Hopp til hovedinnholdet

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

The objective of this study was to quantify the long-term growth response of Norway spruce and Scots pine to whole-three harvesting (WTH) at first thinning. The results show that for spruce, WTH has lead to a decrease in forest growth 25 years after thinning. In the pine stands, the results were more variable between sites and periods and the growth reduction after 25 years was not statistically significant.

Abstract

The objective of the research work has been to investigate whether the quality of dried and planed sawn timber can be improved by sorting logs and planks before the drying process. The research material was selected by randomly choosing 30 butt logs and 30 middle logs in a given diameter class at a sawmill. The logs were sawn in a 4 x log pattern, and one inner plank (near pith) and one outer plank (near bark) were chosen from each log. Various properties were measured on the logs and on the sawn timber before and after drying. The material was then planed, and the quality of the panel boards was registered. Based on the results, different models for sorting the timber before drying to optimise the drying process are proposed. One of them is to separate outer and inner planks. An evident improvement is then expected, both due to possibilities for adjusting the drying process to the moisture content before and after drying, and the possibilities for optimising the drying process in accordance with the requirements of the various wood products. In addition to a separation of inner and outer planks, it is also of interest to separate planks from different types of logs (e.g. butt logs and middle logs) to be able to further optimise the drying process according to the wood properties. The project results also show that the best wood quality for production of panel boards is found in the inner planks from middle logs, mainly due to the knot pattern in the stems.

Abstract

An evident change in climate the last decades has been recorded, and combined effects of increased CO2, elevated temperature and altered precipitation regimes have been observed to represent a change to the fundamental drivers within ecosystems. Growth of moulds, both in nature and on man-made constructions and objects, will most likely increase due to changes in the climate. The survival, the reproduction, the dispersal and the geographic distribution of moulds are decided by both direct and indirect effects of climate change. Not only the moulds, but also their hosts and substrates, possible competitors and enemies will be affected by climate change. It is essential to understand the interactions between the members in these ecosystems to be able to control and predict future development of moulds. The effect of introducing new building directives, environmental friendly materials and products which are meant to oblige the demand for more climate friendly buildings and houses, is an aspect that may generate unexpected and unintended mould growth on man-made constructions and objects. Future research should focus on the interaction between the moulds, the hosts, the substrates and the climatic factors, and what implications future changes in building directives and housing policy will have on mould growth.

Abstract

The Nordic region is characterized by simple, non-bureaucratic exchange of forest genetic resources (FGR) between countries that is strongly associated with the everyman\"s right legislation within the individual countries. The regime for international exchange of FGR is smooth and regarded as being very valuable for the forestry sector across the Nordic country borders as it secures the unrestricted availability of seeds and breeding material.

Abstract

Wood protection is mainly based on chemical protection of wood. The disposal of wood preservative treated material causes restrictions in its later use or recirculation into the eco-cycle. A new protective system, electro-osmotic pulsing technology on wood, called PLEOT, is tested in a fungi test and in soil contact. Mass loss and moisture content of Scots pine sapwood samples was calculated after testing and an element analysis was performed on the sample powder. The results show that PLEOT- protected samples have nearly no mass loss after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of exposure to Coniophora puteana in laboratory trials. The samples protected with PLEOT showed lower moisture content but trace elements of metals in the samples after basidiomycete test compared to untreated samples. It is concluded, that neither the resulted wood moisture content nor the transferred metal ions in the PLEOT samples contribute to large amounts to the wood protection effect. Furthermore, the PLEOT system might give a protection for wood in soil contact. Further research on the mode of action as well as further tests including field tests are under planning.

Abstract

Understanding the feedback between terrestrial biosphere processes and meteorological drivers is crucial to ecosystem research as well as management. For example, remote sensing of the activity of vegetation in relation to environmental conditions provides an invaluable basis for investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics and patterns of variability. We investigate the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR) using SeaWiFS satellite observations from 1998 to 2005 and ancillary meteorological variables from the CRU-PIK dataset. To what extent do precipitation and temperature dominate the terrestrial photosynthetic activity on monthly to interannual time scales? A spectral decomposition using Singular System Analysis leads to a global ‘classification’ of the terrestrial biosphere according to prevalent time-scale dependent dynamics of fAPAR and its relation to the meteorology. A complexity analysis and a combined subsignal extraction and dimensionality reduction reveals a series of dominant geographical gradients, separately for different time scales. Here, we differentiate between three time scales: on short time scales (compared to the annual cycle), variations in fAPAR coincide with corresponding precipitation dynamics. At the annual scale, which explains around 50% of the fAPAR variability as a global average, patterns largely resemble the biomes of the world as mapped by biogeographic methods.At longer time scales, spatially coherent patterns emerge which are induced by precipitation and temperature fluctuations combined. However, we can also identify regions where the variability of fAPAR on specific time scales cannot be traced back to climate and is apparently shaped by other geoecological or anthropogenic drivers. http://uregina.ca/prairies/assets/Prairie_Summit_Final_Program.pdf

Abstract

Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Lebed.) are closely related and occupy a large parapatric area across the entire northern Eurasia. They have been suggested to be connected by a wide zone of hybridization along the Ural Mountains, separating the European Norway spruce from the Siberian spruce. This introgressive zone is believed to be formed by secondary contact after the last glaciation. Based on macrofossils, P. obovata has been suggested to have survived the LGM in refugia both on the eastern and the western side of the Urals. Previous genetic isozyme studies have indicated that the two spruce taxa are genetically poorly differentiated.

Abstract

Determining the feedbacks between terrestrial biosphere processes and the meteorological drivers (here precipitation and temperature) is crucial to ecosystem research. In this context, the continuous monitoring of the earth surface provides an invaluable basis for investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics in the activity of vegetation in relation to environmental conditions. Here, we seek to identify which patterns of variability in the meteorological drivers dominate the terrestrial photosynthetic activity from monthly to interannual time scales (resp. fluctuation frequencies). We investigate the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) using SeaWiFS observations from 1998 to 2005 and ancillary meteorological variables. A spectralanalysis leads to a global `classification` of the terrestrial biosphere according to prevalent scale dependent dynamics of fAPAR and its relation to the meteorology. A combined subsignal extraction and dimensionality reduction reveals a series of dominant geographical gradients on specific time scales. E.g. we uncover spatially coherent patterns at low frequencies and show where these are induced by precipitation or temperature fluctuations. We also show where high frequency variations (relative to the annual cycle) in fAPAR coincide with corresponding precipitation dynamics. However, we can also identify regions where the variability of fAPAR on specific time scales cannot be traced back to climate and is apparently shaped by other geoecological or anthropogenic drivers. http://www.terrabites.net/fileadmin/user_upload/terrabites/PDFs/Programme_Book_TERRABITES.pdf

Abstract

Large volumes of spruce-dominated forests established on steep terrain are maturing in western Norway. The level of harvesting needed in utilising these forests calls for investments in cable yarding, processing and transport systems, and updated knowledge on the appropriate technology for Norwegian conditions. In the yarding-processing-truck transport operation, the processor cannot operate if the cable yarding system does not supply trees at a sufficient rate or when the buffer storage becomes full. As a result, the productivity of the whole system is often substantially lower than those of the individual parts in the system. Discrete-event simulation has been applied successfully in the analysis of a wide variety of wood harvesting and transport systems, where the productivities of different parts in the supply chain are interlinked .....