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.
2016
Authors
Nathalie Cools Arne Verstraeten Wendelin Weis Stefano Carnicelli Guia Cecchini Nicholas Clarke Elisabeth Graf Pannatier Jim Johnson Mathieu Jonard Henning Meesenburg Tiina M. Nieminen Gunilla Pihl Karlsson Elena Vanguelova Jörg Sintermann Lars Vesterdal Karin HansenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Winching is common in small-scale forest operations, especially on steep slopes, where tractors cannot reach the logs inside the forest. In this case, logs are dragged to the roadside with tractor-mounted winches, for later collection by transportation units. Winching is a heavy task, posing a high physiological stress on winching crew members. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between experienced workload, work conditions and operator fitness. The study confirmed the assumption that fit, young operators experience a lower workload than older ones. Workload depends on winching direction, and it is higher when winching downhill than when winching uphill. Results confirmed that gravity is the main factor, and it has a stronger effect than task type and tool weight. Walking uphill with no tools is heavier than walking downhill and carrying a steel cable. As a consequence, tool weight reduction can only palliate the problem, without solving it. Winching crews should be composed of fit, young workers. When the task is assigned to older workers, it is necessary to allow longer rest breaks, accepting a lower productivity. Keywords: steep terrain, winching, workload, heart rate
Abstract
Growth of dark moulds enables the use of a decorative and protective biofinish for wood, showing advantages compared to traditional wood-coatings in terms of sustainability and selfrepair. Based on the formation of a uniform mould covering on oil treated wood during outdoor exposure, the utilisation of a biofinish is in development. Basic information is lacking on the correlation between exposure site and biofinish formation on wood. To evaluate the impact of different locations, a biofinish assessment method was applied on different combinations of wood species and vegetable oil types after outdoor exposure in the Netherlands and Norway. Biofinishes were detected on wood samples made of spruce, pine sapwood and ilomba that were treated with olive oil and on pine sapwood treated with raw linseed oil after one and a half year of outdoor exposure in the Netherlands. More time was needed for biofinish formation on multiple wood-oil combinations for samples exposed in Norway. After two years of outdoor exposure three out of five wood-oil combinations that contained biofinishes in the Netherlands, showed similar results with the samples in Norway. Biofinish formation was not detected at all on untreated wood samples, regardless the wood species or exposure site. Loose fibres were observed on the surface of all untreated samples. It is likely that biofinish formation was prevented by the removal of stained fibres. Analysis of the stain coverage development on the wood samples, including initial stages of biofinish formation, showed a significant effect of exposure time and (oil) treatment on the stain coverage.
Authors
Biancha Cavicchi Adrian ElyAbstract
This paper addresses the case of bioenergy development in Emilia Romagna, using and building on a ‘pathways to sustainability’ approach (Leach et al. 2010). It represents the first attempt to apply the ‘pathways’ approach to a European context, investigating the dominant narratives and system framings that led to particular pathways of bioenergy development in the Italian region from 2000 onwards. It then explores how alternative framings emerged as a result of material system changes, and documents how these served to re-frame debates over the following decade. The paper points to a tentative result of this reframing – a redirection of pathways to smaller-scale bioenergy development that addresses the socio-economic needs and environmental concerns of local farmers and communities. The paper makes a concrete contribution to the ‘pathways’ approach by providing a detailed analysis of how framings evolve dynamically as a result of feedbacks between different situated knowledges, framings and the material properties of the system.
Abstract
In order to investigate the relationship between environmental conditions and vegetative growth and reproductive development in the strawberry, freshly rooted runner plants of the cultivar ‘Sonata’ were grown in a phytotron at temperatures of 12, 18 and 24 °C and photoperiods of 10 h short day (SD) and 20 h long day (LD) for 31 d and harvested at 10 d intervals. Plant dry weight and leaf area increases were exponential versus time, giving a linear regression with the natural log (ln). This rendered the relative growth rate (RGR) constant over time at each environmental condition. Over the entire 31 d growth period, the RGR increased linearly with increasing temperature across the range of temperatures with a further 10–13% enhancement by LD. A maximum RGR value of 0.077 g/g/d was determined in LD at 24 °C. Increases in the RGR was driven by a combined increase in net assimilation rate (NAR) and leaf area ratio (LAR) and was associated with an increased allocation of dry matter production into leaves and less into crowns and roots. Because of this, the shoot/root ratio increased consistently with increasing temperature and photoperiod, which was also associated with a significant increase in the tissue C/N concentration ratio. Low temperature promoted starch accumulation markedly in all parts of the plants, with a further enhancement by LD conditions, while the concentrations of soluble sugars were less affected by the climatic environment. Forcing of plants exposed to the various growth conditions for 31 d showed that all plants at 12 and 18 °C and 80% of those at 24 °C had initiated flowers in SD, whereas none had initiated flowers in LD regardless of temperature conditions. All these results demonstrate an opposite environmental relationship between vegetative growth and reproductive development in the strawberry.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Lone RossAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Ari Hietala Hugh Cross Halvor Solheim Volkmar Timmermann Nina Elisabeth Nagy Isabella Børja Adam Vivian-Smith Jørn Henrik SønstebøAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Hugh Cross Jørn Henrik Sønstebø Nina Elisabeth Nagy Volkmar Timmermann Halvor Solheim Isabella Børja Håvard Kauserud Tor Carlsen Barbara Rzepka Katarzyna Wasak Adam Vivian-Smith Ari HietalaAbstract
High biodiversity is regarded as a barrier against biological invasions. We hypothesized that the invasion success of the pathogenic ascomycete Hymenoscyphus fraxineus threatening common ash in Europe relates to differences in dispersal and colonization success between the invader and the diverse native competitors. Ash leaf mycobiome was monitored by high-throughput sequencing of the fungal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and quantitative PCR profiling of H. fraxineus DNA. Initiation of ascospore production by H. fraxineus after overwintering was followed by pathogen accumulation in asymptomatic leaves. The induction of necrotic leaf lesions coincided with escalation of H. fraxineus DNA levels and changes in proportion of biotrophs, followed by an increase of ubiquitous endophytes with pathogenic potential. H. fraxineus uses high propagule pressure to establish in leaves as quiescent thalli that switch to pathogenic mode once these thalli reach a certain threshold – the massive feedback from the saprophytic phase enables this fungus to challenge host defenses and the resident competitors in mid-season when their density in host tissues is still low. Despite the general correspondence between the ITS-1 and ITS-2 datasets, marker biases were observed, which suggests that multiple barcodes provide better overall representation of mycobiomes.
Authors
Silvio Uhlig Anita Solhaug Rasmus John Normand Frandsen A.H. Merrill B.H. Kenwood Hege Divon R. Riley Erik Lysøe Robert H. Proctor J. Wiik G.S. EriksenAbstract
No abstract has been registered