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.
2008
Authors
Tove Maria Østensvik Petter Nilsen Kaj Bo VeierstedAbstract
The goal of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the impact of different physical work station designs, expressed in two different brands of forest vehicles, on the muscle activity patterns in the neck and upper extremities among the vehicle operators. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was continuously recorded bilaterally on the trapezius (TM) and the extensor digitorum muscles (EDM) during one working day among operators driving Timberjack and Valmet vehicles, either as harvesters (n = 7 and 6, respectively) or forwarders (n = 9 and 9, respectively). Both the construction of the crane in relation to the chassis and the design of the control levers vary between the Tim-berjack and Valmet vehicles, which demand different ergonomic performance by the operators. The operators mostly handle control levers in the harvesters or forwarders, the latter with a more varied work load, in a fixed, seated working posture in the cabin for long hours with little rest. The sustained low- level muscle activity was quantified by periods with muscle activity above 0.5 percent EMGmax into 10 predetermined duration intervals from 1.6 to 5 s up to above 20 min (SULMA periods). These SULMA periods were analyzed both for number in the different intervals and cumulated periods above the predefined values. Amplitude and frequency parameters were analyzed and the number and total duration of muscle rest periods were calculated. The operators driving Valmet harvesters had a significantly higher number of long cumulated SULMA periods above 10 min in the left TM, and showed a higher level of static muscle activity and less total duration of muscle rest in TM bilaterally. The operators driving Timberjack forwarders had a significantly higher number of SULMA periods between 10 and 20 min in the right TM. No difference was found between the operators in the EDM activity pattern. The results of our study showed that operators driving Valmet harvesters had more sustained low-level activity in the neck than those driving Timberjack, including a higher number of long cumulated SULMA periods, higher static level, and less muscle rest. Despite a small sample, the results in muscle activity pattern raise the question of needs for improvements of the forest vehicle workstation design.
Authors
Leif Sundheim May Bente Brurberg Trond Hofsvang Christer Magnusson Trond Rafoss Brita Toppe Anne Marte Tronsmo Bjørn ØklandAbstract
Wild oats (A. fatua) is present in 155 out of 431 Norwegian municipalities. It is widely distributed in all municipalities in the main agricultural areas in south-east and central-east Norway, and in the municipalities close to the Trondheim fjord. Otherwise wild oats is present in only a few scattered municipalities not geographically connected to these main areas. Endangered area, not yet infested by A. fatua, is estimated to 228858 ha. This area is spread over the cereal growing part of Norway. The counties of North- and South -Trøndelag have a higher portion of endangered area not yet infested than south and central part of East Norway. The probability of entry of A. fatua from outside the PRA area (Norway) is very low. The probability of spread within Norway is high. In areas with low infestation, like in Trøndelag, the probability of spread is lower than in heavily infested areas. However, in areas with high level of infestation there are few new farms left to be infested. The official wild oats register is a valuable tool in regulations aiming to limit spread. The register also provides a tool to follow up infested farms. The register would be even more useful if inspection for infestation on new farms had been more systematic. Wild oats is no longer devastating even in cereal monocropping, due to cost efficient herbicides. However, in Norway an increasing area is infested with wild oats. The infestation may vary from only a few plants to total coverage of the field. In cereal monocropping chemical treatment with and without hand roguing is the only feasible control methods. Hand roguing alone is expensive and ineffective even on modest infestation. The structural changes in cereal farming result in more farms being managed by entrepreneurs. Field managed by entrepreneurs promotes use of herbicide even on small infestations since this is a cost effective measure to control the weed. Less official control of cereal fields can also be expected. The economical consequences are thus expected to be high. The economical consequences can be even higher in organic farming if the most profitable rotation has to be changed to a less profitable one because of wild oats infestation.
Authors
Leif Sundheim May Bente Brurberg Trond Hofsvang Christer Magnusson Trond Rafoss Brita Toppe Anne Marte Tronsmo Bjørn ØklandAbstract
The main Avena species that are important weeds of cereal and arable crops include A. fatua L., A. sterilis and A. barbata Pott. All three species have an abscission scar on the grains. A risk assessment of A. fatua L. as an indirect pest in Norway is given in a separate document. For both A. sterilis ssp. macrocarpa and ssp. maxima, and for A. barbata Pott, the potential for entry and establishment in Norway is considered as very low. A. sterilis ssp. ludoviciana (winter wild oats) has a moderate potential for establishment in Norway. The suitability of the environment for A. sterilis ssp. ludoviciana was therefore investigated: Our assessment of the probability of establishment indicates that the climate is not favourable for establishment of A. sterilis ssp. ludoviciana in Norway. A. sterilis ssp. ludoviciana is a problem in southern Europe and central southern England and is mainly a weed in winter cereals. While it is highly likely that the probability of establishment of A. sterilis ssp. ludoviciana has increased in Norway in recent years due to climate change and consequent changes in cultural practices, its probability of establishment in Norway is still low and it is therefore not likely that it will become a weed in Norway under current conditions. However, if the future climate of the PRA area changes, so that winter conditions become similar to conditions in southern England, while the acreage of winter cereal continues to grow, A. sterilis ssp. ludoviciana could become a weed in Norway. A. sterilis ssp. ludoviciana is not present in Denmark where winter cereals are much more widely cultivated, and the climate is more favourable than in Norway. One would therefore expect the weed to establish in Denmark before it will become a problem in Norway
Authors
Åsmund AsdalAbstract
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Editors
Tor Håkon Sivertsen Arne Oddvar Skjelvåg Simone Orlandini Mannava V.K. Sivakumar Josef Eitzinger Pavol Nejedlik Vesselin Alexandrov Leonidas Toulios Pierluigi Calanca Robert Stefanski Raymond Motha Mduduzi Gamedze Miroslav Trnka Ward Smith Jan NetlandAbstract
No abstract has been registered