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.
2012
Authors
Toril Drabløs Eldhuset Nina Elisabeth Nagy Daniel Volařík Isabella Børja Roman Gebauer Igor A. Yakovlev Paal KrokeneAbstract
Purpose: Drought-induced tree susceptibility is a major risk associated with climate change. Here we report how an 11-week drought affected tracheid structure, gene expression, and above- and belowground growth in 5-year-old Norway spruce trees (Picea abies) under controlled conditions. Results: The canopy of trees subjected to severe drought had significantly less current-year needle biomass, and fewer tracheids and tracheid rows in current-year shoots compared to fully watered control trees. Belowground tissues were more strongly affected by drought than aboveground tissues. In fine roots (<2 mm diameter) severe drought significantly reduced root biomass, root diameter, root length density and root surface area per soil volume compared to the control. Tracheid diameter and hydraulic conductivity in fine roots were significantly lower and tracheid flatness higher in trees subjected to severe drought than in control trees, both for long and short roots. Transcripts of the drought-related dehydrins PaDhn1 and PaDhn6 were strongly upregulated in stem bark and current-year needles in response to drought, whereas PaDhn4.5 was down-regulated. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that drought reduces biomass and hydraulic conductivity in fine roots and needles. We suggest that the ratio between PaDhn6 and PaDhn4.5 may be a sensitive marker of drought stress in Norway spruce.
Authors
Toril Drabløs Eldhuset Isabella Børja Roman Gebauer Paal Krokene Nina Elisabeth Nagy Josef Urban Daniel VolarikAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Christian Brischke Linda Meyer Gry Alfredsen Miha Humar Lesley Francis Per Otto Flæte Pia Larsson-BrelidAbstract
The material-inherent resistance of wood is one of the most important qualities influencing the durability of timber. Hence, it has also a major effect on the service life to be expected from a timber construction. In addition, design details and the respective climatic conditions determine durability and make it impossible to treat wood durability as an absolute value. Moreover, the reference magnitude varies between locations because of climatic differences. Durability classification is therefore based on comparing a certain performance indicator between the timber in question and a reference timber. Finally, the relative values (= resistance factors) are grouped and related to durability classes, which can refer to a high range of service lives for a certain location. The insufficient comparability of such durability records turned out to be a key problem for the service life prediction of timber structures, even when the climatic conditions are clearly defined. This study aimed therefore on an inventory of literature data, directly based on service life measures, not masked by a durability classification schedule. It focused on natural durability of timber tested in the field under above-ground conditions. In total 395 durability recordings from 31 different test sites worldwide and based on ten different test methods have been considered for the calculation of resistance factors: 190 for hardwoods and 205 for softwoods. Nevertheless, the considered datasets were heterogeneous in quality and quantity; the resulting resistance factors suffered from high variation. In many cases information was presented too condensed and incompletely, which is inescapable for instance in journal articles. To increase the amount of available, comparable, and directly service-life related data a reliable platform is needed. A proposal for a corresponding data base is provided in part 2 of this paper.
Abstract
A proposal for a web-based platform for scientific exchange of test data in the field of wood durability and wood protection has been made. The overall aim of the durability data base is to improve the usability of existing test data and to create an added value for durability research and service life prediction. The database allows for test results from standardized and non-standardized laboratory and field tests. Natural durable timber, preservative and water-repellent treated timber, chemically and thermally modified timber as well as composites have been considered. Finally all types of decay organisms and other degrading agents are regarded.
