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.
2017
Authors
Line Johansen T. Lennartsson Anna Westin A. Iuga C.M. Ivascu Eveliina Kallioniemi Sølvi WehnAbstract
Semi-natural grasslands are important habitats for pollinators because of high abundance of flowering plants. The aim of this study was to assess effects of mowing time on flower resources for pollinators in semi-natural hay meadows. Flowering species in semi-natural hay meadows throughout a landscape in Maramures, Romania were used as indicators of flower resources for pollinators. Botanical surveys were performed in 31 hay meadows and all herbs and shrubs were recorded in hay meadows cut early, intermediate and late in the growing season. All hay meadows included a high number of flower species but the mowing time influenced the available floral resources for pollinators. If mowing time varies between hay meadows within a landscape, flower resources for pollinators will be available throughout the growing season, which is essential in pollination conservation in agricultural landscapes.
Authors
Shota Masumoto Masaki Uchida Motoaki Tojo Maria-Luz Herrero Akira S. Mori Satoshi ImuraAbstract
In Arctic tundra, plant pathogens have substantial effects on the growth and survival of hosts, and impacts on the carbon balance at the scale of ecological systems. To understand these effects on carbon dynamics across different scales including plant organ, individual, population and ecosystem, we focused on two primary factors: host productivity reduction and carbon consumption by the pathogen. We measured the effect of the pathogen on photosynthetic and respiratory activity in the host. We also measured respiration and the amount of carbon in the pathogen. We constructed a model based on these two factors, and calculated pathogenic effects on the carbon balance at different organismal and ecological scales. We found that carbon was reduced in infected leaves by 118% compared with healthy leaves; the major factor causing this loss was pathogenic carbon consumption. The carbon balance at the population and ecosystem levels decreased by 35% and 20%, respectively, at an infection rate of 30%. This case study provides the first evidence that a host plant can lose more carbon through pathogenic carbon consumption than through a reduction in productivity. Such a pathogenic effect could greatly change ecosystem carbon cycling without decreasing annual productivity.
Authors
Habtamu AlemAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
G. Gilioli G. Schrader J.-C. Gregoire A. MacLeod O. Mosbach-Schulz Trond Rafoss V. Rossi G. Urek W. van der WerfAbstract
A new method for pest risk assessment and the identification and evaluation of risk-reducing options is currently under development by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Plant Health Panel. The draft method has been tested on pests of concern to the European Union (EU). The method is adaptable and can focus either on all the steps and sub-steps of the assessment process or on specific parts if necessary. It is based on assessing changes in pest population abundance as the major driver of the impact on cultivated plants and on the environment. Like other pest risk assessment systems the method asks questions about the likelihood and magnitude of factors that contribute to risk. Responses can be based on data or expert judgment. Crucially, the approach is quantitative, and it captures uncertainty through the provision by risk assessors of quantile estimates of the probability distributions for the assessed variables and parameters. The assessment is based on comparisons between different scenarios, and the method integrates risk-reducing options where they apply to a scenario, for example current regulation against a scenario where risk-reducing options are not applied. A strategy has been developed to communicate the results of the risk assessment in a clear, comparable and transparent way, with the aim of providing the requestor of the risk assessment with a useful answer to the question(s) posed to the EFSA Plant Health Panel. The method has been applied to four case studies, two fungi, Ceratocystis platani and Cryphonectria parasitica, the nematode Ditylenchus destructor and the Grapevine flavescence dorée phytoplasma. Selected results from these case studies illustrate the types of output that the method can deliver.
Authors
Heidi Udnes Aamot Ingeborg Klingen Simon G. Edwards May Bente Brurberg Guro Brodal Toril Eklo Hege Særvold Steen Jafar Razzaghian Elisa Gauslaa Ingerd Skow HofgaardAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Igor A. Yakovlev Thomas Solvin Harald Kvaalen Arne Steffenrem Marcos Viejo Carl Gunnar FossdalAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Carl Gunnar FossdalAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Main conclusion: Epigenetic memory affects the timing of bud burst phenology and the expression of bud burstrelated genes in genetically identical Norway spruce epitypes in a manner usually associated with ecotypes. In Norway spruce, a temperature-dependent epigenetic memory established during embryogenesis affects the timing of bud burst and bud set in a reproducible and predictable manner. We hypothesize that the clinal variation in these phenological traits, which is associated with adaptation to growth under frost-free conditions, has an epigenetic component. In Norway spruce, dehydrins (DHNs) have been associated with extreme frost tolerance. DHN transcript levels decrease gradually prior to flushing, a time when trees are highly sensitive to frost. Furthermore, EARLY BUD BREAK 1 genes (EBB1) and the FT-TFL1- LIKE 2-gene (PaFTL2) were previously suggested to be implied in control of bud phenology. Here we report an analysis of transcript levels of 12 DHNs, 3 EBB1 genes and FTL2 in epitypes of the same genotype generated at different epitype-inducing temperatures, before and during spring bud burst. Earlier flushing of epitypes originating from embryos developed at 18 C as compared to 28 C, was associated with differential expression of these genes between epitypes and between buds and last year’s needles. The majority of these genes showed significantly different expressions between epitypes in at least one time point. The general trend in DHN expression pattern in buds showed the expected reduction in transcript levels when approaching flushing, whereas, surprisingly, transcript levels peaked later in needles, mainly at the moment of bud burst. Collectively, our results demonstrate that the epigenetic memory of temperature during embryogenesis affects bud burst phenology and expression of the bud burst-related DHN, EBB1 and FTL2 genes in genetically identical Norway spruce epitypes.
Authors
R. Ahmad Romadhoni Surya Putra Zhen Liu Mogens LundAbstract
This paper aims to study the impact of biogas technology adoption as a livestock waste technology to support Mixed Crop and Livestock (MCL) farming among smallholder farmers in Indonesia. A cross sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 351 farm households (171 biogas adopters and 180 non-adopters) in the province of Yogyakarta. This study employed treatment effects analysis based on propensity score matching techniques to evaluate the impacts of biogas technology adoption among the farm households. The results showed that the adoption of the biogas technology reduces firewood consumption of smallholder farm households in Indonesia. Unfortunately, the impact on the use of slurry for organic fertilizers and the use of gas (Liquid Petroleum Gas, LPG) as another household cooking energy could not be evaluated. This study empirically showed that the benefits of the biogas technology had not yet been optimized at the household level which may partly explain the slow rate of biogas technology diffusion among farmers. However, the consumption reduction of firewood as a benefit of using biogas contributed to behavioral changes of the women in the households especially with respect to firewood collection and cooking activities.
Authors
Gunnar Svenson Dag FjeldAbstract
Improved transport planning and pricing is dependent on correct cycle times. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of road curvature, surface roughness, gradient and truck weight on the operating speed of a conventional 60-tonne gross vehicle weight logging truck. The study used a 320-km test track consisting of both public and forest roads. The track was driven with various gross vehicle weights. Speed data was retrieved from the truck’s CAN-bus system and road data was measured with a profilograph. The key factors for operating speed were curvature and surface roughness, both of which were correlated to each other as well as partially captured by functional road class. Regression analysis quantified the individual effects of these factors as well as gradient, undulation and interactions with truck weight. A regression model is presented which explained 80% of the variation in operating speed. The results were consistent with previous studies, and the proposed models can be used to improve transport planning, cost estimation, operative route path selection and road investments.