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.
2001
Authors
Rolf D. Vogt E.T. Gjessing Dag Olav Andersen Nicholas Clarke T.C. Gadmar K. Bishop U.S. Lundström Michael StarrAbstract
In the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) intercalibration sub-project a set of 10 synthetic and natural samples as well as non-labile reverse osmosis isolates were sent to 25 laboratories for the analysis of TOC and dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC).The outcome of the statistical treatment of the results from this intercalibration and the information regarding the participants instruments and standard operational procedures is that:Synthetic samples provide apparent better precision than natural samples. This fact, together with the good experience from the use of non-labile Reverse Osmosis (RO) and freeze dried isolates of dissolved organic carbon (DOM) in the intercalibration, lead us to recommend the use of RO isolates as material for the preparation of house standards and for determination of methods merits.The intra laboratory precision (relative standard deviation) varied from 5 to 16%.The fractionation of the DOC by 0.45um membrane filtering causes in some cases a contamination of carbon to the sample.A specific construction in a brand of the TOC analysers give poor results in samples with high TOC concentrations and that are of refractory material. The five selected sampling sites have proven, on the basis of their soil and water chemistry, to be well suited for studying the effect of climate and S-deposition on the characteristics of DOM. 163 water samples from two seasons (fall and spring) and 20 soil samples are collected and analysed.Most water samples are determined for all major charge contributing species, DOM fractions, and several other parameters. The DOM in the surface waters have been isolated both using reverse osmosis and hydrophobic resin (XAD8). The original surface water, reconstructed water by RO isolates as well as the XAD8 fractionated DOM have been characterized by a number of methods ranging from optical properties to pH and metal titration.The RO isolates have been provided to 14 scientific research groups in Europe and North America that are in the process of using their analytical technique to characterize the DOM.The soils have been determined for key explanatory variables as pH, cation exchange capacity and C/N ratio. The main findings from the characterisation of DOM is that:Generally the hydrophobic acid fraction (HPO-A) was the main DOM fractions in all water compartments and sites.Seasonal variation in the DOM fractionation is found to be greater than the variation between the sites and water compartments. The DOM fractionation is therefore not a fingerprint of the site.According to a batch titration experiment the aluminium complexing ability of the HPO-A and hydrophilics (HPI) DOM fractions (fractionated using only the XAD8 resin) was indistinguishable.The HPI fraction has generally a higher site density of weak acids (WA).The reverse osmosis (RO) isolates represent the total DOM in the original sample.NMR spectres of the RO isolates show that the main difference between the sites lie in the amounts of carbohydrates and aromatic compounds.The RO isolates produce reconstructed water with DOM that have similar optical properties.PCA analysis suggest that as the S-deposition is decreasing we should expect relatively more hydrophobic character of the DOM.The spring sample from Svartberget differs from the rest of the samples in that there was a small rainstorm causing a hydrologic episode during the sampling. This led to the lowest pH, highest TOC and organic charge (A-) among the surface water samples. In terms of DOM characteristics this temporal variation in flow regime led to the highest HPO-N DOM fractions, lowest intensity of the NMR spectre and low ash content and lower density of WA then expected. This expresses the importance of temporal variation during hydrologic episodes.
Authors
Rolf D. Vogt K. Bishop Nicholas Clarke T.C. Gadmar E.T. Gjessing Jan Mulder Michael Starr Dag Olav AndersenAbstract
The main tasks of the NOMiNiC project (Natural Organic Matter in the Nordic countries; see http://www.kjemi.uio.no/envir/nominic/) is to study the physiochemical characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and provide reverse osmosis (RO) spring and fall isolates of surface water natural organic matter (NOM) from 5 Nordic forested sites that differ mainly in atmospheric S-loading and climate. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions are hypothesized to be more easily defined and have distinct different chemical characteristics than the total sample. A XAD-8 fractionation may then be used as a simple proxy for the physico-chemical properties of NOM. Both XAD-8 fractions and the total DOM sample have been base and metal titrated. Enhanced understanding of the significance of the numerous operationally defined parameters describing NOM will be achieved through a common multi-dimensional characterisation of the same set of isolates, that span a large spectre of the variation found in DOM. 7 institutes are already collaborating in characterizing the RO isolates using a large range of techniques and new participants are invited. In this presentation the 5 sampling sites are described and some results of the characterisation of the RO isolates are presented.
Authors
Svein Ole BorgenAbstract
The purpose of this working paper is to review the new theories on cost management, particularly addressed by the so-called “Relevance Lost”-perspective. This perspective is developed by the two American professors of accounting, Robert S. Kaplan and H. Thomas Johnson. Their point of departure is that in the current climate of rapid technological change, vigorous global and domestic competition and the enormous expansion of information-processing capabilities, current management accounting systems are inadequate and outdated. Their contribution has triggered a fresh and welcomed debate on new management accounting systems. However, the debate is not easily accessible, and the ambition of this working paper is to critically review some of the novel perspectives. Focus is on conceptual issues rather than operational questions, implementation or empirical evidence. The purpose is to discuss strengths and weaknesses of the different models, and explore the conditions under which they seem to be most adequate.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Foliage nutrient concentrations of overstorey and understorey Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), and height growth and needle weights of understorey saplings, were studied in a seven-year period after harvest. The following treatments were applied on each of three sites five years prior to needle sampling: control with no cutting, partial cutting with 50-60 % removal of basal area, and patch cut (25 x 25 m - 0.063 ha clear-cut). Saplings on control plots had higher concentrations of K and Cu in current-year needles (C) than overstorey trees. Increased harvest intensity led to a reduction of K in C- needles and Mg in (C+1)-needles of saplings, and of B in both saplings (C, C+1) and overstorey trees (C+1). Sapling needle weights generally increased with harvest intensity, whereas no effect of foliage N status on needle weights could be detected. The growth response of saplings was explained by the interaction between foliage N status, quantified as average N concentration in C- and (C+1)-needles, and harvest intensity. The results illustrate that sufficient N supply is a key factor for the ability of advance regeneration to utilize the improved light condition associated with overstorey removal.
