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.
2023
Authors
Yeqing Li Shasha Yu Xingru Yang Yijing Feng Liming Dong Yi Zhang Lu Feng Mahmoud Mazarji Junting PanAbstract
In the anaerobic digestion (AD) process, the effects of humic acid (HA) derived from different feedstocks on AD are influenced by the variations in their structural composition and oxygen-containing functional groups. Thus, clarifying the structural differences of HA obtained from different feedstocks is crucial for understanding their impact on AD. In this study, the structure of five humic acids (HAs) derived from liquid digestate, food waste, silage corn straw, lignite and commercial HA, and their effects on AD were investigated. The study found that HA from food waste had more carboxyl groups, while straw-derived HA had more phenolic hydroxyl groups. Both types of HA had higher aromaticity and humification degree and showed significant inhibition effect on AD. HA from food waste had an average methanogenic inhibition rate of 43.5 % with 1 g/L HA added. In addition, commercial HA and HA derived from lignite had similar functional group types and aromaticity, with an average methanogenic inhibition rate of about 20 %. The study revealed that HAs with more carboxyl groups exhibited greater effectiveness in inhibiting AD, thereby confirming the influence of HA structures derived from different feedstocks on AD. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the mechanism of HA effect on AD and offers guidance for future research focused on enhancing AD efficiency.
Authors
Margaret Nyaboke Nyang'au Komivi S. Akutse Khamis Fathiya Miriam Karwitha Charimbu Solveig HaukelandAbstract
Potato Cyst Nematodes (PCN) (Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida Woll.) are quarantine pests of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) worldwide capable of causing significant yield loss and difficult to manage with conventional methods. The study explored the diversity of antagonistic fungi associated with PCN obtained from soil samples collected in Nyandarua and Nakuru Counties in Kenya and their effect on PCN egg viability and hatching was also evaluated. Twelve fungal isolates from five genera were isolated and characterized using morphological and molecular techniques. The twelve isolates were Trichoderma asperellum (4), T. hamatum, T. breve, T. atrobruneum, Amanita basiorubra, Setophoma terrestris (2), Penicillium chrysogenum and Clonostachys rosea. The most abundant isolate was Trichoderma spp. with 58 % occurrence. The effect of seven of the isolates on PCN eggs showed that T. breve and P. chrysogenum reduced egg viability by 41 % and 34 %, respectively while T. asperellum and T. breve reduced their hatching by 50 % on average. Trichoderma atrobrunneum, T. hamatum, and A. basiorubra also reduced the PCN egg viability by 27 % on average. These fungal isolates could provide a potential tool for PCN management in potato production systems for improved yields. However, further studies are warranted to validate these findings under greenhouse and field conditions. A more comprehensive bioprospecting survey for PCN associated antagonistic fungi needs to be extended to other potato growing regions to explore further cyst pathogens.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Camille S. Delavaux Thomas W. Crowther Constantin M. Zohner Niamh M. Robmann Thomas Lauber Johan van den Hoogen Sara Kuebbing Jingjing Liang Sergio de-Miguel Gert-Jan Nabuurs Peter B. Reich Meinrad Abegg Yves C. Adou Yao Giorgio Alberti Angelica M. Almeyda Zambrano Braulio Vilchez Alvarado Esteban Alvarez-Dávila Patricia Alvarez-Loayza Luciana F. Alves Christian Ammer Clara Antón Fernandéz Alejandro Araujo-Murakami Luzmila Arroyo Valerio Avitabile Gerardo A. Aymard Timothy R. Baker Radomir Bałazy Olaf Banki Jorcely G. Barroso Meredith L. Bastian Jean-Francois Bastin Luca Birigazzi Philippe Birnbaum Robert Bitariho Pascal Boeckx Frans Bongers Olivier Bouriaud Pedro H. S. Brancalion Susanne Brandl Roel Brienen Eben N. Broadbent Helge Bruelheide Filippo Bussotti Roberto Cazzolla Gatti Ricardo G. César Goran Cesljar Robin Chazdon Han Y. H. Chen Chelsea Chisholm Hyunkook Cho Emil Cienciala Connie Clark David Clark Gabriel D. Colletta David A. Coomes Fernando Cornejo Valverde José J. Corral-Rivas Philip M. Crim Jonathan R. Cumming Selvadurai Dayanandan André