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
Authors
S. Ellen Macdonald Anne C. S. McIntosh Selena Schut Samuel Bartels Seung-Il Lee Elvira Baisheva Jeff Battigelli Erin Bayne Yves Bergeron Mathieu Bouchard Brendan Casey Mats Dynesius I. Tanya Handa Joakim Hjältén Kristoffer Hylander Matti Koivula Jari Kouki Therese Löfroth Asko Lõhmus Anders Nielsen Sonya Odsen Manuela Panzacchi Jaime Pinzon Peter B. Reich Pavel Shirokikh Ekaterina Shorohova Ilkka Vanha-Majamaa Lisa Venier Tim Work Linhao WuAbstract
Boreal forests are important reservoirs of biodiversity, carbon and timber stocks. However, timber harvest can alter biodiversity in these forests without clear evidence on the duration needed for biotic groups to recover. Resilience of boreal forest biodiversity to clear-cut harvest was examined with a meta-analysis of 190 datasets from boreal and hemi-boreal forests of Europe/Russia and North America for arthropods, birds, small mammals, lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants. We modelled similarity of community composition between harvested and unharvested stands versus years post harvest. In approximately half of cases, predicted times for recovery to pre-harvest composition were ≤30 years. In other cases, recovery took much longer or had not occurred within the timeframe of our data; for example, in conifer forest: >100 years (bryophytes), >55 years (small mammals), ~95 years (lichens) and ~85 years (vascular plants). Saproxylic beetles showed no resilience within the 16 (conifer forest) or 29 (mixed forest) years post harvest for which we had data. Recovery generally took longer in conifer and mixed than in broadleaf forests, which always showed either resistance (bryophytes, vascular plants) or resilience with recovery within 12–25 years. Conserving biodiversity in boreal forests will require extended rotations, management for ‘old forest’ structural elements and areas protected from harvesting.
Authors
Jonathan R. Potts Luca Börger Marlee A. Tucker Federico Ossi Scott W. Yanco Diego Ellis‐Soto Thomas Müller Ruth Y. Oliver Mario H. Alves Walter Arnold Nina Attias Guillaume Bastille‐Rousseau Jerrold L. Belant J. David Blount Dean E. Beyer Francesca Cagnacci Simon Chamaillé‐Jammes Aung N. Chan Eric K. Cole Jessica S. Cornils Rogerio Cunha de Paula Vickie DeNicola Arnaud L. J. Desbiez Sarah R. Dewey David Drake Michael Egan Jasper A. J. Eikelboom Morgan Farmer Mathieu Garel Jacob R. Goheen Hans Peter Hansen Lars Haugaard Mark Hebblewhite Morten Heim Miloš Ježek Lilla Jordán Douglas N. Kamaru Miha Krofel Tayler N. LaSharr Peter Leimgruber Anne Loison Ryan A. Long Matthias‐Claudio Loretto Pascal Marchand Erling Meisingset Joerg Melzheimer Kevin L. Monteith John J. Morgan Rasmus M. Mortensen Rebekka Mueller Atle Mysterud Astrid Olejarz Teresa Oliveira Manuela Panzacchi Ruben Portas Hubert Potočnik Herbert H. T. Prins Laura R. Prugh Nathan Ranc Ralf Roeder Christer Moe Rolandsen Çağan Şekercioğlu Aldin Selimovic Rachel Smiley Erling Johan Solberg Olav Strand Peter Sunde Carole Toïgo Bram Van Moorter Tana L. Verzuh Bettina Wachter Brittany L. Wagler Jesse Whittington Christopher C. Wilmers George Wittemyer Christian RutzAbstract
Anthropogenic land conversion is putting increasing pressure on wildlife populations around the world. To mitigate impacts, it is necessary to develop a detailed mechanistic understanding of how animals are affected by different types of human activity. A key challenge is to disentangle the effects of static infrastructure, like roads or buildings, and the presence of humans in the landscape. To address this question, we examined if terrestrial mammals altered their movement behaviour around buildings in response to reduced human mobility during COVID‐19 lockdowns. We compiled GPS tracking data from 35 study sites across five continents, for 10 carnivore species and 13 herbivore species, totalling >1 million location records from 586 individuals. For each study, we used integrated step selection analysis to test the extent to which animals changed their avoidance of buildings as lockdown took effect, leveraging the recently released Microsoft MLBuildings dataset of global building locations. Analysis of population‐level effects revealed that, in areas with high Human Footprint Index (HFI), animals tended to show a significant reduction in their avoidance of buildings during lockdown, but not in low HFI areas. No such trend was detected during equivalent periods in years other than 2020, indicating that behavioural changes were a result of reduced human mobility during lockdowns. Overall, our findings suggest that animals living alongside humans exhibit greater plasticity when people change their behaviour, likely indicating the combined effects of environmental filtering and habituation. More generally, our study provides a critical first step towards developing evidence‐based tools for forecasting how wildlife movement behaviour may change in response to different land‐use strategies, human activities, conservation interventions or environmental perturbations.
Abstract
Conference paper presenting rumen degradation and in vitro gas production characteristics of grass-clover pulp silage compared with conventional grass-clover silage.
