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
Abstract
Green roofs provide vital functions within the urban ecosystem, from supporting biodiversity, to sustainable climate-positive ESS provisioning. However, how plant communities should best be designed to reach these objectives, and how specific green roof systems vary in their capacity to support these functions is not well understood. Here we compiled data on plant traits and plant–insect interaction networks of a regional calcareous grassland species pool to explore how designed plant communities could be optimised to contribute to ecological functionality for predefined green roof solutions. Five distinct systems with practical functionality and physical constraints were designed, plant communities modelled using object-based optimization algorithms and evaluated using five ecological functionality metrics (incl. phylogenetic and structural diversity). Our system plant communities supported a range of plant–insect interactions on green roofs, but not all species were equally beneficial, resulting in wide-ranging essentiality and redundancy in ecological processes. Floral traits were not predictive of pollinator preferences, but phylogeny was observed to govern the preferences. Large differences in ecological functionality can be expected between green roofs depending on system design and the extent of the plant community composition. Multifunctionality covariance diverged between systems, suggesting that ecological functionality is not inherently universal but dependent on structural limitations and species pool interactions. We conclude that informed system design has a potential to simultaneously support ecosystem services and urban biodiversity conservation by optimising green roof plant communities to provide landscape resources for pollinating insects and herbivores.
Abstract
RoadSens is a platform designed to expedite the digitalization process of forest roads, a cornerstone of efficient forest operations and management. We incorporate stereo-vision spatial mapping and deep-learning image segmentation to extract, measure, and analyze various geometric features of the roads. The features are precisely georeferenced by fusing post-processing results of an integrated global navigation satellite system (GNSS) module and odometric localization data obtained from the stereo camera. The first version of RoadSens, RSv1, provides measurements of longitudinal slope, horizontal/vertical radius of curvature and various cross-sectional parameters, e.g., visible road width, centerline/midpoint positions, left and right sidefall slopes, and the depth and distance of visible ditches from the road’s edges. The potential of RSv1 is demonstrated and validated through its application to two road segments in southern Norway. The results highlight a promising performance. The trained image segmentation model detects the road surface with the precision and recall values of 96.8 and 81.9 , respectively. The measurements of visible road width indicate sub-decimeter level inter-consistency and 0.38 m median accuracy. The cross-section profiles over the road surface show 0.87 correlation and 9.8 cm root mean squared error (RMSE) against ground truth. The RSv1’s georeferenced road midpoints exhibit an overall accuracy of 21.6 cm in horizontal direction. The GNSS height measurements, which are used to derive longitudinal slope and vertical curvature exhibit an average error of 5.7 cm compared to ground truth. The study also identifies and discusses the limitations and issues of RSv1, which provide useful insights into the challenges in future versions.
Authors
Wendy Wuyts Nhat Strøm-Andersen Shumaila Khatri Arild Eriksen Per F. Jørgensen Arild Øvergaard Emil Rygh Angelica Kveen Alexander Mertens Jannicke Stadaas Inger Gamme Veronique Vasseur Anders Q. Nyrud Kristine NoreAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
In 2024, spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) catches decreased in all counties except Telemark, Sør-Trøndelag, and Nordland. The highest catches this year were observed in Telemark and Buskerud. In Telemark, the catches are the highest recorded since the major spruce bark beetle outbreak that started in the mid-1970s. In Buskerud, while catches have declined compared to last year, they remain historically high. In Oppland, the catches have decreased markedly from the record-breaking year of 2023 but remain at moderately high levels. Across Southern Norway, this year’s catches are slightly above the 46-year average. The relatively high catches in Buskerud and Oppland are likely a delayed response to the storm damage in November 2021, as municipalities heavily affected by the storm report especially high catches. Additionally, field reports in 2024 indicate attacks on standing trees in areas with much windfall after the 2021 storm. Many of these damage reports likely pertain to trees attacked by beetles in 2023 or earlier but that are only now showing visible symptoms. The 2024 bark beetle season was characterized by extremely dry and warm weather in May, followed by a very wet summer with normal to slightly below-average temperatures. The warm May weather coincides with the beetles' primary flight period, favoring beetle dispersal and egg-laying. Additionally, the dry conditions in May may have stressed spruce trees, reducing their resistance to beetle attacks. The wet weather later in the summer likely benefited the trees while being sub-optimal for the beetles. Overall, the weather conditions during the 2024 season were probably relatively favorable for the beetles. A temperature-based development model estimate that, by September 17, the spruce bark beetle could have completed two generations near the Oslofjord, along the southern coastline, and in low-lying inland valleys. However, these model results do not necessarily mean that the beetles completed two generations in 2024 but indicate that conditions were warm enough to make it possible.
Authors
Margit Oami Kollstrøm Ulrike Böcker Anne Kjersti Uhlen Annbjørg Kristoffersen Jon Arne Dieseth Erik Tengstrand Shiori KogaAbstract
The gluten-viscoelastic properties are essential for breadmaking quality and are affected by both genotypes and environments, such as weather conditions. However, it is still not clear how weather conditions cause variation in gluten quality and at which stage of the grain filling they are critical. The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between weather parameters during grain filling and the viscoelastic properties of gluten. The gluten of spring wheat varieties grown over 17 seasons, resulting in a total of 70 different environments, was analyzed with the Kieffer extensibility rig. The variation in viscoelastic properties of gluten was mainly explained by environment, followed by genotype, while the genotype*environment interaction was small. The results also indicated that the periods around heading and physical maturity were the most critical when weather conditions affected the gluten quality. Our results also revealed that factors other than weather conditions are responsible for the variation in gluten quality.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Lisa Fagerli Lunde Tone Birkemoe Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson Johan Asplund Rune Halvorsen O. Janne Kjønaas Jenni Nordén Sundy Maurice Inger Skrede Line Nybakken Håvard KauserudAbstract
Boreal forests are important carbon sinks and host a diverse array of species that provide important ecosystem functions.Boreal forests have a long history of intensive forestry, in which even-aged management with clear-cutting has been thedominant harvesting practice for the past 50–80 years. As a second cycle of clear-cutting is emerging, there is an urgentneed to examine the effects of repeated clear-cutting events on biodiversity. Clear-cutting has led to reduced numbers ofold and large trees, decreased volumes of dead wood of varied decay stages and diameters, and altered physical andchemical compositions of soils. The old-growth boreal forest has been fragmented and considerably reduced. Here,we review short- and long-term (≥50 years) effects of clear-cutting on boreal forest biodiversity in four key substrates:living trees, dead wood, ground and soil. We then assess landscape-level changes (habitat fragmentation and edge effects)on this biodiversity. There is evidence for long-term community changes af
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
2024
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Abstracts from The 22nd Triennial conference of EAPR in Oslo 7-12 July 2024. The organizer of the conference was the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO).