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.
2010
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Per Otto Flæte Gry Alfredsen Kristian Bysheim Øyvind Eriksen Anders Qvale Nyrud Birger VenneslandAbstract
Roundwood timber is raw material for numerous products. Wood based products are generally recognised as favourable regarding energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Several studies have shown that the net CO2 emissions can be reduced by using biofuels harvested from forests to substitute fossil fuels, and by using wood for building materials. Energy use and GHG emissions associated with producing roundwood can be influenced by a broad range of factors, such as silvicultural practice, topography, applied technology, forestland ownership, industrial structure, etc. This emphasizes the importance of using representative data for energy use and GHG emissions when calculating environmental impacts. The aim of this study was to investigate the embodied energy and life cycle GHG emissions of industrial softwood sawlogs in Norway, covering the production chain from tree seed to log yard. Analyses were based on activity data for the Norwegian forest sector for the year 2007. The results showed that the embodied energy and GHG emissions were low compared with the energy and CO2-equivalents stored in the roundwood (about 2%). The findings from this study can be used to inform future decisions on processes in forestry that should be focused on when planning actions to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. Additionally, as roundwood timber is raw material for numerous products the results can be useful when preparing documentation of environmental impacts, such as environmental product declarations, which are increasingly demanded by the market.
Abstract
Modified wood can provide protection against a range of wood deteriorating organisms. But we still lack information about why the modified wood is protected from microbial attack. Several hypotheses have been put forward for the mode of action against wood decaying fungi, including inhibition of action of specific enzymes, but they still need further testing. In this study gene expression of the brown rot fungus Postia placenta FPRL 280 has been monitored after 2, 4 and 8 weeks of colonization in furfurylated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and in untreated control samples. Preliminary results are given. The main finding was that genes related to oxidative metabolic activity generally was higher in furfurylated wood compared to untreated Scots pine. Carbohydrate metabolism related expression varied. For one endo-glucanase and two β-glucosidases the expression was lower in furfurylated wood compared to untreated control, while for one glucoamylase and one glucan 1,3b glucosidase the expression was higher in furfurylated wood. The four cytochrome P450 tested, involved in breakdown of toxic compounds, gave inconsistent results between furfurylated and untreated control samples. Phenylalanine ammonia lyase and cytosolic oxaloacetase gave higher expression in control than in furfurylated samples.
Abstract
One of the main challenges for new wood protection systems is to predict in a fast and accurate way service life in use class 3 (above ground) and use class 4 (in soil or fresh water contact). New environmentally benign wood protection systems are expected to have different modes of action against wood deteriorating fungi compared to the traditional preservatives, change in water sorption being one of them. Therefore it is of importance to evaluate new treated wood products in a broad range of exposure situations, also exploring the variation within use class 3 and 4. Due to the restrictions in the use of chromium containing wood preservatives, a range of studies have been published the last decade evaluating the performance of new products after laboratory or field test exposure. However, there is still a lack of studies comparing the same material in different field exposure situations. This study evaluates the efficacy of 13 novel wood protecting systems in three different above ground tests (horizontal double layer, block test and mini stakes) and two different in-ground tests (EN 252 and mini stakes). Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood from the same wood source was used for all treatments. For each wood protecting system the wood specimens for all five tests were treated together in the same batch. The results after five years of field exposure are presented. In the three above ground tests no or only initial signs of decay were detected after five years (not reaching a mean rating of 1). The decay rate in soil contact was faster than above ground, but after five years only untreated wood (controls) failed in both tests. No significant difference in performance was found between the two tests in soil contact. The use of median decay rate values gave an earlier indication of performance than the use of mean decay rate values.
Abstract
Coated wooden claddings in building facades are widely used in the Scandinavian countries, and are often preferred to other materials. Wood experience an increasing competition from other materials that are less labor intensive at the construction site and materials with less demand for maintenance thru service life, and makes further development of wooden claddings essential. Growth of discoloring moulds on exposed coated wooden claddings is mainly of aesthetic concern, and is especially disfiguring for light-colored surfaces. Growth of surface fungi often initiates repeated cleaning and shorter maintenance intervals, which in turn increase the total cost of ownership for wooden claddings. Cost and effort of ownership is often an important factor considered when choosing a product, and the traditionally good market situation for wooden claddings is therefore threatened. The development of real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and taxon-specific primers has provided new possibilities for specific detection and quantification of fungi in their natural substrates. In qPCR (quantitative real-time PCR), the accumulation of the PCR product is detected for each amplification cycle. An efficient and reproducible sampling and extraction of DNA is required for a high-throughput qPCR based quantification of discoloring fungi. The authors have now adjusted DNA isolation protocols and optimized real-time PCR assays for species specific detection of fungi frequently found on painted surfaces (Aureobasidium pullulans, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporides, Ulocladium atrum).