Abstract
Within the EUFRIN apple rootstock trials, seven apple rootstocks are being tested for their resistance to ARD (apple replant disease) in several European countries. The current paper focuses on the effects of rootstock and soil type (ARD vs. fresh soil) on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in apple fruit. This research was performed at the Lithuanian trial site. Accumulation of phenolic compounds in fruit tissues was enhanced in replanted soil. On average, total phenol content in fruit flesh increased by 25%, and in fruit peel by 31%. Hyperoside and rutin in fruit flesh, and hyperoside, reynoutrin, phloridzin, and procyanidin C1 were the most variable among detected phenolic compounds, and their content in fruits from ARD soil was by 50-77% higher than in fruits from the fresh soil. The content of (-)-epicatechin in fruit flesh and (+)-catechin and procyanidin B1 in fruit peel was similar in both ARD and fresh soil. Rootstock had a significant effect on phenolic compound accumulation, but this effect was modified by soil conditions. Soil type had no effect on total phenol accumulation in fruits (flesh and peel) grown on Pajam 2 rootstock. Also, a stable phenol content in fruit flesh was on G.11 and M200 rootstocks, and in fruit peel on G.41. The highest increase of total phenol content at replant conditions was recorded on B.10 (by 66% in flesh and 60% in peel) and on G.935 (by 68% in flesh and 47% in peel) rootstocks.
Abstract
The successful introduction of new cultivars requires proper pomological, phenological, and technological evaluation. It is particularly important in the harsh Norwegian climate conditions. Investigations were conducted with apple cultivar ‘Eden’/‘Wursixo’ (WUR 6), to establish an optimal balance between yield, fruit quality, and bearing regularity. Four different crop load levels were tested in 3 consecutive years in the orchard, planted 3.5×1 m and trained as a slender spindle. Lower crop load levels guaranteed good return bloom, a very high share of fruits harvested during the first picking, and larger fruits. Increasing crop load led to less intensive return bloom, smaller fruit sizes, and a higher share of fruits harvested during the second picking. It was found that ‘Eden’ is strictly alternating cultivar and precise crop load levels according to the tree age and tree vigour were defined. In order to keep ‘Eden’ trees in regular bearing mode, crop load levels should be maintained at 4.5-5 fruits cm‑2 of trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) in the 3rd and 6-7 fruits in the 4th growing season.
Authors
Paal Krokene Beatrix Alsanius Jorunn Børve Daniel Flø Christer Magnusson Mogens Nicolaisen Line Nybakken Johan A. Stenberg Selamawit Tekle Iben M. Thomsen Sandra A. I. Wright May SæthreAbstract
EPPO-listed plant pests were assessed and ranked according to the overall risk they pose to Norwegian plant health. Based on probability of entry, probability of establishment (including spread), and potential impact on plant health, pests were classified into five risk classes: very high, high, moderate, low, and very low risk. In this first progress report VKM has assessed 61 pests: 24 fungi, 12, nematodes, 11 insects, eight viruses, and six bacteria. None of these were assessed to pose very high risk, while one pest (Fusarium euwallaceae) was assessed to pose high risk. Six pests were assessed to pose moderate risk: Dendroctonus ponderosae, Tuta absoluta, Phymatotrichopsis omnivora, Verticillium dahliae hop strains, Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. euvesicatoria, and Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. perforans. The remaining pests were assessed to pose low risk (16 pests) or very low risk (38 pests) to Norwegian plant health.
Authors
Alisa Postma Leandri Klynsmith Tuan A. Duong Jeremy Dean Allison Werner Smidt Robert M. Waterhouse Peter Lesny Jan Philip Øyen Malte Petersen Sebastian Martin Shanlin Liu Xin Zhou Tanja Ziesmann Alexander Donath Christoph Mayer Bernhard Misof Oliver Niehuis Ralph S. Peters Lars Podsiadlowski Martin P.A. Coetzee Fourie Joubert Bernard SlippersAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Berhanu Menasbo Tegegne Fasil Ejigu Eregno Ståle Haaland Gebremedhin Gebremariam Gebreegziabher Samuel Alemayehu Elias Assayehegn Abraha Gebrekidan Asgedom Emiru Birhane HizikiasAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Till SeehusenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Katrin Zimmer Ulf Lemke Irena Fundova Henrik Heräjärvi Mateusz Liziniewicz Marlene Cramer Stefanie Wieland Lukas Emmerich Thomas Uibel Anti Rohumaa Heikki Korpunen Grace Jones Ekaterina Nikolskaya Tom Jansen Anneli Adler Tom Mortelmans Ian Short Vincent Defays Karol TomczakAbstract
Birch is the third most abundant tree species in northern Europe and the Baltic region, but remains underutilized in several countries despite wood properties that support a broad range of applications, including pulp, veneer, plywood, furniture, flooring, joinery, and potentially structural products. Constraints on higher-value utilization include insufficient logistics for sorting and transport, the lack of standardized grading methods, and limited data infrastructure for systematic quality assessment across supply chains. The Nordic Forest Research (SNS) network VALUE:BIRCH was established to examine these constraints through transnational collaboration among researchers, industry actors, and students across northern Europe. In 2025 and 2026, the network held workshops in Borås, Sweden, and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with emphasis on strength properties, grading, and quality assessment of birch wood. The activities integrated technical presentations, laboratory and field visits, and student contributions, enabling comparison of birch value chains across countries with differing levels of industrial development. The network identified shared technical and organizational bottlenecks related to birch silviculture and management, grading, mobilization, and market formation, while also strengthening inter-institutional co-creation and collaboration. The results indicate that coordinated work on grading systems, quality data, logistics, and market development is essential to support more efficient and value-adapted utilization of birch.