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.
2021
Authors
Johannes BreidenbachAbstract
No abstract has been registered
2020
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No abstract has been registered
2019
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No abstract has been registered
Authors
Lalisa A. Duguma Joanes Atela Peter A. Minang Alemayehu N. Ayana Belachew Gizachew Zeleke Judith M. Nzyoka Florence BernardAbstract
No abstract has been registered
2018
Abstract
Throughout history, man has strongly utilized and affected forest genetic resources in Europe. From an evolu-tionary perspective deforestation/fragmentation (→genetic drift), transfer of seeds and plants to new environ-ments (→mainly gene flow) and selective logging (→selection) are most relevant and have been particularlyaddressed in this review. In contrast to most conifers, broadleaved tree populations have been especially reducedby historic fragmentation, and consequently, the related genetic effects have been possibly more pronounced.Widespread wind-pollinated species with wind/animal dispersed seeds appear to be more resilient to frag-mentation than species with e.g. small geographic ranges and gravity dispersed seeds. In addition, naturallyfragmented populations in the range margins may be more vulnerable than central populations as conditions forgene flow are generally impaired in peripheral areas. Traits important for adaptation (e.g. bud burst, bud set) arecontrolled by many genes, and as a corollary of fragmentation such genes are lost at a low rate. Large scalecommercial translocation of seeds and plants for forestry purposes applies mostly to conifers and dates backabout two centuries. Although many translocations have been successful in a forestry perspective, exposure tonew selective regimes has sometimes challenged the adaptive limits of populations and caused setbacks or evendiebacks of populations, as well as influencing neighbouring populations with maladapted genes (e.g. Scots pine,maritime pine, larch). Many tree species have substantial plasticity in fitness-related traits, which is vital forsurvival and viability following translocations. Selective logging has been practiced in Europe over the last twocenturies and implies removal of superior trees with respect to growth and quality. Such traits are partly undergenetic control. Consequent removal of superior trees may therefore have negative effects on the remaining genepool, but this effect will also be counteracted by extensive gene flow. Although humans have strongly affectedEuropean forest trees over the last millennia, we argue that they are still resilient from an evolutionary perspective.
2017
Authors
Jan Feranec Tomas Soukup Gregory Taff Premysl Stych Ivan BicíkAbstract
This chapter presents an analysis of land cover changes in Eastern Europe between 1990 and 2006, assessed using CORINE (Co-ORdination of INformation on the Environment) Land Cover (CLC) datasets. The plethora of potential land cover change categories were condensed into seven categories of major land use change processes: urbanization, agricultural intensification, agricultural extensification, afforestation, deforestation, construction and management of water bodies, and other changes. The amounts of each change category and their spatial distributions are summarized, and the change categories were also mapped to show the relative amounts of change (per 3 × 3 km2) between 1990 and 2000 and between 2000 and 2006. The results showed that while more afforestation than deforestation was observed in the first period, the reverse was true in the second period, when deforestation outpaced afforestation. Urbanization and suburbanization were major processes in Eastern Europe, particularly around existing major cities, and the speed of this process generally increased from the first to the second period. Both the intensification and extensification of agriculture were common during both periods, but a larger effect was observed in the first period. Overall, land use changes were highest in central Europe and the Baltic countries and lowest in southeast Europe.
Abstract
Despite global deforestation some regions, such as Europe, are currently experiencing rapid reforestation. Some of this is unintended woodland encroachment onto farmland as a result of reduced livestock pasture management. Our aim was to determine the likely impacts of this on exposure to ticks and tickborne disease risk for sheep in Norway, a country experiencing ecosystem changes through rapid woodland encroachment as well as increases in abundance and distribution of Ixodes ricinus ticks and tick-borne disease incidence. We conducted surveys of I. ricinus ticks on ground vegetation using cloth lure transects and counts of ticks biting lambs on spring pastures, where lambs are exposed to infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the causative agent of tick-borne fever in livestock. Pastures had higher densities of I. ricinus ticks on the ground vegetation and more ticks biting lambs if there was more tree cover in or adjacent to pastures. Importantly, there was a close correlation between questing tick density on pastures and counts of ticks biting lambs on the same pasture, indicating that cloth lure transects are a good proxy of risk to livestock of tick exposure and tick-borne disease. These findings can inform policy on environmental tick control measures such as habitat management, choice of livestock grazing area and off-host application of tick control agents.
2016
Abstract
A climate change mitigation mechanism for emissions reduction from reduced deforestation and forest degradation, plus forest conservation, sustainable management of forest, and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD +), has received an international political support in the climate change negotiations. The mechanism will require, among others, an unprecedented technical capacity for monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon emissions from the forest sector. A functional monitoring, reporting and verification requires inventories of forest area, carbon stock and changes, both for the construction of forest reference emissions level and compiling the report on the actual emissions, which are essentially lacking in developing countries, particularly in Africa. The purpose of this essay is to contribute to a better understanding of the state and prospects of forest monitoring and reporting in the context of REDD+ in Africa. We argue that monitoring and reporting capacities in Africa fall short of the stringent requirements of the methodological guidance for monitoring, reporting and verification for REDD+, and this may weaken the prospects for successfully implementing REDD+ in the continent. We presented the challenges and prospects in the national forest inventory, remote sensing and reporting infrastructures. A North–South, South–South collaboration as well as governments own investments in monitoring, reporting and verification system could help Africa leapfrog in monitoring and reporting. These could be delivered through negotiations for the transfer of technology,technical capacities, and experiences that exist among developed countries that traditionally compile forest carbon reports in the context of the Kyoto protocol.
2014
Authors
Svein Solberg Tor Peder Lohne Jörg Haarpaintner Miguel Kohling Maciel Zortea Øivind Due TrierAbstract
No abstract has been registered
2011
Authors
Karl Hilding Thunes Fred Midtgaard Lawrence R. Kirkendall Oscar Leveron Vicente EspinoAbstract
Next to expansion of agricultural land and natural disasters, forest fires, illegal logging and bark beetles constitute the largest threat to the pine forests of Central America. Every year, 80-100.000 ha disappears due to the combined activity of the three factors. Natural disasters such as hurricanes and droughts, as well as poor forest management and wildfires lead to a stressed forest which in turn is advantageous for the increase in bark beetle population levels. Epidemic population levels of attacking beetles are able to kill large quantities of forests within weeks. Moreover, dead wood material acts as fuel for wildfires that have escaped control. We propose a monitoring and control regime which aims holistically and directly to the root causes of wildfires, bark beetle outbreaks and subsequent illegal logging in the pine forests of Central America. Monitoring activities focus on community participation and communication, while control of bark beetles is a combination of both long-term sustainable forest management procedures as well as direct and non-destructive control measures of the beetles to reduce their population levels to an endemic level.