Authors
Franҫois Lefèvre Jarkko Koskela Jason Hubert Hojka Kraigher Roman Longauer Ditte C. Olrik Silvio Schüler Michele Bozzano Paraskevi Alizoti Remigijus Bakys Cathleen Baldwin Dalibor Ballian Sanna Black-Samuelsson Dagmar Bednarova Sándor Bordács Eric Collin Bart De Cuyper Sven M.G. De Vries Thröstur Eysteinsson Josef Frýdl Michaela Haverkamp Mladen Ivankovic Heino Konrad Czeslaw Koziol Tiit Maaten Eduardo Notivol Paino Hikmet Öztürk Ivanova Denitsa Pandeva Gheorghe Parnuta Andrej Pilipovic Dragos Postolache Cathal Ryan Arne Steffenrem Maria Carolina Varela Federico Vessella Roman T. Volosyanchuk Marjana Westergren Frank Wolter Leena Yrjänä Inga ZarinaAbstract
Dynamic conservation of forest genetic resources (FGR) means maintaining the genetic diversity of trees within an evolutionary process and allowing generation turnover in the forest. We assessed the network of forests areas managed for the dynamic conservation of FGR (conservation units) across Europe (33 countries). On the basis of information available in the European Information System on FGR (EUFGIS Portal), species distribution maps, and environmental stratification of the continent, we developed ecogeographic indicators, a marginality index, and demographic indicators to assess and monitor forest conservation efforts. The pan-European network has 1967 conservation units, 2737 populations of target trees, and 86 species of target trees. We detected a poor coincidence between FGR conservation and other biodiversity conservation objectives within this network. We identified 2 complementary strategies: a species-oriented strategy in which national conservation networks are specifically designed for key target species and a site-oriented strategy in which multiple-target units include so-called secondary species conserved within a few sites. The network is highly unbalanced in terms of species representation, and 7 key target species are conserved in 60% of the conservation units. We performed specific gap analyses for 11 tree species, including assessment of ecogeographic, demographic, and genetic criteria. For each species, we identified gaps, particularly in the marginal parts of their distribution range, and found multiple redundant conservation units in other areas. The Mediterranean forests and to a lesser extent the boreal forests are underrepresented. Monitoring the conservation efficiency of each unit remains challenging; however, <2% of the conserved populations seem to be at risk of extinction. On the basis of our results, we recommend combining species-oriented and site-oriented strategies.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
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Abstract: This paper reviews several studies of earthworms in agricultural soils in Norway. Crops and management significantly influence the earthworm fauna. Beneficial impacts of earthworms on plant growth are likely, but challenging to prove. Earthworm casts contain high amounts of extractable plant nutrients, which probably contribute to plant nutrient uptake. Geophagous (soil-eating) species such as Aporrectodea caliginosa and A.rosea dominate the earthworm fauna in our arable soils1. Lumbricus terrestris is also present and was found also in all-arable crop rotations with annual ploughing2. In southern Norway, L. rubellus and A. longa are also common. Earthworm populations, recorded in autumn, vary between 30 and 350 individuals m-2, with the lowest values found in all-arable systems2. The inclusion of leys in the crop rotation increases the abundance of channels, earthworm numbers and their biomass2. Since most earthworms prefer living in the upper soil layer, shallow ploughing (15 cm depth) might be expected to be detrimental. However we found that the number and biomass of earthworms was not lower with shallow than with deep ploughing (25 cm)1. In a study, green manure management affected the biomass, species and number of earthworms3. More worms were found in plots where the green manure was left on the field, compared with where it was removed. L. rubellus responded positively and rapidly to mulching, and so did A.caliginosa in clay soil. The use of biogas slurry from green manure in one season gave no effect on number and biomass of earthworms3. Long-term use of solid animal manure positively influenced some earthworm parameters, even three years after the last application1, compared to mineral fertilizer. Utilizing animal manure to produce biogas may reduce fossil fuel usage and emissions of greenhouse gases. However, there is limited information on how the recycling of digested manure as a fertilizer affects soil fertility in the long run. Reduced recycling of carbon to the soil, may harm soil fauna, including earthworms. In a newly started project on the organic research farm at Tingvoll, Norway, anaerobically digested manure is compared with undigested slurry in perennial ley and arable crops. Effects on crop yields, soil fauna, microbial communities, soil structure, organic matter and nutrient concentrations are being measured. Initial studies showed that several earthworm species were present (A.caliginosa, A.rosea, L.terrestris, L.rubellus, Octolasion cyaneum). Earthworm casts (excrements) from the detritivorous species L. terrestris (that feeds on plant residues) have been shown to be richer in nutrients than bulk soil, but little was known previously about the casts of geophagous species (that ingest mostly soil). Casts from two soil depths (13 and 25 cm) were collected by means of litter bags, to study whether such casts also contained more plant available nutrients than the bulk soil. A.caliginosa and A.rosea were the dominant species in these fields. The casts had considerably higher concentrations of plant nutrients than the bulk soil. The content of total-N was 28 % higher in casts, total-C was 37% higher, the contents of available P and K were 40-60%, whilst those of Ca and Mg were 10-20 % higher. On average for the two sites, these differences corresponded to the following amounts (kg ha-1 y-1): 5.6 for P, 8.9 for K, 5.3 for Mg, 144 for N and 2542 for C. With earthworm densities such as those found in farming systems incl. ley and animal manure (ca. 230 individuals m-2), about 220 tonnes of topsoil per hectare passes through the earthworm digestive tract each year. Our study indicated that earthworm casts are valuable sources of plant nutrients even in soils where the fauna is dominated by geophagous species.