Authors
Aldo Marchetto Rosario Mosello Gabriele A. Tartari Kirsti Derome Nils König Nicholas Clarke Anna KowalskaAbstract
A second Working Ring Test (WRT) was organised within the framework of the EU/Life+ FutMon Project (`Further Development and Implementation of an EU-level Forest Monitoring System`, LIFE07 ENV/D/000218), to evaluate the overall performance of the laboratories responsible for analysing atmospheric deposition and soil solution samples in European forests, and to verify improvements in the analytical quality resulting from the QA/QC work carried out in the laboratories which participated in previous WRTs organized in the framework of the UN/ECE ICP Forests Monitoring Programme. The WRT was carried out in accordance with International ISO and ILAG guide proficiency test both for sample preparation and numerical elaboration of the results. Five natural atmospheric deposition and soil solution samples and 3 synthetic solutions were distributed to 42 laboratories for analysis using their routine methods for the following variables: pH, conductivity, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, ammonium, sulphate, nitrate, chloride, total alkalinity, total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Two tolerable limits were defined for each variable on the basis of the measured value, the results of previous WRTs, a comparison with the Data Quality Objectives of other international networks, and the importance of the variable in deposition and soil solution monitoring. In the ring test 12% of the results from all the laboratories did not fall within the tolerable limits. This enabled us to identify those variables and laboratories for which improvements in analytical performance are required. The results of the exercise clearly show that the use of data check procedures, as described in the ICP Forests manual for sampling and analysis of atmospheric deposition, makes it possible to detect the presence of inaccurate or outlying results, and would therefore greatly improve the overall performance of the laboratories. A discussion of the improvement of the results in this WRT compared to the previous WRTs is also included, showing a relevant improvent for several variables and underlining the importance of participating to these exercises for the overall analytical quality of the monitoring network.
Abstract
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) sapwood is per definition (EN-350-2) easy to treat. Combination with its good availability on the European markets, it is a construction and building material in demand. However, partially large differences in penetration are reported from industry and research. To keep a reliable product quality, impregnation processes aligned to the material most difficult to treat. Hence, it is crucial to know about the factors inhibiting the fluid flow into the material. Scots pine samples from a wide geographic distribution, 25 different sites in 6 different countries, have been collected and impregnated with an aqueous monomer furfuryl alcohol solution. From each of the respective sites logs of 1.3 meter in length were collected from nine trees belonging to three different breast height diameter classes. Three trees from each dominance class were chosen randomly. The log was drawn from the felled stem in a height of 1.2 meters with exact marked north/south exposition. Sapwood slabs orientated in the heaven directions, underwent a drying procedure at 40°C for 48 h and small clear samples of 20 x 20 x 50 mm were prepared. A large variation of the ratio of filling was found for the material tested. Diameter as well as sample origin seem to influence the materials permeability.
Abstract
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and especially its heartwood is one of the most common construction materials for general outer use e.g. windows or facades in northern Europe. It is considered being use class 3 and is according to EN 350-2 \"not treatable\". Reports from industry and researchers indicate that the heartwood treatability is not uniform. It is still unclear what causes these differences. To increase its durability by means of impregnation would be a contribution to extend the use of both a natural and native material. The understanding of a potential pattern analog to latitudinal/longitudinal origin or other forest or wood properties could help to improve the impregnation by better material selection. Scots pine samples from 25 different sites in 6 countries in northern Europe have been collected throughout autumn and winter 2009/2010. A circle of varying size containing approximately 30 trees was set up in a representative site of each stand. All diameters were measured and arranged in three classes. Three trees of each class were chosen randomly. Only the middle and upper diameter classes were used for studying heartwood permeability. The small diameter class had insufficient heartwood width to be processed. Samples of 20 x 20 x 50 mm were cut and conditioned in a climate chamber. The samples were impregnated with a water-soluble monomer furfuryl alcohol solution in a standard pressure/vacuum process. Results showed a generally low permeability but a few samples had an unexpected high ration of filling. Further on, the samples with the highest and lowest treatability will undergo anatomical and chemical tests to explain these properties.
Abstract
There is great ecological, economic and social value within forest genetic resources – that is a fact. But so far, the true legal status of this resource has not been defined. This was the background for a meeting held in Vienna on 13 September 2010 which assembled forest and legal experts to discuss preliminary outputs from a NordGen project (2009-2010), initiated by representatives from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden....
Authors
Erlend Nybakk Meelis Teder Bill Slee Liana Sadauskiene Anssi Niskanen Anders Lunnan Krzysztof Jablonski Diana Feliciano Gabriel Duduman Fahrudin BajricAbstract
No abstract has been registered