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.
2006
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No abstract has been registered
Abstract
We have made and partially sequenced two subtracted cDNA libraries, one representing genes predominantly expressed in a tree from an early-flushing family of Norway spruce (early-flushing library; EFL) and the second from a late flushing family (late flushing library; LFL), during 4 weeks before bud burst. In the EFL, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) encoding proteins of the photosynthetic apparatus and energy metabolism and proteins related to stress (abiotic and biotic) and senescence were abundant. ESTs encoding metallothionein-like and histone proteins as well as transcription factors were abundant in the LFL. We used quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to study the expression patterns of 25 chosen genes and observed that the highest levels of activity for most genes were present when plants were still ecodormant. The results indicate that the late flushing is not a result of a delay in gene activity, but is rather associated with an active transcriptional process. Accordingly, certain metabolic processes may be turned on in order to prevent premature flushing. We discuss the putative role of the studied genes in regulation of bud burst timing. Among the candidate genes found, the most interesting ones were the DNA-binding proteins, water-stress- related genes and metallothioneins. Expression patterns of some genes involved in chemical modification of DNA and histones indicate that epigenetic factors are involved in the timing of bud burst. In the obtained transcriptomes, we could not find genes commonly believed to be involved in dormancy and bud set regulation (PHY, CRY, ABI etc.) in angiosperm plants.
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No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
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AR18×18 is an area frame survey of land resources in Norway, methodologically linked to the Lucas survey carried out by Eurostat. The method has been adapted to Norwegian conditions. Data accessible through existing mapping systems and public registers are not collected. On the other hand, the survey is strengthened with a land cover mapping component. The purpose of the survey is to establish an unbiased and accurate land cover and land use statistic providing a description of the state of land resources in Norway. The study will also provide a baseline for future reports regarding changes in land resources
Abstract
In the traditional EIA procedure environmental vulnerability is only considered to a minor extent in the early stages when project alternatives are worked out. In Norway, an alternative approach to EIA, an integrated vulnerability model (IVM), emphasising environmental vulnerability and alternatives development in the early stages of EIA, has been tried out in a few pilot cases. This paper examines the content and use of the vulnerability concept in the IVM approach, and discusses the concept in an EIA context. The vulnerability concept is best suited to overview analyses and large scale spatial considerations. The concept is particularly useful in the early stages of EIA when alternatives are designed and screened. By introducing analyses of environmental vulnerability at the start of the EIA process, the environment can be a more decisive issue for the creation of project alternatives as well as improving the basis for scoping. Vulnerability and value aspects should be considered as separate dimensions. There is a need to operate with a specification between general and specific vulnerability. The concept of environmental vulnerability has proven useful in a wide range of disciplines. Different disciplines have different lengths of experience regarding vulnerability. In disciplines such as landscape planning and hydrogeology we find elements suitable as cornerstones in the further development of an interdisciplinary methodology. Further development of vulnerability criteria in different disciplines and increased public involvement in the early stages of EIA are recommended.
Authors
Roshan M. Bajracharya Subodh Sharma Bed Mani Dahal Bishal K. Sitaula Alhaji JengAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Aldo Marchetto Rosario Mosello Gabriele A. Tartari John Derome Kirsti Derome Pia Sorsa Nils König Nicholas Clarke Erwin Ulrich Anna KowalskaAbstract
Working Ring Test (WRT) was organised in the framework of the EU Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 (`Forest Focus`) and of the UN/ECE Program `ICP Forests` in order to evaluate the overall performance of the laboratories monitoring atmospheric deposition and soil solution in European Forests, and to verify the improvement in the analytical quality as the results of the QA/QC work carried out in the laboratories which participated to a previous WRT. Seven natural samples of atmospheric deposition and soil solutions and 5 synthetic solutions were distributed to 52 laboratories, which analysed them using their routine method for the following variables: pH, conductivity, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, ammonium, sulphate, nitrate, chloride, total alkalinity, phosphate, total dissolved nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon, aluminium, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, total phosphorus, total sulphur and silica. For each variable, a Data Quality Objective was defined, based on the results of the previous WRT, the comparison with the DQOs of other international networks, and the importance of the variable in deposition and soil solution monitoring. It resulted that 38% of the results do not meet the DQO, showing for which variables and in which laboratories improvement in analytical performance is needed. The results of the exercise clearly show that the use of data check procedures, as those described in the ICP Forests manual for sampling and analysis of atmospheric deposition, would make it possible to detect the presence of outliers or results not accurate, and would greatly improve the overall performance of the laboratories. Some analytical methods were found not suitable to the samples used in this WRT, nor to atmospheric deposition samples in European forests, and they include outdated methods, such as turbidimetry or nephelometry for the determination of sulphate, silver nitrate titration and ion selective electrode for chloride, Kjeldahl digestion for the determination of ammonium and organic nitrogen, and colorimetric titrations for alkalinity. A detailed discussion of the analyses of total dissolved nitrogen, dissolved organic carbon and total alkalinity is also provided, as they were the variables for which more analytical difficulty arose. Finally, a comparison between the results of this WRT and those of the previous exercise showed that the analytical performance of the laboratories participating in both WRTs improved as a consequence of the adoption of QA/QC procedures.
Authors
Harald Bratli Erik Framstad Jogeir N. Stokland Odd Egil StabbetorpAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered