grisel Longo Alejandro Loydi Junwei Luan F. Curtis Lubbe Andrey V. Malyshev Cameron D. McIntire Daniel B. Metcalfe Malesela Vincent Mokoka Akira S. Mori Edwin Mudongo Gregory S. Newman Uffe N. Nielsen Raúl Ochoa-Hueso Rory C. O’Connor Romà Ogaya Gastón R. Oñatibia Ildikó Orbán Brooke B. Osborne Rafael Otfinowski Meelis Pärtel Jesús Pascual Josep Peñuelas Pablo L. Peri David S. Pescador Guadalupe Peter Alessandro Petraglia Catherine Picon-Cochard Valério D. Pillar Juan M. Piñeiro-Guerra Laura Weber Ploughe Robert M. Plowes Cristy Portales-Reyes Suzanne M. Prober Yolanda Pueyo Golsa Rahmati Sasha C. Reed Dana Aylén Rodríguez William E. Rogers Christiane Roscher David W. Rowley Ana M. Sánchez Bráulio A. Santos Michael P. Schellenberg Michael Scherer-Lorenzen Eric W. Seabloom Ruonan Shen Baoku Shi Lara Souza Andreas Stampfli Rachel J. Standish Marcelo Sternberg Wei Sun Marie Sünnemann Michelle Tedder Tyson J. Terry Pål Thorvaldsen Katja Tielbörger Maud Tissink Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur Alejandro Valdecantos Liesbeth van den Brink Vigdis Vandvik Liv Guri Velle Svenja Wanke Glenda M. Wardle Cunzheng Wei Christiane Werner Georg Wiehl Jennifer L. Williams Amelia A. Wolf Honghui Wu Chong Xu Xuechen Yang Yadong Yang Jenifer L. Yost Alyssa L. Young Ping Yue Juan M. Zeberio Michaela Zeiter Haiyang Zhang Juntao Zhu Xiaoan ZuoAbstract
As droughts become longer and more intense, impacts on terrestrial primary productivity are expected to increase progressively. Yet, some ecosystems appear to acclimate to multiyear drought, with constant or diminishing reductions in productivity as drought duration increases. We quantified the combined effects of drought duration and intensity on aboveground productivity in 74 grasslands and shrublands distributed globally. Ecosystem acclimation with multiyear drought was observed overall, except when droughts were extreme (i.e., ≤1-in-100-year likelihood of occurrence). Productivity losses after four consecutive years of extreme drought increased by ~2.5-fold compared with those of the first year. These results portend a foundational shift in ecosystem behavior if drought duration and intensity increase, from maintenance of reduced functioning over time to progressive and profound losses of productivity when droughts are extreme.
Authors
Laura JaakolaAbstract
No abstract has been registered