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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.

2009

Abstract

Two mature clones of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) shown to have different level of resistance towards inoculation of Heterobasidion parviporum were compared with respect to spatiotemporal expression of transcripts related to biosynthesis of lignin, stilbenes and other phenolic compounds in response to fungal inoculation and physical wounding. Both clones responded to H. parviporum and physical wounding at transcriptional and chemical levels. Taxifolin, detected in the resistant clone only, increased in concentration following both wounding and inoculation. Concentrations of stilbenoid glucosides were highest in the susceptible clone. Following wounding or inoculation, concentrations of these glucosides increased in the susceptible clone, and quantities of their corresponding aglycones increased dramatically in both clones close to the treatment point. Significant changes in transcription were detected over the entire lesion length for all transcripts, and only the changes in a few transcripts indicated a response to inoculation with H. parviporum differing from that caused by wounding alone. The resistant clone had higher basal concentrations of lignin (LTGA) compared to the susceptible clone; concentrations increased in both clones after wounding and wounding plus inoculation treatments, but remained consistently higher in the resistant clone, suggesting higher lignin levels in the cell walls compared to the susceptible clone. In addition, the transcript level in the same clones was also measured the following year and we saw indications of primed defences for a number of gene products likely resulting from the inoculations performed 12 months prior.

Abstract

The soil is considered to be the major Carbon (C) sink in boreal forests, thus determination of soil carbon fluxes is essential for reliable C budgets. Especially partitioning of soil and root respiration is a major challenge. Soil respiration (Rs) consists of autotrophic respiration (Ra, respiration of plant roots and of microorganisms living on root-derived organic C in the rhizosphere) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh, respiration of free-living microorganisms during their decomposition of soil organic matter. In our study we attempted to estimate the contribution of roots to soil respiration by a girdling experiment. The study was established in two Norway spruce (Picea abies) stands, 35 and 65 year old, at Nordmoen, southeast Norway. Four quadratic plots (21m x 21m) were chosen within each of the two stands in spring 2006 and within two plots all trees were girdled. To estimate the contribution of root respiration, we measured CO2 efflux within each plot with a PP EGM-4 gas monitor for CO2, at permanently marked spots during two years (2006 and 2007). In the youngest stand in 2006, Rs in the control plots was higher than in the girdled plots at all measurement occasions. During this period, the mean Rs in the girdled plots was 64.9 % of the mean Rs in the control plots. In 2007, the Rs was highest in the girdled plots on most occasions, but the difference was never significant. In the oldest stand, Rs was also highest in the control plots in 2006 and highest in the girdled stand in most cases in 2007, but the difference was never significant. The implications will be discussed.

Abstract

Mould growth on exterior coated cladding façades is an undesirable element; it is considered to be major maintenance concern and will often shorten the aesthetical service life of the façade. On the other hand, rapid colonisation and colour change of unpainted wooden claddings is often anticipated and used as a design element. Wood is a biological building product, and individual components in a building will vary in appearance, properties and performance. Life expectancy of wood and wood-based products is related to a number of factors. Mould growth on painted surfaces is influenced by type and concentration of film fungicides, the paint formulation and the wood material, and wooden cladding may experience exponential fungal deterioration caused by variation in the climatic factors, often within a small limited area. The overall objective of this thesis was to gain in-depth knowledge about which factors influence surface mould growth on coated and uncoated wooden cladding in an outdoor environment, with a special attention to modified wood substrates. The work included identification of fungal species on the surface of coated substrates, studies of modified wood substrates\" susceptibility to mould growth, investigation of paints with different physical surface structures and their influence on surface mould growth, identification and quantification of factors that contribute to variation in surface mould growth and prediction of future performance of combinations of wood substrates and coating systems.....

Abstract

The most important and widespread disease on golf courses is Microdochium nivale. It is a psycrotrophic fungal plant pathogen that is the main cause of biotic winter injury in grasses in the temperate and sub-arctic climates, both with and without snow cover. It is an opportunistic pathogen, with the ability to attack plants under a wide range of environmental conditions. A large variation in both host preference and aggressiveness among isolates has been documented. It is speculated that these traits as well as competition between isolates may be dependent on temperature. The fungus is spread by infected seeds and from infected plants or debris. Besides seed transmitted inoculum, it is not clear whether the primary inoculum source is wind dispersed ascospores or soilborne/plant debris borne inoculum. Wind borne ascospores has been claimed to be the main inoculum source, but perithecia are hardly observed on grasses on Norway. The aim of the present project was obtain better understanding of what is the source of primary inoculum for snow mould caused by M. nivale; to understand how inoculum of M. nivale survives from spring to fall, and from year to year, to understand how climatic conditions affects the potential inoculum by monitoring symptoms on plants, occurrence of the fungus and growth characteristics in vitro of strains sampled from snow melt and through summer and autumn. To obtain such knowledge, surveys and sampling on selected golf courses was conducted. Snow mould symptoms and the occurrence of M. nivale in leaves and stems of grasses sampled from golf greens and foregreens was reduced during the growth season. We also found that M. nivale could be isolated from locations without visible symptoms. Despite a lower isolation rate in autumn, M. nivale was again isolated in some of the originally locations, the following spring. The M. nivale isolation rate was similar from sites located on greens compared to foregreens, and from greens located at more sunny sites compared to more shadowy located greens. We conclude that this fungus seem to survive from year to year within the same locations on greens and foregreens.