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
Linn Vassvik Anders Nielsen Michael P. D. Garratt Bjørn Arild Hatteland Joseph Chipperfield Erik Trond AschehougAbstract
Apples are dependent upon pollinators for the transfer of pollen between cultivars to ensure high quality fruit production. Agricultural intensification has reduced the availability of stable floral resources for wild bees, leading to widespread declines of important pollinators of apples. Managed honeybees are commonly used to supplement pollination services in apple orchards, but honeybees are less efficient pollinators compared to wild bees. We investigated whether increased flower abundance in the understory vegetation of apple orchards can increase pollinator activity to apple flowers. We compared bee visitation in five orchards in Eastern Norway: three unmowed orchards, and two mowed orchards. In unmowed orchards, dandelions ( Taraxacum spp.) dominated the understory vegetation. Bee observations were conducted on the understory vegetation and apple trees, via manual observations and time-lapse cameras. Wild bees preferentially visited apple flowers over dandelions, while honeybees did not differ in their visits to apple flowers and dandelion flowers. We also found that the abundance of dandelion flowers in the understory increased visits by wild bees to apple flowers. Taken together, this suggests that within orchard floral resources do not compete for pollinators but instead increase apple visitation and improve pollination success. Our results highlight the importance of managing apple orchards for wild bee populations and the potential short-term benefits of understory floral resources on apple production. Implications for insect conservation Our results show that understory vegetation should be left unmowed to increase pollination of apple flowers and provide pollinators with alternate floral resources before, during, and after apple flowering.
Abstract
Bumblebees are keystone pollinators which facilitate the reproduction of a wide range of wild and agricultural plants. Their abundance and diversity have been severely reduced by anthropogenic stressors such as widespread land-use change and habitat fragmentation. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of population structure and local adaptation in bumblebees inhabiting human-altered landscapes. Here, we discover significant fine-scale (e.g. ~300 km) population structure within two common bumblebee species, Bombus lapidarius and Bombus pascuorum, by analysing whole genome data of 106 specimens from 7 sites in northern Europe. While the observed population structure is largely associated with natural oceanic barriers, we also detect significant divergence between populations sampled from anthropogenic landscapes which are not separated by such barriers. Furthermore, whereas genetic divergence in B. lapidarius is spread relatively evenly across the genome, divergence in B. pascuorum is concentrated within several megabase-sized genomic regions—including a putative chromosomal inversion – which may underlie well-known colour polymorphisms across its range. Our observations reveal a distinct genomic architecture underlying population structure within these bumblebee species, and highlight the necessity of increasing our understanding of bumblebee connectivity to design optimal bumblebee conservation strategies.
Abstract
This paper describes from a methodological point of view a recent attempt to test how Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) as developed with respect to the British landscape can be adapted and applied to the different and distinctive landscapes of a Norwegian upland territory, on the edges of the Hardangervidda plateau. This is an area characterised by mobility, close nature-culture interactions, and practices such as summer farming and short-distance transhumant practices. The research was carried out by two Norwegian agencies – NIKU and NIBIO – as part of a larger project known as PARKAS designed in the context of green transitions to promote better-integrated and publicly-responsible management and safeguarding of protected areas. We briefly describe the origins and principles of HLC in Britain, and then at greater length assess the suitability of HLC in Hardangervidda and key ways by which the approach would require modification and adaptation. A concrete method for a Hardangervidda HLC – and a suitable high-level classification – is identified and discussed.
Abstract
Semi‐natural grasslands are valuable habitat for bumblebees ( Bombus spp.) in Fennoscandia. These grasslands are often maintained by livestock such as free‐ranging sheep, but it is unclear if sheep grazing impacts bumblebee communities, and if so, which grazing intensity is best. We compared bumblebee species richness and abundance on semi‐natural grasslands in southeastern Norway at varying levels of disturbance by sheep (0–1680 initially released). We used Bayesian hierarchical models to test the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, that the highest bumblebee abundance and richness would occur at moderate grazing intensity, while considering other important habitat variables: distance to forest, meadow size, sward height, and availability of flowers, litter, and bare soil. We found no support for the intermediate disturbance hypothesis but rather a negative relationship between the number of sheep released and measures of bumblebee species richness and abundance from targeted netting. Effects varied among the most common species. B. pratorum and B. wurflenii were more sensitive to the number of sheep released than were B. jonellus . Bumblebee abundance estimated by two capture methods (blue vane trapping and targeted netting) was only weakly correlated and bumblebee species richness estimated from traps was unrelated to any of our predictor variables. Practical implication . Our results suggest a weak negative influence of any amount of sheep grazing on bumblebee abundance and richness. Targeted netting was a more reliable method than blue vane traps to assess effects on the bumblebee community.
Authors
Anaïs Zimmer Adrienne Grêt-Regamey Ignacio Palomo Carolina Adler Meryem Aakairi Marie Anière Fabien Anthelme Chloe Baruffa Bolette Bele Vincent Ralph Clark Aida Cuni-Sanchez Sebastian Eiter Richard Field WariNkwi Flores Katherine Hanly Jan Hartmann Amina Maharjan Sara Manuelli Dominic Andreas Martin Nelly Nambande Masayi Paula Mayer Graham McDowell Holly Moulton Anne Nolin Lydia Olaka Binaya Pasakhala Jorge Recharte Neema Robert Kinabo Luciana Rojas Hanne Sickel Lobzang Stanzen Peter John Taylor Irene Teixidor-Toneu Catherine Tucker Sabarnee Tuladhar Robert MarchantAbstract
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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.
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Abstract
This animated short film shows how beneficial insects such as ladybirds and hoverflies can help control pests like aphids. By providing flower strips and suitable habitats in and around fields, farmers can support pollinators and natural enemies of pests — contributing to more resilient crop production over time.