L. de Gasper Mathieu Decuyper Géraldine Derroire Ben DeVries Ilija Djordjevic Jiri Dolezal Aurélie Dourdain Nestor Laurier Engone Obiang Brian J. Enquist Teresa J. Eyre Adandé Belarmain Fandohan Tom M. Fayle Ted R. Feldpausch Leandro V. Ferreira Markus Fischer Christine Fletcher Lorenzo Frizzera Javier G. P. Gamarra Damiano Gianelle Henry B. Glick David J. Harris Andrew Hector Andreas Hemp Geerten Hengeveld Bruno Hérault John L. Herbohn Martin Herold Annika Hillers Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado Cang Hui Thomas T. Ibanez Iêda Amaral Nobuo Imai Andrzej M. Jagodziński Bogdan Jaroszewicz Vivian Kvist Johannsen Carlos A. Joly Tommaso Jucker Ilbin Jung Viktor Karminov Kuswata Kartawinata Elizabeth Kearsley David Kenfack Deborah K. Kennard Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas Gunnar Keppel Mohammed Latif Khan Timothy J. Killeen Hyun Seok Kim Kanehiro Kitayama Michael Köhl Henn Korjus Florian Kraxner Diana Laarmann Mait Lang Simon L. Lewis Huicui Lu Natalia V. Lukina Brian S. Maitner Yadvinder Malhi Eric Marcon Beatriz Schwantes Marimon Ben Hur Marimon-Junior Andrew R. Marshall Emanuel H. Martin Olga Martynenko Jorge A. Meave Omar Melo-Cruz Casimiro Mendoza Cory Merow Abel Monteagudo Mendoza Vanessa S. Moreno Sharif A. Mukul Philip Mundhenk María Guadalupe Nava-Miranda David Neill Victor J. Neldner Radovan V. Nevenic Michael R. Ngugi Pascal A. Niklaus Jacek Oleksyn Petr Ontikov Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi Yude Pan Alain Paquette Alexander Parada-Gutierrez Elena I. Parfenova Minjee Park Marc Parren Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy Pablo L. Peri Sebastian Pfautsch Oliver L. Phillips Nicolas Picard Maria Teresa T. F. Piedade Daniel Piotto Nigel C. A. Pitman Irina Polo Lourens Poorter Axel Dalberg Poulsen Hans Pretzsch Freddy Ramirez Arevalo Zorayda Restrepo-Correa Mirco Rodeghiero Samir G. Rolim Anand Roopsind Francesco Rovero Ervan Rutishauser Purabi Saikia Christian Salas-Eljatib Philippe Saner Peter Schall Dmitry Schepaschenko Michael Scherer-Lorenzen Bernhard Schmid Jochen Schöngart Eric B. Searle Vladimír Seben Josep M. Serra-Diaz Douglas Sheil Anatoly Z. Shvidenko Javier E. Silva-Espejo Marcos Silveira James Singh Plinio Sist Ferry Slik Bonaventure Sonké Alexandre F. Souza Miscicki Stanislaw Stanislaw Miscicki Jens-Christian Svenning Miroslav Svoboda Ben Swanepoel Natalia Targhetta Nadja Tchebakova Hans ter Steege Raquel Thomas Elena Tikhonova Peter M. Umunay Vladimir A. Usoltsev Renato Valencia Fernando Valladares Fons van der Plas Tran Van Do Michael E. van Nuland Rodolfo M. Vasquez Hans Verbeeck Helder Viana Alexander C. Vibrans Simone Vieira Klaus von Gadow Hua-Feng Wang James V. Watson Gijsbert D. A. Werner Susan K. Wiser Florian Wittmann Hannsjoerg Woell Verginia Wortel Roderik Zagt Tomasz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki Chunyu Zhang Xiuhai Zhao Mo Zhou Zhi-Xin Zhu Irie C. Zo-Bi Daniel S. MaynardAbstract
Determining the drivers of non-native plant invasions is critical for managing native ecosystems and limiting the spread of invasive species1,2. Tree invasions in particular have been relatively overlooked, even though they have the potential to transform ecosystems and economies3,4. Here, leveraging global tree databases5,6,7, we explore how the phylogenetic and functional diversity of native tree communities, human pressure and the environment influence the establishment of non-native tree species and the subsequent invasion severity. We find that anthropogenic factors are key to predicting whether a location is invaded, but that invasion severity is underpinned by native diversity, with higher diversity predicting lower invasion severity. Temperature and precipitation emerge as strong predictors of invasion strategy, with non-native species invading successfully when they are similar to the native community in cold or dry extremes. Yet, despite the influence of these ecological forces in determining invasion strategy, we find evidence that these patterns can be obscured by human activity, with lower ecological signal in areas with higher proximity to shipping ports. Our global perspective of non-native tree invasion highlights that human drivers influence non-native tree presence, and that native phylogenetic and functional diversity have a critical role in the establishment and spread of subsequent invasions.
