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.
2022
Authors
Ilaria Piccoli Till Seehusen Jenny Bussell Olga Vizitu Irina Calciu Antonio Berti Gunnar Börjesson Holger Kirchmann Thomas Kätterer Felice Sartori Chris Stoate Felicity Crotty Ioanna S. Panagea Abdallah Alaoui Martin A. BolinderAbstract
Soil compaction (SC) is a major threat for agriculture in Europe that affects many ecosystem functions, such as water and air circulation in soils, root growth, and crop production. Our objective was to present the results from five short-term (<5 years) case studies located along the north–south and east–west gradients and conducted within the SoilCare project using soil-improving cropping systems (SICSs) for mitigating topsoil and subsoil SC. Two study sites (SSs) focused on natural subsoil (˃25 cm) compaction using subsoiling tillage treatments to depths of 35 cm (Sweden) and 60 cm (Romania). The other SSs addressed both topsoil and subsoil SC (˃25 cm, Norway and United Kingdom; ˃30 cm, Italy) using deep-rooted bio-drilling crops and different tillage types or a combination of both. Each SS evaluated the effectiveness of the SICSs by measuring the soil physical properties, and we calculated SC indices. The SICSs showed promising results—for example, alfalfa in Norway showed good potential for alleviating SC (the subsoil density decreased from 1.69 to 1.45 g cm−1) and subsoiling at the Swedish SS improved root penetration into the subsoil by about 10 cm—but the effects of SICSs on yields were generally small. These case studies also reflected difficulties in implementing SICSs, some of which are under development, and we discuss methodological issues for measuring their effectiveness. There is a need for refining these SICSs and for evaluating their longer-term effect under a wider range of pedoclimatic conditions.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Till SeehusenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Till SeehusenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Norwegian-grown peas and faba beans are a healthier alternative to meat and dairy products, which are over-consumed in Norway, hence these legumes represent an interesting alternative as food protein source in Norway. However, the environmental impact of these legumes compared to other protein sources has not been studied, in detail. Hence this study, where the environmental impact of this plant protein was analysed and compared to other main protein sources in the Norwegian diet, covers a research gap. The method used was Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and a large range of impacts was covered. The climate impact for dried grain legumes were 0.55–0.57 kg CO2-eq/kg, The climate impact for dried grain legumes were 0.55–0.57 kg CO2-eq/kg, which is much lower than ruminant meat (19–38 kg CO2-eq/kg), other meat (3.6–4.2 kg CO2-eq/kg), seafood (0.8–22 kg CO2-eq/kg), dairy products (1.2–22 kg CO2-eq/kg products) and cereals (0.66–0.72 kg CO2-eq/kg product). The same trend was found for all impact categories studied. The same pattern was found when comparing the environmental impacts of grain legumes in intermediate and finished products. An evaluation of the nutrient content showed that there is no trade-off between health and environment but the effect of lower protein digestibility and anti-nutritional compounds in legumes remains to be investigated quantitatively. The study indicates that legumes are a more sustainable source of dietary protein than animal protein sources. It is recommended that more research should be done on social and economic sustainability should be done to get at more complete picture of the sustainability of these grain legumes.
Authors
Ali Hosseini Hans-Christian Teien Till Seehusen Merete Myromslien Marit Nandrup Pettersen Justin Brown Brit Salbu Deborah Helen OughtonAbstract
A series of 131I tracer experiments have been conducted at two research stations in Norway, one coastal and one inland to study radioiodine transfer and dynamics in boreal, agricultural ecosystems. The hypothesis tested was that site specific and climatological factors, along with growth stage, would influence foliar uptake of 131I by grass and its subsequent loss. Results showed that the interception fraction varied widely, ranging from 0.007 to 0.83 over all experiments, and showing a strong positive correlation with biomass and stage of growth. The experimental results were compared to various models currently used to predict interception fractions and weathering loss. Results provided by interception models varied in the range of 0.5–2 times of the observed values. Regarding weathering loss, it was demonstrated that double exponential models provided a better fit with the experimental results than single exponential models. Normalising the data activity per unit area to remove bio-dilution effects, and assuming a constant single loss rate gave weathering half-times of 22.8 ± 38.3 and 10.2 ± 8.2 days for the inland and coastal site, respectively. Whilst stable iodine concentrations in grass and soil were significantly higher (by approximately a factor of 5 and 7 times for grass and soil respectively) at the coastal compared to the inland site, it was not possible to deconvolute the influence of this factor on the temporal behaviour of 131I. Nonetheless, stable iodine data allowed us to establish an upper bound on the soil to plant transfer of radioiodine via root uptake and to establish that the pathway was of minor importance in defining 131I activity concentrations in grass compared to direct contamination via interception. Climatological factors (precipitation, wind-speed and temperature) appeared to affect the dynamics of 131I in the system, however the decomposition of these collective influences into specific contributions from each factor remains unresolved and requires further study. The newly acquired data on the interception and weathering of radioiodine in boreal, agricultural ecosystems and the reparametrized models developed from this, substantially improve the toolbox available for Norwegian emergency preparedness in the event of a nuclear accident.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Lars T. Havstad John Ingar Øverland Trygve S. Aamlid Trond Gunnarstorp Geir Kjølberg Knudsen Jon SælandAbstract
Desiccation with diquat about one week before seed harvest has been common practise in Norwegian clover seed production. However, after withdrawal of diquat in 2020, clover seed growers no longer have desiccators available. In 2019 and 2020, six field trials in red clover and two field trials in white clover were carried out to evaluate alternative chemical products at different rates and at two different spraying dates, either early at 50% mature seed heads and / or late at 65% mature seed heads. Products included, either for one or two years, was Spotlight Plus (carfentrazonethyl), Beloukha (pelargonic acid), Glypper (glyphosate), Gozai (Pyraflufen-ethyl), Harmonix LeafActive (acetic acid), Harmonix FoliaPlus (pelargonic acid), Flurostar (fluroxypyr) and Saltex (sodium chloride) and liquid urea-based fertilizers. In addition, swathing was examined as an alternative in two red clover trials in 2020. While none of the tested chemicals were superior to diquat, the most promising alternatives were Harmonix FoliaPlus and Harmonix LeafActive in red clover or Harmonix FoliaPlus in white clover. Although usually less effective than these products, Beloukha also had an acceptable desiccation effect, especially when sprayed early and late. Swathing before harvest, using finger bar cutters, was an effective drying method under favourable weather conditions.
Authors
Teresa Gómez de la Bárcena Tatiana Francischinelli Rittl Peter Dörsch Trond Henriksen Randi Berland FrøsethAbstract
No abstract has been registered