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.
2024
Abstract
Fruit yield in wild berry species can vary greatly from year to year. Despite the short growing season and low temperatures in the Arctic region, many small fruit species are thriving under such conditions. Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus L.) is a perennial dioecious plant dependent upon insects for pollination. Cloudberries are high-valued, but fruit set and yield can fluctuate substantially between years. Although most commercial harvesting of cloudberries is done from wild stands, a few commercial cultivars are available, and cultivation techniques for natural stands have been developed. There is limited knowledge of variations in cloudberry crops. Increased research on this topic can be crucial for enhancing our knowledge of cloudberry cultivation and having better predictions for increased commercial utilization.
Abstract
Only approximately 2% of the land area in Northern Norway is suitable for agricultural purposes. The short growing season and cold climate impose limitations for what can be produced. Agriculture still takes place here, with forage crops for livestock being the most important. On free rangeland areas, including both semi-natural and natural habitats, livestock grazing is common. The biomass production on some of these rangelands is presumed to be high, although little is known about the actual fodder potential. In 2022 a preliminary study was performed to determine abundance and variety of wild pasture plants, dry matter yield (DM) and feed quality in the (presumed) highest yielding vegetation types. Results showed an average of 1520 kg DM ha–1 in spring and 5380 kg DM ha–1 in autumn. Early season feed quality was high, but with rapidly decreasing trends. The number of pasture plants was also high. Our results show that in sub-arctic Northern Norway grazing animals can harvest substantial amounts of ‘free’ fodder of good quality, yet the official statistics show that only 14% of this resource is utilised. Continuous grazing is needed to maintain production and fodder quality in these areas.
Authors
Kalkidan Mulatu Ayele Mohammed Ebrahim An Notenbaert W. A. Worku Solomon Mwendia Eyuel Girmay Marit JørgensenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Andrea FickeAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Inger MartinussenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Priming of Norway spruce (Picea abies) inducible defenses is a promising way to protect young trees from herbivores and pathogens. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) application is known to induce and potentially prime Norway spruce defenses but may also reduce plant growth. Therefore, we tested β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) as an alternative priming chemical to enhance spruce resistance, using 2-year-old Norway spruce plants. We compared inducible defense responses, i.e. traumatic resin duct formation and accumulation of defensive metabolites, in bark and xylem tissues of BABA- or MeJA-treated plants before and after wounding. We also evaluated the effect of these chemical treatments on Norway spruce resistance to the pathogenic bluestain fungus Grosmania penicilliata. BABA did not induce defense responses or pathogen resistance, it even reduced concentrations of total terpenes in the treated plants. In contrast, MeJA induced traumatic resin duct formation, accumulation of flavonoids, pathogen resistance, and did not affect plant growth. For the first time, flavan-3-ols (catechins) were shown to have a primed response to MeJA treatment in Norway spruce. Our results indicated that BABA is not a suitable alternative priming chemical to MeJA in Norway spruce.
Abstract
Pollarding in agroforestry systems was traditionally an important practice for fodder acquisition in Western Norway, as well as in many other parts of the world. The practice has long been in decline, but to maintain cultural landscapes and biodiversity enhancement from pollarding, farmers now receive a public grant for each tree they pollard. In this interdisciplinary study we investigate which ecosystem services modern pollarding practices provide, under the influence of the current pollarding policy. We have performed both in-depth interviews and a quantitative survey targeting all pollarding farmers in the county of Vestland in Western Norway. We find that bioresources obtained from the branches from pollarding are to some extent still taken into use, mainly in the form of tree fodder for farm animals and firewood, but a lot of the branches remain unused. Biodiversity benefits are obtained from preserving old trees that often are located on agricultural land as solitary trees, as these trees provide important habitats, particularly for species growing on the bark, such as lichens and mosses, or within the decaying wood, such as, for example, fungi and insects. The modern practice of letting branches rot in the field provide habitats for insects and hence additional benefits to biodiversity. For the farmers, the main motivations to pollard are the cultural, aesthetic and historical values of pollarded trees. They see few disadvantages with pollarding, and most of them plan to continue in the future. The grant provides an incentive for pollarding, but our results indicate that the practice would continue without it, although less than now, especially with the establishment of new pollards.
Abstract
“rswap” is an R package under development for SWAP 4.2 with the goal of simplifying, automating, and improving user interaction with the model. The package functions by detecting and translating SWAP input files into R-compatible dataframes, allowing for easy and automated modifications to parameters. Modified model inputs can then be re-written to files and run in SWAP from the R console using "rswap". SWAP model output can be automatically imported into the R environment and visualized using a variety of (interactive) graphing functions. If observational data is provided by the user, then the package can adjust output settings to match (variables and depth). Modelled and observed data can then be graphically compared in-line and “goodness-of-fit” statistics can be generated and plotted. Additionally, model runs can be saved and interactively compared with each other, functions are thoroughly documented with runnable examples, and a baseline runnable model setup can be automatically initialized. Further planned developments to the package include support for parallel running of model runs, enabling rapid automated sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis, as well as automated “hard calibration” routines and parameter estimation. Through this functionality, “rswap” can connect the SWAP model to an integrated development environment (IDE), such as “RStudio”, allowing users to efficiently perform all their work (setup, calibration, execution, analysis) in a single environment. Importantly, the packages allows for direct use of SWAP with the vast array of research software on the R platform. “rswap” is an open-source project originally developed for use in OPTAIN (optain.eu) and has been applied in multiple case studies and thesis projects.
2023
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered