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.
2004
Authors
Sjur Spildo PrestegardAbstract
One of the questions debated in the ongoing WTO agricultural negotiations is whether ‘trade-distorting’ subsidies, or subsidies outside the ‘green box’, are needed in order to pursue non-trade concerns. The term ‘multifunctional agriculture’ is increasingly applied to describe non-trade concerns. This article focuses on how to achieve the multifunctional goals that nations may have with minimal trade-distortion. In the first part of the article, this is done by a literature review and a theoretical analysis. The findings are then converted into an analysis of possible policy formulations in a Norwegian context using a partial equilibrium model. The article argues that multifunctionality hardly can justify the use of market support, while it may justify production-related budget support if the positive externalities or public goods are produced jointly with or complementary to agricultural production. The article concludes with suggestions for WTO trade rules to prevent such policies from becoming a form of protectionism.
Authors
J. Brian Hardaker James W. Richardson Gudbrand Lien Keith D. SchumannAbstract
A method of stochastic dominance analysis with respect to a function (SDRF) is described and illustrated. The method, called stochastic efficiency with respect to a function (SERF), orders a set of risky alternatives in terms of certainty equivalents for a specified range of attitudes to risk. It can be applied for conforming utility functions with risk attitudes defined by corresponding ranges of absolute, relative or partial risk aversion coefficients. Unlike conventional SDRF, SERF involves comparing each alternative with all the other alternatives simultaneously, not pairwise, and hence can produce a smaller efficient set than that found by simple pairwise SDRF over the same range of risk attitudes. Moreover, the method can be implemented in a simple spreadsheet with no special software needed.
Authors
Magne Sætersdal Ivar Gjerde Hans Blom Per Gerhard Ihlen Elisabeth W. Myrseth Reidun Pommeresche John Skartveit Torstein Solhøy Olav AasAbstract
Vascular plants were investigated as a potential surrogate group in complementary small scale site selection, such as woodland key habitats in Scandinavia. We compared the response of vascular plants to environmental gradients to that of seven other plant, fungal and animal groups within a forest reserve in western Norway using data from 59 plots of 0.25 ha. We also examined whether the spatial changes in species (beta-2 index) of vascular plants matched that of the other groups. All seven groups responded to the same gradients in nutrient richness and humidity as the vascular plants. Furthermore, changes in species composition of vascular plants were reflected in comparable degrees of change among the “target“ groups. The lower the degree of change in species composition between plots in the “target“ groups relative to that of vascular plants, the higher the percentage “target“ species encompassed in a complementary selection of sites based on vascular plants. We conclude that in practical site selection of small scale sites of conservation value, such as woodland key habitats, vascular plants may be used in combination with an inventory of important habitats for rare and/or redlisted forest species, such as dead wood, old trees, deciduous trees, and cliffs.
Authors
Risto Kasanen Jarkko Hantula M. Vourinen Jan Stenlid Halvor Solheim Timo KurkelaAbstract
Genetic variation in three multiallelic loci was analysed with Temperature Gradient Gel Electrophoresis in order to assess the genetic population structure of Venturia tremulae var. tremulae in order to understand the evolutionary potential of the pathogen against resistance breeding. Also the identification of the fungus was verified with molecular analysis of reference isolates. The Fst and Gst values were very low indicating no substructuring or restrictions to gene flow between Fennoscandian populations of V. tremulae. The results imply high epidemiological efficiency of the fungus and therefore continuous breeding programme should be implemented for Venturia resistance of aspen.
Authors
G.T. Slavov G.T. Howe Igor A. Yakovlev K.J. Edwards K.V. Krutovskii G.A. Tuskan J.E. Carlson Steven H. Strauss W.T. AdamsAbstract
Twenty-two highly variable SSR markers were developed in Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] from five SSR-enriched genomic libraries. Fifteen PCR primer pairs amplified a single codominant locus, while seven primer pairs occasionally amplified two loci. The Mendelian inheritance of all 22 SSRs was confirmed via segregation analyses in several Douglas-fir families. The mean observed heterozygosity and the mean number of alleles per locus were 0.855 (SE=0.020) and 23 (SE=1.6), respectively. Twenty markers were used in genetic linkage analysis and mapped to ten known linkage groups. Because of their high polymorphism and unambiguous phenotypes, 15 single-locus markers were selected as the most suitable for DNA fingerprinting and parentage analysis. Only three SSRs were sufficient to achieve an average probability of exclusion from paternity of 0.998 in a Douglas-fir seed orchard block consisting of 59 parents.
