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.
2025
Abstract
Jordens fysiske egenskaper ble studert på to golfbaner der enten små, lette robotklippere eller store, tunge tradisjonelle gressklippere hadde vært brukt i fire til fem år. På begge banene var jorda mindre komprimert der det var brukt robotklippere sammenlignet med der de store maskinene var brukt, men fordi innledende målinger manglet, kan det ikke konkluderes definitivt om forskjellene skyldtes bruk av robotklippere eller tradisjonelle gressklippere.
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Authors
Ivo Claudino Frare Luiz Cláudio Garcia Marcos Adriano Martins MaghnomHenrique Melo Rodrigo Pereira Carneiro Thiago InagakiAbstract
This study assessed the effectiveness of air-assist technology and auxiliary booms compared to conventional ground boom sprayers in disease control and yield enhancement in soybean (Glycine max) crops. Conducted in Campos Gerais, Paraná State, Brazil over two cropping seasons, the experiment used a randomized block design with four treatments and eight replicates: i) control (no fungicide application on soybean plants), ii) conventional ground boom sprayer, iii) air-assist technology booms, and iv) auxiliary booms sprayers. Analyses focused on disease incidence and severity, plant physiological traits, and yield components. Results indicated that plots without chemical control exhibited higher disease incidence and severity, while fungicide application methods showed no significant differences. Additionally, diseases did not markedly influence the physiological characteristics of the plants. The lack of disease control notably diminished yield potential, but neither auxiliary nor air-assist technologies significantly outperformed the conventional sprayer in enhancing crop yield parameters
Authors
Ghulam Qasim Khan Dejan Dragan Miladinovic Puchun Niu Eddy Weurding Jos van Hees Martha Irene Grøseth Egil PrestløkkenAbstract
This article synthesizes evidence on how screw-extrusion followed by pelleting can tailor compound feeds to improve nutrient use in ruminants. Extrusion can produce pellets with targeted density and fluid stability by altering starch gelatinization, protein functionality, and fiber structure, potentially shifting rumen degradation kinetics and nutrient flow to the intestine. This article identifies extruder settings needed to achieve the desired pellet density and fluid stability for rumen control, and defines and evaluates ruminant-specific physical properties of extruded feed pellets.
Abstract
ABSTRACT Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) ranks among the top three health threats facing the EU. The AMR crisis is characterized as a “creeping crisis” and refers to the development where the increase in AMR causes antibiotics to lose their efficiency and effect—potentially causing millions of deaths. This article explores the EU's efforts to manage the AMR crisis by linking and coordinating different policy sectors. It assumes that institutional factors at the meso‐level, that is, at the level where political strategies are transformed into action, are key to ensure coordination across policy‐sectors and thus successful implementation of inter‐sectorial AMR policies. Drawing on literature on historical institutionalism, we analyze the development of institutional conditions for coordinating the three key sectors of AMR‐governance in the EU: the human health, veterinary, and environmental sectors. The starting point is the observation that the latter sector is considerably less integrated into AMR governance than the other two sectors. The article describes and explains how institutional developments at the meso‐level of AMR governance in the EU (European Commission Directorate‐Generals (DGs), EU agencies) contribute to an inter‐sectoral coordination deficit, or a “blind spot,” in the combat against AMR.
Authors
Erlend Hustad Honningdalsnes Erik Stensrud Marstein Dag Lindholm Helge Bonesmo Heine Nygard RiiseAbstract
Vertical agrivoltaics can help reduce land use competition by integrating food crop cultivation between rows of vertical solar panels. However, its agricultural viability is often questioned due to panel shading. This study demonstrates that wind sheltering from vertical solar panels not only can compensate for the shading losses but lead to net-positive yield changes in Northern Europe. Crops benefit from wind shelter through improved soil moisture retention, higher ambient temperatures, and protection from wind erosion and damage. This study quantified the combined shading and wind sheltering effects on timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.) yields within large-scale vertical agrivoltaics across Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Our modeling framework integrated ERA5 weather data (2010–2023), Computational Fluid Dynamics for wind simulation (OpenFOAM), ray tracing for shading analysis (Honeybee Radiance), and a crop growth simulation model (CATIMO). Additionally, ERA5 temperature data was adjusted to explore shelter-induced warming effects. In the simulation, vertical agrivoltaics decreased ground irradiation by 15–16 % and reduced seasonal mean crop zone wind speeds by up to 40 % (up to 88 % for perpendicular winds), lowering evapotranspiration. When combining shading, wind reduction, and a conservative +0.5 ◦C shelter-induced temperature increase, the model predicted an average regional yield increase of +2.4 % compared to traditional agriculture. Yield improvements were highest in drought-prone soils (+3.7 %) and dry, sunny years (e.g., +9.2 % in 2018). This suggests that vertical agrivoltaics improves agricultural resilience under challenging conditions. These findings demonstrate that agrivoltaic modeling, particularly for vertical systems, should incorporate wind shelter effects to avoid fundamentally underestimating crop yield potential.