Authors
Monica Alterskjær Sundset Tove Aagnes Utsi Rolf Rødven Svein Dish MathiesenAbstract
http://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/1540/1446
Authors
John Palmer Mekjell Meland A Hann J.N WünscheAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Peder GjerdrumAbstract
In the Nordic region, two thirds of a sawmill's turnover is being paid to the forestry sector to obtain adequate roundwood supply. As a consequence, an efficient use of each single log is mandatory for a profitable sawmill. This article discusses a few aspects of this task.
Authors
Malin Elfstrand Carl Gunnar Fossdal Folke Sitbon Olof Olsson Anders Lönneborg Sara von ArnoldAbstract
Peroxidases constitute a large family of proteins found in all higher plants. Owing to the complexity of the peroxidase isoenzyme family it has been difficult to assess the precise function of individual peroxidase enzymes.In this work we have studied the effects of an endogenous peroxidase-like gene from Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst], spi 2, on the development and growth of Norway spruce somatic embryo plants.Embryogenic cells of Norway spruce transformed with spi 2 under control of the maize ubi-1 promoter showed up to 40 times higher total peroxidase activity than the control cells; regenerated plants overexpressing spi 2 showed an increased total peroxidase activity.Based on these results and the overall sequence similarity with cationic peroxidases we conclude that spi 2 encodes a peroxidase. Overexpression of spi 2 resulted in increased sensitivity to stress, leading to a reduction in epicotyl formation and in height growth compared with control plants. The plants overexpressing spi 2 also showed a deeper phloroglucinol staining but similar levels of Klason lignin.
Authors
Aksel GranhusAbstract
The risk of logging damage to residual trees (height >3.0 m) and advance regeneration saplings (height 0.5–3.0 m) was evaluated after mechanized (single-grip harvesters + forwarders) and motor-manual (chain saw + skidding) selection harvesting in studies I and II. Harvesting took place during the winter season. Mechanized harvesting caused the highest injury rates, and the difference was highest at high cutting intensity in densely stocked stands. Another important difference between the two operating methods was the spatial distribution of the injury risk relative to striproads. The most important injuries on the larger (>3.0 m) trees were stem- and root wounds, and loss of branches. Wounds tended to be larger, and crown injuries more serious, after mechanized harvesting, but differences were not statistically significant. The most frequent injuries on saplings were crown injuries (loss of branches, stem breakage) and stem lean. In motor-manually harvested stands saplings without pre-harvest deformities in the form of top- or leader defects were more prone to damage than saplings with such defects. A similar difference was not found in stands subjected to mechanized harvesting. This result was attributed to the different work patterns during felling and processing with the two operating methods, in combination with the spatial distribution of saplings of different quality relative to larger trees and stand openings. In study III sapling mortality, and recovery from logging damage in a five-year period after selection harvesting, was investigated. Mortality on the different plots (n=11) was highly variable. For saplings without previous logging damage mortality was related to pre-harvest vigour, and increased with increasing cutting intensity in the immediate surrounding of the sapling. Unspecified site factors also contributed to explain the probability of mortality. Saplings that had been pushed over during harvesting often survived and recovered, while injuries to the crown led to poor survival. Crown injuries were most common on plots subjected to mechanized harvesting, while stem lean was correspondingly important on motor-manually harvested plots. Whether this pattern was attributed to differences in temperature at the time of harvesting (winter), or operating method, is uncertain. In study IV advance regeneration responses in terms of height growth, needle dry weights, and foliar nutrient concentrations were compared after three different release treatments: untouched control, selection harvesting with 50-60 % removal of basal area (BA50-60), and patch cut (25x25 m - 0.063 ha clear-cut). The foliar analyses were carried out five years after treatment, and included dominant and co-dominant (overstorey) trees on control and BA50-60 plots. Height growth and needle dry weights of saplings generally increased with increasing overstorey removal. The growth response was explained by an interaction of foliar nitrogen concentration in current (C) and one-year-old (C+1) needles, and degree of overstorey removal. The foliar analyses did, however, not confirm improved N status after cutting. Increasing overstorey removal led to a reduction of K (C), Mg (C+1) and B (C, C+1) in saplings. A parallel decline of B (C+1) occurred in the overstorey trees (BA50-60). Saplings on control plots had higher concentrations of K and Cu in C-needles, relative to overstorey trees. The influence of neighbour tree basal area on sapling height growth and presence of natural defects (top- and leader damage) was examined in study V. The three stands selected for the study had not been subjected to cutting for several decades, and basal areas ranged from 25–33 m2 ha-1. The relationship between growth and four basal area variables was evaluated: basal area (m2 ha-1) of taller (>3.0 m) neighbour trees within 2.82, 3.99 and 5.64 m radius from the sapling (25, 50 and 100 m2 circular plots), and basal area (m2) of trees within 5.64 m radius weighted according to distance from the sapling. A reduction of growth attributed to increasing basal area of neighbour trees was only observed for the tallest saplings (2.1-3.0 m). Between 33 and 42 % of the saplings had leader- or top defects, and damage frequencies increased with declining distance to the nearest taller neighbour tree.