Authors
Lars Sandved Dalen H. Danforth J. Einset Carl Gunnar Fossdal Aksel Granhus Øystein Johnsen Harald Kvaalen Nina Elisabeth Nagy P. Rinne Linda Ripel S. Torre Gunnhild Søgaard C. van der SchootAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Per Otto Flæte Erlend Ystrøm HaartveitAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Tall oil is a by-product in pulping of resinous wood by the sulphate process. Tall oil contains a complex mixture of wood extractives. Some of these extractives act as natural protection against wood decaying fungi while other serve as nutrition for the fungi. This report describes a screening of the efficacy of four refined tall oils with different chemical composition on wood decaying fungi.Testing was performed as filter paper assay and mini-block assay. In the filter paper assay growth rates of the white rot fungus Coriolus versicolor and the brown rot fungus Poria placenta were inhibited by the tall oils. None of the oils caused total inhibition of the fungi but there was a clear pattern towards increased efficacy with increased portion of resin acids in the oils.Impregnated mini-blocks with approximately 200 kg/m3 retention of tall oil after leaching showed an evident effect against Coniophora puteana and Poria placenta compared to untreated control samples. However, using the criteria from EN 113 requiring less than 3% mass loss, tall oil failed.The results indicate that decay resistance of tall oil impregnated Scots pine sapwood to the retention level used in this study is comparable with the decay resistance of Scots pine heartwood. It was expected that the efficacy of the tall oils was related to chemical composition of the oils. This was confirmed for the filter paper assay where the efficacy increased with increasing amount of resin acids. However, this pattern was not found for the mini-block assay.The protective effect of the tall oils in wood seems therefore to be more related to their hydrophobic properties than to their fungicidal properties.
Authors
Per Holm Nygaard Heleen A. de WitAbstract
Aluminium (Al), mobilized by acidic deposition, has been claimed to be a major threat to forest vitality. Fine root mortality, decreased root growth and reduced nutrient uptake have been observed in controlled laboratory experiments where roots of tree seedlings were exposed to elevated concentrations of Al. Yet, evidence for Al-induced root damage from forest stands is scarcely reported. Nevertheless, Al dissolved in soil water has received a key role in the critical load concept for forests. Here, we present effects of artificially elevated concentrations of Al in the soil solution on fine roots in a middle-aged stand of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). Although the inorganic Al concentrations about 200 M and Ca:Al ratio about 0.7 that were established in the soil solution within this experiment have been associated with reduction of root growth and root mortality for spruce seedlings in hydroponic studies, no acute damage on fine roots was observed. Three years of treatment did not cause visual root damage, nor were effects on fine root necromass observed. Fine root necromass made up about 10 % of fine root biomass for all treatments. However, significantly lower molar Ca:Al and Mg:Al ratios in living and dead fine roots were found in the plots where Al concentrations were highest and ratios of Ca to Al in the soil solution were lowest. The lack of response on fine root biomass suggests that forest stands tolerate higher Al levels than results from laboratory experiments indicate. We conclude that effect studies in the laboratory have limited value for field conditions. The key role of Al toxicity, expressed as the Ca/Al ratio, in critical load calculations for forests may have to be reconsidered.
Abstract
Ecosystems as objects of natural sciences are often difficult to understand, as an object of traditional management they are sometimes easy to utilize. Computer-based modeling offers new tools to study this apparent paradox.We propose an interactive framework from which the traditional approach based on dynamic system theory can be challenged for living systems: Models derived on the basis of the state concept have not (yet?) allowed predictions that derive novel management competence relevant for the altered boundary conditions of ecosystems. Here a concept of interaction as currently used in information sciences serves as starting point for deriving models more appropriate for ecosystems.An application and test of this concept consists in a search for signatures of interaction in environmental and ecological time series. Confronted with the notorious lack of detailed process understanding, it is plausible to rely on time series analysis techniques. The intricate nature of typical multivariate data sets from ecosystems immediately suggests a preference for nonlinear techniques, and among them temporally local methods, able to detect even subtle changes in the underlying dynamics.We shortly introduce a couple of these methods, which have been demonstrated to be appropriate for time series exceeding minimal length requirements. This is exemplified by recurrence quantification analysis. In addition we present methods to quantify the memory content (Hurst analysis) and complexity of data sets (defined in an informationtheoretic context).Time series analysis of extended environmental and ecological data sets can give detailed structural insights, monitors subtle changes undetectable otherwise, forms the basis for further inferences and provides rigorous model testing on all scales. The success of dynamic system theory when applied to non-living environmental data is strikingly contrasted by the difficulties of the same method when dealing with ecological data We conjecture that this difference reflects the extent to which interaction has been disregarded for ecosystems.