Authors
Shelemia Nyamuryekung'e Glenn Duff Santiago Utsumi Richard Estell Matthew M. McIntosh Micah Funk Andrew Cox Huiping Cao Sheri Spiegal Andres Perea Andres F. CibilsAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Arne Stensvand Nan-Yi Wang Vinh Hong Le Claudio Dias Da Silva Jr Belachew Asalf Tadesse Chloé Grieu William W. Turechek Natalia A. PeresAbstract
Powdery mildew, caused by the ascomycete Podosphaera aphanis, is an important disease of strawberry. A slightly modified version of a method using steam thermotherapy to rid diseases and pests from strawberry transplants was tested against strawberry powdery mildew. Experiments took place in Norway and Florida, with potted strawberry plants heavily infected with the fungus. Aerated steam treatments of the plants were carried out as follows: a pre-treatment with steaming at 37 °C for 1 h was followed by 1 h at ambient temperature before plants were exposed to steaming at 40, 42, or 44 °C for 2 or 4 h in Norway and 44 °C for 4 h in Florida. Following steaming, plants from the different treatments and the untreated control were kept apart and protected from outside contamination of powdery mildew by growing them in closed containers with over-pressure. On steamed plants, hyphae of P. aphanis were dead and without any new spore formation after treatments, independent of temperature or exposure time; however, up to 99% of the area infected with powdery mildew prior to treatments contained actively sporulating lesions on non-steamed plants. None of the new leaves formed after steaming had powdery mildew, whereas more than half of the new leaves on non-treated plants were infected by P. aphanis. This investigation clearly indicates that steam thermotherapy can eradicate powdery mildew from strawberry transplants, and this can be achieved at lower temperatures and exposure times than previously reported for other pathogens.
Authors
Kushan D. Siriwardhana Dimantha I. Jayaneththi Ruchiru D. Herath Randika K. Makumbura Hemantha Jayasinghe Miyuru Gunathilake Hazi Md. Azamathulla Kiran Tota-Maharaj Upaka RathnayakeAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Milan Mataruga Branislav Cvjetković Bart De Cuyper Ina Aneva Petar Zhelev Pavel Cudlín Marek Metslaid Ville Kankaanhuhta Catherine Collet Peter Annighöfer Thomas Mathes Tsakaldimi Marianthi Paitaridou Despoina Rakel J. Jónsdóttir Maria Cristina Monteverdi Giovanbattista de Dato Barbara Mariotti Dana Dina Kolevska Jelena Lazarević Inger Sundheim Fløistad Marcin Klisz Wojciech Gil Vasco Paiva Teresa Fonseca Valeriu-Norocel Nicolescu Vladan Popović Jovana Devetaković Ivan Repáč Gregor Božič Hojka Kraigher Enrique Andivia Julio J. Diez Henrik Böhlenius Magnus Löf Nebi Bilir Pedro Villar-SalvadorAbstract
The relationship between the quality of forest seedlings and their outplanting survival and growth has long been recognized. Various attributes have been proposed to measure the quality of planted seedlings in forest regeneration projects, ranging from simple morphological traits to more complex physiological and performance attributes, or a combination thereof. However, the utility and meaning of seedling quality attributes can differ significantly among regions, nursery practices, site planting conditions, species and the establishment purpose. Here, forest scientists compiled information using a common agreed questionnaire to provide a review of current practices, experiences, legislation and standards for seedling quality across 23 European countries. Large differences exist in measuring seedling quality across countries. The control of the origin of seed and vegetative material (genetic component of plant quality), and control of pests and diseases are common practices in all countries. Morphological attributes are widely used and mandatory in most cases. However, physiological attributes are hardly used at the operative level and mainly concentrated to Fennoscandia. Quality control legislation and seedling quality standards are less strict in northern European countries where seedling production is high, and quality control relies more on the agreements between producers and local plant material users. In contrast, quality standards are stricter in Southern Europe, especially in the Mediterranean countries. The control of seedling quality based on plantation and reforestation success is uncommon and depends on the conditions of the planting site, the traditional practices and the financial support provided by each country. Overall, European countries do not apply the “target seedling concept” for seedling production except for seed origin. Seedling production in many countries is still driven by traditional “know-how” and much less by scientific knowledge progress, which is not adequately disseminated and transferred to the end-users. Our review highlights the need for greater harmonization of seedling quality practices across Europe and the increased dissemination of scientific knowledge to improve seedling quality in forest regeneration activities.
Abstract
Inthis study, we introduce Point2Tree, a modular and versatile framework that employs a three-tiered methodology, inclusive of semantic segmentation, instance segmentation, and hyperparameter optimization analysis, designed to process laser point clouds in forestry. The semantic segmentation stage is built upon the Pointnet++ architecture and is primarily tasked with categorizing each point in the point cloud into meaningful groups or ’segments’, specifically in this context, differentiating between diverse tree parts, i.e., vegetation, stems, and coarse woody debris. The category for the ground is also provided. Semantic segmentation achieved an F1-score of 0.92, showing a high level of accuracy in classifying forest elements. In the instance segmentation stage, we further refine this process by identifying each tree as a unique entity. This process, which uses a graph-based approach, yielded an F1-score of approximately 0.6, signifying reasonable performance in delineating individual trees. The third stage involves a hyperparameter optimization analysis, conducted through a Bayesian strategy, which led to performance improvement of the overall framework by around four percentage points. Point2Tree was tested on two datasets, one from a managed boreal coniferous forest in Våler, Norway, with 16 plots chosen to cover a range of forest conditions. The modular design of the framework allows it to handle diverse pointcloud densities and types of terrestrial laser scanning data.