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.
2024
Abstract
To shift towards low-fossil carbon economies, making more out of residual biomass is increasingly promoted. Yet, it remains unclear if implementing advanced technologies to reuse these streams really achieves net environmental benefits compared to current management practices. By integrating spatially-explicit resource flow analysis, consequential life cycle assessment (LCA), and uncertainty analysis, we propose a single framework to quantify the residual biomass environmental baseline of a territory, and apply it to the case of France. The output is the environmental threshold that a future large-scale territorial bioeconomy strategy should overpass. For France, we estimate the residual biomass baseline to generate 18.4 ± 2.7 MtCO2-eq·y−1 (climate change), 255 ± 35 ktN-eq·y−1 (marine eutrophication), and 12,300 ± 800 disease incidences per year (particulate matter formation). The current use of crop residues and livestock effluents, being essentially a return to arable lands, was found to represent more than 90 % of total environmental impacts and uncertainties, uncovering a need for more certain data. At present, utilizing residual streams as organic fertilizers fulfills over half of France's total phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) demands. However, it only meets 6 % of the nitrogen demand, primarily because nitrogen is lost through air and water. This, coupled with the overall territorial diagnosis, led us to revisit the idea of using the current situation (based on 2018 data) as a baseline for future bioeconomy trajectories. We suggest that these should rather be compared to a projected baseline accounting for ongoing basic mitigation efforts, estimated for France at 8.5 MtCO2-eq·y−1.
Editors
Habtamu AlemAbstract
In the face of unprecedented challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, Resilience and Realities - Exploring Pandemic Effects, Governance Challenges, and Economic Insights offers a comprehensive exploration of the intricate interplay between public policies and uncertain times. This enlightening volume presents a thought-provoking collection of chapters that dissect the illusions, opportunities, and complexities surrounding public policies during crises. Spanning two captivating sections, this book embarks on a journey through the labyrinth of pandemic-related public policies, offering fresh insights into the ever-evolving landscape of economic responses and the resilient spirit of entrepreneurship. In the first section, “Illusions of Public Policies Amidst a Pandemic”, readers are invited to dissect the enigma of navigating uncertainties in crisis management. Delve into the gendered impact of the pandemic on academic women, explore the untapped opportunities within the pandemic’s wake, and scrutinize the efficacy of governmental economic strategies. The second section, “Public Policies towards Investment, Technology, and Efficiency”, provides an insightful investigation into the impact of investment in human capital on economic growth. Review the intricacies of financial management within the public sector and gain an understanding of the multifaceted dimensions of technology, investment, and efficiency in public policies. With each chapter, esteemed authors contribute their expertise to illuminate the complexities of these critical topics. Resilience and Realities - Exploring Pandemic Effects, Governance Challenges, and Economic Insights is a vital resource for policymakers, economists, academics, and curious minds seeking a deeper understanding of the intricate nexus between public policies and uncertain times. Explore the wealth of knowledge and insights within these pages and embark on a journey toward a more informed and resilient future. Discover illuminating perspectives, engage in thought-provoking analyses, and embrace the ever-changing landscape of public economics. This book stands as a beacon of knowledge and enlightenment in an era of unprecedented challenges.
Authors
Pascal Milesi Chedly Kastally Benjamin Dauphin Sandra Cervantes Francesca Bagnoli Katharina B. Budde Stephen Cavers Bruno Fady Patricia Faivre-Rampant Santiago C. González-Martínez Delphine Grivet Felix Gugerli Véronique Jorge Isabelle Lesur Kupin Dario Isidro Ojeda Alayon Sanna Olsson Lars Opgenoorth Sara Pinosio Christophe Plomion Christian Rellstab Odile Rogier Simone Scalabrin Ivan Scotti Giovanni G. Vendramin Marjana Westergren Martin Lascoux Tanja PyhäjärviAbstract
The effect of past environmental changes on the demography and genetic diversity of natural populations remains a contentious issue and has rarely been investigated across multiple, phylogenetically distant species. Here, we perform comparative population genomic analyses and demographic inferences for seven widely distributed and ecologically contrasting European forest tree species based on concerted sampling of 164 populations across their natural ranges. For all seven species, the effective population size, Ne, increased or remained stable over many glacial cycles and up to 15 million years in the most extreme cases. Surprisingly, the drastic environmental changes associated with the Pleistocene glacial cycles have had little impact on the level of genetic diversity of dominant forest tree species, despite major shifts in their geographic ranges. Based on their trajectories of Ne over time, the seven tree species can be divided into three major groups, highlighting the importance of life history and range size in determining synchronous variation in genetic diversity over time. Altogether, our results indicate that forest trees have been able to retain their evolutionary potential over very long periods of time despite strong environmental changes.
Authors
Marco Ferretti Arthur Gessler Nathalie Cools Stefan Fleck Rossella Guerrieri Tamara Jakovljević Manuel Nicolas Tiina M. Nieminen Diana Pitar Nenad Potočić Stephan Raspe Marcus Schaub Kai Schwärzel Volkmar Timmermann Monika Vejpustková Lars Vesterdal Petteri Vanninen Peter Waldner Lothar Zimmermann Tanja GM SandersAbstract
Forests are increasingly affected by global change. Building resilient forests requires – amongst others - leveraging the wealth of knowledge from existing ground-based, field inventory and monitoring programs as well as Earth Observation systems to better assess the status, detect changes, understand processes, predict future dynamics, and guide forest management. A proposal from the European Commission for a new forest monitoring framework at the European level aims in this direction but lacks the integration of some crucial and readily available resources and infrastructures. For this reason, the proposal risks to be a missed opportunity rather than a step forward. Here we provide suggestions to help reconciling the proposal with its objectives and a more comprehensive monitoring vision.
