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.
2023
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Tony Waterhouse Ann McLaren Aimee Walker John P. Holland Claire Morgan-Davies Shelemia Nyamuryekung'e Andrew Cox Santiago A. UtsumiAbstract
Comprehensive livestock tracking and behavioral characterization in extensive systems is technically challenging and expensive. Some technologies and data strategies based around proximity information may be more affordable. This paper brings together experiences from two major PLF projects involving cattle in extensive U.S. rangelands and sheep in extensive UK mountains and considers proximity technology for two resources, water in dry rangelands, and supplementary feed in pregnancy, respectively. Opportunities to characterize useful livestock variables include presence/absence, diurnal patterns, use of resources and changing use patterns. Results covering supplementary feed, used fixed Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) readers arrayed around feeding points, 48 Blackface and 50 Lleyn ewes on 33ha of grazing that wore small (c14 g) BLE beacons. Beacons on ewes communicated identity and RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) via receiving readers, pushing data in near-real time via LPWAN to an ArCGIS Online database. Differences in proximity at feeding areas were found for breed and age and patterns of activity over 24-hour periods, supporting the view that BLE technology covering only proportions of grazing areas could be useful for management purposes. For water access in arid rangelands, 11 cows in a 480ha paddock wore NoFence virtual fencing collars with GNSS real-time tracking using cellphone communications. Daily patterns of proximity to the only water source derived from GNSS data support the view that useful information could be provided by BLE proximity systems at lower cost than GNSS collars. Proximity approaches alone provides less information than GNSS systems.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Near-shore areas face multiple stressors, effects of climate change, coastal construction and contamination. Although capping the seabed in these areas with mineral masses can reduce the impact of legacy contaminants in sediment, it can also result in the loss of flora and sessile fauna, both of which are vital components of near-shore ecosystems. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is essential to marine near-shore areas as it supports biodiversity and mitigates the effects of climate change. Therefore, it would be beneficial to modify the top layer of caps to facilitate the reestablishment of these ecosystems when capping near-shore areas. This study describes results from an in situ, six-month field experiment conducted to compare increase in leaf length over the growing season and survival of eelgrass transplanted in two commercially available substrates (Natural sand and Crushed stone) and indigenous sediment (i.e., indigenous control sediment) in a capping project in Horten Inner harbour, Norway. Similar leaf length increase was found in Natural sand and Indigenous control sediment, both significantly higher compared to Crushed stone substrate. Survival was highest in our case in the Indigenous control sediment (120 %), with no significant difference between Crushed stone (20 %) and Natural sand substrates (25 %). These findings emphasize the importance of selecting appropriate substrate for successful seagrass restoration.
Authors
Liv Guri Velle Line Johansen Annette Bär Marie Vestergaard Henriksen Pål Thorvaldsen Anders Lyngstad Dag-Inge Øien Liv Byrkjeland Sigrun AuneAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Line Johansen Liv Guri Velle Annette Bär Marie Vestergaard Henriksen Pål Thorvaldsen Dag-Inge Øien Liv Byrkjeland Sigrun AuneAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Jorunn BørveAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Jyrki Jauhiainen Juha Heikkinen Nicholas Clarke Hongxing He Lise Dalsgaard Kari Minkkinen Paavo Ojanen Lars Vesterdal Jukka Alm Aldis Butlers Ingeborg Callesen Sabine Jordan Annalea Lohila Ülo Mander Hlynur Óskarsson Bjarni D. Sigurdsson Gunnhild Søgaard Kaido Soosaar Åsa Kasimir Brynhildur Bjarnadóttir Andis Lazdins Raija LaihoAbstract
We compiled published peer-reviewed CO2, CH4, and N2O data on managed drained organic forest soils in boreal and temperate zones to revisit the current Tier 1 default emission factors (EFs) provided in the IPCC (2014) Wetlands Supplement: to see whether their uncertainty may be reduced; to evaluate possibilities for breaking the broad categories used for the IPCC EFs into more site-type-specific ones; and to inspect the potential relevance of a number of environmental variables for predicting the annual soil greenhouse gas (GHG) balances, on which the EFs are based. Despite a considerable number of publications applicable for compiling EFs being added, only modest changes were found compared to the Tier 1 default EFs. However, the more specific site type categories generated in this study showed narrower confidence intervals compared to the default categories. Overall, the highest CO2 EFs were found for temperate afforested agricultural lands and boreal forestry-drained sites with very low tree stand productivity. The highest CH4 EFs in turn prevailed in boreal nutrient-poor forests with very low tree stand productivity and temperate forests irrespective of nutrient status, while the EFs for afforested sites were low or showed a sink function. The highest N2O EFs were found for afforested agricultural lands and forestry-drained nutrient-rich sites. The occasional wide confidence intervals could be mainly explained by single or a few highly deviating estimates rather than the broadness of the categories applied. Our EFs for the novel categories were further supported by the statistical models connecting the annual soil GHG balances to site-specific soil nutrient status indicators, tree stand characteristics, and temperature-associated weather and climate variables. The results of this synthesis have important implications for EF revisions and national emission reporting, e.g. by the use of different categories for afforested sites and forestry-drained sites, and more specific site productivity categories based on timber production potential.
Abstract
Vitamin E is essential and supplementation to the diet is often needed to meet the requirements of farm animals. This is particularly relevant during long indoor periods where conserved forages must be fed, as conservation can degrade Vitamin E. However, synthetic vitamins are regarded as contentious inputs in organic agriculture. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate if the standard recommendations for supplementation can be revised and adapted for organically managed dairy cows, on the basis of that the diets differ from those in conventional systems. A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the response to Vitamin E supplementation considering lactation and gestation stage and the composition of the basal diet. Most of the experiments that focused on animal health-related issues were conducted during late gestation and early lactation. In more recent studies reporting positive effects of Vitamin E supplementation on animal health and fertility, cows were fed conserved forages such as hay, haylage or maize silage, which all have low natural content of Vitamin E. In the studies reporting no or only minor positive effects of Vitamin E supplementation, cows were often fed diets based on grass or grass-clover silages, which reflects the structure of organic cattle diets. In conclusion, it was proposed that Vitamin E supplementation is not needed for mid and late lactating cows on pasture or fed a basal diet of grass-clover-silages. For dry and peripartum cows as well as for cows fed maize silage, hay or haylage, supplementation was strongly recommended