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.
2018
Authors
Bjørn ØklandAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Greeley Beck Emil Engelund Thybring Lisbeth Garbrecht ThygesenAbstract
Earlywood samples of unmodified and acetylated radiata pine were exposed to the brown-rot fungus Rhodonia placenta for 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks for unmodified samples and 10, 16, 24 and 28 weeks for acetylated samples. Longer incubation periods were used for acetylated samples based on the hypothesis that given enough time under favourable conditions the fungus would eventually degrade the wood. After exposure, samples were weighed and chemically characterized by ATR-FTIR analysis, acetyl content by saponification, and hydroxyl (OH) accessibility by deuterium exchange. Longer incubation times for acetylated samples led to comparable levels of mass loss between unmodified and acetylated wood. Initial brown-rot decay in acetylated wood exhibited a different trend compared to unmodified wood, with an increased OH accessibility and a significant reduction in acetyl content. This was followed by a stable, low OH accessibility and plateau in acetyl content above 10% mass loss in acetylated wood. In unmodified wood, the OH accessibility was nearly constant throughout decay, while the initially low acetyl content decreased linearly with mass loss. ATR-FTIR analysis confirmed the differences in acetyl removal between unmodified and acetylated wood. Wood-water relations before and after brown-rot decay were determined with low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LFNMR) relaxometry on water saturated samples. For the decayed acetylated wood, the behaviour of the water corresponded well with de-acetylation observed by chemical characterization. The results show that after removal of acetyl groups, degradation of acetylated wood by R. placenta occurred at a similar rate to that of unmodified wood.
Authors
Krishna Reddy Kakumanu Yella Reddy Kaluvai Sekhar Udaya Nagothu Narayan Reddy Lati Gurava Reddy Kotapati Sunitha KaranamAbstract
Climate change characterized by global warming has become a hotspot of research in recent years for water resources, agriculture,ecology and other disciplines. In India, studies have shown an increasing trend in surface temperature, with decreasing trends inrainfall. Farmers are also more affected by the climate variability which has a serious influence on their production and income.The climate change and adaptation (ClimaAdapt) programme was implemented from 2012 to 2016 to build farm-level capacitiesand enhance the adaptive capacity of the agricultural and water sectors in the Krishna basin of Andhra Pradesh and Telanganastates. Water-saving interventions such as direct seeded rice, a modified system of rice intensification and alternate wetting anddrying (AWD) of rice were implemented in a cluster approach and enhanced water productivity. The training and implementationprogrammes increased the adaptation and awareness of farmers. Water measurements were carried out by usingflumes andultrasonic sensors. The area under direct seeded rice has increased to 64% in the study district and 77% of the trained farmersare adopting the practice. Capacity building, implementation and science–policy linkages are the key pillars of the programmeto improve the adaptive capacity and scaling-up of water management practices.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Lise GrøvaAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
CAN THE ALERTNESS OF ICELANDIC LEADERSHEEP HELP TO PROTECT SHEEP FLOCKS AGAINST PREDATORS? Emma BRUNBERG 1), Lise GRØVA 2), Emma EYTHÓRSDÓTTIR 3), Ólafur R. DÝRMUNDSSON 4) 1) NORSØK, Norwegian Centre for Organic Agriculture, Gunnars veg 6, 6630 Tingvoll, Norway; emma.brunberg@djurskyddet.se 2) NIBIO, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Gunnars veg 6, 6630 Tingvoll, Norway; lise.grova@nibio.no 3) LBHÍ, Agricultural University of Iceland, Árleyni 22, 112 Reykjavík, Iceland , emma@lbhi.is 4) Jórusel 12, 109 Reykjavík, Iceland, oldyrm@gmail.com Icelandic leadersheep, a unique sub-breed of the North European short-tailed Iceland breed, are known for their strongly inherited alertness and urge to lead their flock. They have been known through centuries for their outstanding behavioural abilities and intelligence and have not been selected for production traits like other Icelandic sheep. The behavioural traits of these sheep have attracted attention; particularly their alertness and the possibility that this could play a role in protecting sheep flocks against predator attacks. Norwegian scientists have shown breed differences in sheep mortality at summer pastures due to predators. A joint Icelandic/Norwegian project was initiated to test the hypothesis that the presence of Icelandic leadersheep affects flock behaviour when exposed to a predator model. Detecting such differences can clearly be regarded as being of both economic and welfare importance. Since it was not feasible to transport Icelandic leadersheep to Norway it was decided to test their alertness in comparison with that of other sheep in Iceland. An experiment was carried out on Hestur Sheep Experimental Farm in W- Iceland during two days in November 2016 using a total of 66 ewes divided into 11 groups. Six of the groups consisted of one Icelandic leadersheep and five Icelandic sheep (LSG), the remaining five groups consisted of six Icelandic sheep (ISG). The predator model tests took place within a fenced, rectangular pasture of 50m x 25m adjacent to a sheep house. All 11 groups were exposed to the same three treatments: human-, dog- and drone test, after a 10 minutes habituation period. The order of the treatments was randomized and there was a minimum 5 minutes interval between each test. All tests were video recorded. The behaviour observations recorded were; eat, stand walk, run and „other“. Recordings were made every 5 seconds during a two-minute period before and after test period, as well as every 5 seconds in 5*30second periods during each of the human, dog and drone treatment. Statistical analyses were conducted using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS. There was a significant difference in behaviour between the groups with LSG compared to ISG. The LSG spent significantly more time feeding than the ISG groups for all tests, especially in the period after each test was finished, and it hence seems the LSG recover more quickly after a predator test. Including an Icelandic leadersheep into the flock affects behaviour. This should be further elaborated in commercial settings in order to understand the impact and relevance of including this genetic trait in sheep farming. Keywords: sheep, behaviour, predators, Icelandic leadersheep, predator model
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Authors
Venche TalgøAbstract
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Authors
Daniel RasseAbstract
No abstract has been registered