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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.

2005

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Abstract

The phosphorus (P) Index, a risk assessment tool, is a simple approach used to rank the potential for P loss from agricultural fields. The P Index identifies areas where sources of P coincide with high risk of P transfer. Factors included in the P Index, developed for Pennsylvania, USA were justified in relation to Norwegian conditions and relevant changes were made. Phosphorus application rate was modified by crop P removal. Additional factors for: 1) P release by freezing of plant residues, 2) flooding frequency, 3) risk of leaching, and 4) annual precipitation were included. Management practices in the Index were adjusted to reflect the effect of time and method of P application on P loss, as well as erosion control measures relevant to agricultural management in Norway rather than Pennsylvania. Testing of the suggested P Index showed that it ranks the potential for P loss from several agricultural catchments in the south-eastern part of Norway relatively well (R2 /0.79). Continuous development of the Index to include new knowledge about processes for P loss as well as regional differences is of great importance for future use of the P Index.

Abstract

Impact assessment for a proposed LNG plant has been carried out for three potential locations in northwest Russia. The impact from the plant is small, and the critical loads for terrestrial ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems will not be exceeded at any of the 3 locations.

Abstract

Ips typographus is considered the most destructive of the bark beetles in the coniferous forests of the Palaearctic region. At low population densities this species breeds in fresh windfalls or dying trees of Norway spruce. At high densities, in contrast, the beetles may show tree-killing outbreaks at regional scales. Spatio-temporal analyses based on pheromone trap data indicated that large windfall events may be a major instigator and synchronizer of beetle outbreaks in areas subjected to regionalized weather systems. The general dominance of lag 1 density dependence of the time series indicated that the beetle populations are constrained by intraspecific competition for breeding substrates. The time series sequence before the large windfelling of 1987 was however declining without significant density dependence. We suggest this to be a transition period, reflecting a drop in carrying capacity due to depletion of susceptible trees during the preceding outbreak period (1970s) and a drop in beetle number to below the density required to kill trees. A variety of organisms exhibit episodes of explosive population growth, triggered by disturbance events. A new general model is constructed to capture the coupling of disturbance events with resource accumulation / depletion. The model is refined and parameterized using the dynamics of the Ips typographus in Scandinavia as a model system. The waiting times between outbreaks of simulated time series were generally longer and more variable than the outbreak lengths, which agree well with the historical records in the last 250 years. Spectral analysis and logspline density plots of waiting times suggest that the transition from aperiodic to periodic population dynamics should be regarded as a continuum.

Abstract

Most countries in Europe have experienced loss of natural forest cover as land has been cleared for farming and other uses. Lack of timber and firewood resources over the last 350 years has been a driving force behind most afforestation work. This paper discusses the history and some major trends and drivers in the afforestation process in Western Norway.