Abstract
Abstract Semi‐natural grasslands are recognized as important habitat for bumblebees in Fennoscandia. These grasslands are maintained by free‐ranging sheep, but it is unclear which sheep intensities are most beneficial to bumblebees. We will compare bumblebee species richness and abundance with Bayesian mixed models at varying levels of disturbance by sheep to test the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, while considering other important habitat variables: distance to forest, meadow size, sward height, and availability of flowers, litter and bare soil. Practical Implication: Results of this investigation will provide valuable information to land managers setting limits for the number of free‐ranging sheep released on semi‐natural grasslands within the coniferous boreal landscape to benefit bumblebee conservation.
Abstract
Soil pH is one of the properties that determines the levels of bioavailability of macro- and micronutrients for plant roots. Apple rootstocks are the interface by which these nutrients are absorbed and shuttled to grafted scions. Our experiment was aimed at understanding the phenotypic and underlying genotypic variation of apple roots interacting with the same soil amended to five pH levels (4.5, 5.5, 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5) by monitoring growth and leaf nutrient concentrations (Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Zn, and Ni) of one-year-old ‘Golden Delicious’ trees grafted on 28 different apple rootstocks. Data were analyzed as a full factorial of pH and rootstock type. Soil pH amendment was successful as least squares means for the pH main effect displayed expected nutrient content curves for Mo (increasing with higher pH) and for Mn (decreasing with higher pH). ANOVA showed significance for main effects (pH and rootstock type) while the interaction (pH × rootstock type) was significant only for Mo. Both main effects were significant for Mn, P, and Ca whereas pH was significant for Fe and rootstock type was significant for Cu, Zn, and S. No significant effects were observed for Na, Ni and K. Multivariate analyses using rootstock genotype LS means revealed diverse correlation (pairwise Pearson) patterns when the data were analyzed as a whole or split by pH treatment levels. For example, the genotypic similarity (Pearson pairwise) between K and Mo was not significant at pH level 4.5 (r=-0.342 and p=0.109) whereas at pH 8.5 such relationship was highly correlated (r=-0.547 and p=0.006). Similar results were observed among other nutrients. Dual hierarchical clustering (Ward) displayed different number and composition of clusters according to pH where two main clusters were observed for pH 4.5 and three main clusters for the other pH levels. Rootstocks G.41, G.890, MM.111 and G.935 were tightly clustered at pH 7.5 whereas at pH 5.5 they all fell into different clusters. These results suggest the individuality of the interaction of each rootstock with pH levels with implications on fertilizer management practices and optimum pH and planting amendments specific for rootstock type.
Abstract
This article presents SkyPlanter, the first drone-based system for aerial reforestation with tree seedlings. Traditional tree planting is labor-intensive, physically demanding, and expensive—making it ideal for automation. Current mechanized solutions depend on large, heavy, ground-based excavator-based solutions best suited for extensive clear-cuts, but which struggle on steep or uneven terrain, and carry prohibitive relocation costs for smaller operations. SkyPlanter is a drone-mounted seedling-planting system that enables it to easily traverse rugged or steep terrain while remaining inexpensive, easily transported, and highly scalable. It uses an ultra-lightweight compressed air planting mechanism that inserts seedlings and compacts the surrounding soil. Its innovative double-telescoping design reduces vehicle weight to 15.2 kg (without batteries) or 16.4–20.8 kg (with batteries, depending on flight duration). This article details the system’s novel planting and ground compression mechanisms, its unique high-pressure pneumatic power systems, and its custom quadrotor carrier drone. We demonstrate its feasibility in the first-ever aerial seedling-planting tests in a forest environment. The system is proposed as a cost-effective, scalable reforestation solution with high automation potential.