Abstract
Phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins can be impregnated and cured in situ to improve the woods dimensional stability and decay resistance. In search of renewable alternatives, the substitution of phenol by lignin cleavage products (LCP) has been discussed. However, the different chemical nature may affect the performance of the resin against fungal decay, formaldehyde emission, and equilibrium moisture content. In this study, 30 % (w/w) of the phenol in PF resins were substituted by LCP obtained from microwave-assisted pyrolysis. Scots pine sapwood was modified with the resin. The decay resistance against Rhodonia placenta, Gloeophyllum trabeum, and Trametes versicolor was determined. Additionally, effects of specimen organisation within the Petri dish, different substrates, length of leaching, and type of inoculum were studied. Further, the materials water vapor sorption properties and formaldehyde emission were determined. All modifications effectively reduced fungal decay. With 10 % weight percent gain (WPG), initial decay was detected, while 20 % WPG and 30 % WPG provided efficient protection. The substitution of phenol increases the formaldehyde emission. While further reduction in formaldehyde in the resin admixture or formaldehyde scavengers may be required, the method described herein can be used to partly replace fossil-based phenol, while maintaining good fungal resistance.
Abstract
Hurdal (NO-Hur) is a recently labelled ICOS class 2 station in Southeast Norway. It represents a typical southern boreal forest of medium productivity, dominated by old Norway spruce (average tree height: 25 m, ages: up to 100 years) with some pine and broadleaved trees. The eddy covariance technique is used to measure CO2 fluxes on a 42 m tower since 2021 . The measurements have an average footprint area of approximately 63 ha. In 2023, the region experienced an unusual dry spring and then an extraordinary flood in August. Both events showed significant impact on the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) and heat fluxes. The station is also equipped with automatic dendrometers and sap flow devices on the dominant spruce trees, allowing us to investigate the impact of these events at the individual tree scale. We will present tree growth and transpiration flux at different temporal scales (from sub-daily to seasonal), and relate these single tree observations with environmental variables, ecosystem-level NEE and evapotranspiration using phase synchronization analysis. These observational data will yield insights into carbon and water processes of a boreal forest at different scales in response to multiple disturbances.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Biochar modification is an effective approach to enhance its ability to promote anaerobic digestion (AD). Focusing on the physical properties of biochar, the impact of different particle sizes of biochar on AD of food waste (FW) at high organic loading rate (OLR) was investigated. Four biochar with different sizes (40–200 mesh) were prepared and used in AD systems at OLR 30 g VS/L. The research results found that biochar with a volume particle size of 102 μm (RBC-P140) had top-performance in promoting cumulative methane production, increasing by 13.20% compared to the control group. The analysis results of the variety in volatile acids and alkalinity in the system did not show a correlation with the size of biochar, but small size has the potential to improve the environmental tolerance of the system to high acidity. Microbial community analysis showed that the abundance of aceticlastic methanogen and the composition of zoogloea were optimized through relatively small-sized biochar. Through revealing the effect of biochar particle size on AD system at high OLR, this work provided theoretical guidance for regulating fermentation systems using biochar.
Abstract
Purpose The impact of winter moisture on root metabolism and root integrity has potential consequences for the geographical distribution of drought-adapted succulent species and for their long-term performance on green roofs. The interacting effects of soil characteristics and precipitation frequency on root mortality under winter conditions and the potential to grow new roots in spring were evaluated for six Sedum species under controlled conditions. Methods To test for the impact of soil moisture during winter on root regrowth potential in six Sedum species, we used a combination of two substrates with differing water-holding capacity and four contrasting watering regimes. Specially, for the fine and coarse substrates, total pore volume was 42 and 46 %, respectively, and maximum water-holding capacity (i.e. field capacity) was 0.50 and 0.33 kg water per L, respectively. The four watering treatments involved overhead watering to runoff (approx. 10 mm): once every second week, once a week, three times per week and three times per week with 1 cm standing water in trays from January to March 2019. Results It was found that winter soil moisture had no major impact on root mortality or root regrowth potential in spring. Root mortality was not affected by watering frequency and regrowth potential showed no directional response to increased watering frequency, although species-specific responses were involved. Root diameter did not differ between the substrates, but there were some differences between the species. Sedum rupestre had on average the thickest roots (0.17 mm), followed by S. acre, S. anglicum and S. sexangulare (0.15–0.16 mm), while S. album and S. hispanicum had the thinnest roots (0.12–0.13 mm). Moreover, effects of watering frequency on root mortality and regrowth potential were not influenced by soil water-holding capacity across species. We concluded that winter soil moisture had no negative effects on root performance within the range of treatments tested here. Conclusions Root response to transient waterlogging or moist but unsaturated soil may not be an important mechanism for determining the survival and distribution of temperate Sedum species during winter.
Authors
Simon WeldonAbstract
No abstract has been registered