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
Authors
Åsa Maria Olofsdotter Espmark Endre Grimsbø Sonal Patel Espen Rimstad Kristin Opdal Seljetun Marco Vindas Erik Georg Granquist Grete H. M. Jørgensen Janicke Nordgreen Ingrid Olesen Sokratis Ptochos Amin Sayyari Tor Atle MoAbstract
Background: Norwegian aquaculture involves stunning and killing millions of fish every year. Welfare of fish is protected by laws and regulations. According to the legislation, all farmed individuals must be unconscious before killing and kept unconscious until they are confirmed dead after exsanguination. There is a lack of knowledge about to what extent different stunning and killing methods used in Norway fulfil the legislation for all relevant fish species. Farmed fish species have different anatomy, physiology, and behaviour, and there are individual differences regarding size and health status that need to be considered at slaughter. Consequently, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority commissioned VKM to assess which criteria for documentation of methods will secure animal welfare during slaughter and evaluate how differences between fish species may affect documentation and animal welfare. VKM was also asked to summarise the knowledge and hazards for animal welfare regarding the methods for stunning and killing of farmed fish in Norway. Methods: VKM established a working group with expertise in fish welfare, slaughter methods, and risk assessment. Literature search was performed by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Additional manual searches were also performed, including screening of articles cited in the most recent literature, searching the project database by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund, and web sites by governmental organisations. Species included in the literature search were fish farmed in Norway for human consumption: Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, Arctic char, sea trout, Atlantic halibut, European turbot, Atlantic cod, spotted wolffish, and yellowtail kingfish. In addition, some fish species not for human consumption were included as they may enter the slaughter facilities together with the farmed fish. These include fish used to combat salmon lice (lumpfish, ballan wrasse, goldsinny wrasse, corkwing wrasse, rock cook) and wild fish (saithe, haddock) that may enter the net pens during the production phase. The effects of stunning and slaughter on the fish welfare were evaluated following a modified version of EFSAs Guidance on the assessment criteria for applications for new or modified stunning methods. Assessments: Animal welfare is essential during stunning and killing, and it is important to establish knowledge of methods securing that all individuals are kept unconscious until they are verified as dead. Electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring is the optimal method for confirming unconsciousness and death. However, measurement of EEG on individual fish is not applicable at the slaughter facility at the present time, hence different physical measurements, together with behavioural and physiological indicators must be used. Electrical stunning is a method causing temporary stunning. Hence, the biggest hazard for reduced welfare with this method is if the fish regains consciousness before exsanguination. Electrical stunning has species-specific properties; thus, documentation for the performance of the method for the individual species is needed. The number of fish entering the dry electrical stunner is an important factor for animal welfare, as too many fish at the same time increase the risk of insufficient stunning and suffering for the fish. Percussive stunning causes immediate and irreversible loss of consciousness when the blow is applied correctly and is strong enough. However, if done incorrectly, e.g. hitting the fish at the wrong place or with too little kinetic energy, the fish may remain conscious while being killed causing suffering for the fish. Automatic percussive stunners need to be adjusted to fish size and species, the latter because placement of the brain differs between species. The main welfare hazard with the killing method of gill cutting is insufficient cutting with slow exsanguination, resulting in that the fish might regain consciousness before death. Cardiac cutting is dependent upon restraining and exact positioning of the fish for correct insertion of the knife. It is important that the fish is not wrongly oriented, i.e. enter the machine up-side down, in the wrong direction or that more than one individual enters at the same time. Such cases will result in suffering for the fish and reduced welfare. Spiking is a killing method where the fish is restrained, after which a mechanical device inserts a sharp spike directly into the brain This method is unsuitable for most farmed fish in Norway and therefore not used. Maceration should only be performed with dead or unconscious fish, so if the method is correctly applied, welfare will not be an issue. However, moribund, diseased, wild fish or cleaner fish species may be alive and conscious at maceration, leading to pain and suffering in the process. Uncertainties and data gaps: The scientific documentation of animal welfare in percussive stunning is not considered adequate, and absent for some species in this report. There is lack of knowledge about the time it takes for fish to lose and regain consciousness after both electrical and percussive stunning, and the time from gill or cardiac cutting until the fish is exsanguinated and dead. This information is species-specific. In addition, there is a lack of data on how different behavioural and physical measurements correlate with the EEG. These indicators may be suitable for use at slaughter facilities, but documentation is lacking for all fish species included in this report. Conclusion: VKM concludes that there is a general lack of scientific documentation of the currently applied stunning and killing methods to ensure that farmed fish remain unconscious after stunning until death by exsanguination. The time period from stunning to regained consciousness needs to be established through research to ensure that fish are slaughtered with minimal stress, fear, and suffering. Furthermore, it is necessary to know the time required from gill or cardiac cutting to cessation of brain activity. There is a risk of reduced animal welfare due to this lack of documentation. The different fish species have different anatomy and physiology which impacts the effect of stunning and killing. Especially in bottom dwellers (halibut, turbot, spotted wolffish), an individual variation in placement of the brain affects the effect of the slaughtering methods. There is insufficient documentation about how species and individual differences affect the welfare of percussive stunning, spiking, gill cutting, and cardiac cutting. There is limited documentation of the effect of electrical stunning for most species. The effect of electrical stunning of salmonids is better documented; however, verification by EEG is scarce. The direction and placement of the fish when entering the stunner and killing machines are a vital hazard for reduced welfare of the fish. Wrong direction of the fish or overload into the machines may result reduced effect of the methods. Welfare may also be impaired when the machines are not correctly adjusted to the species and size of fish or there is a large variation of the size of the fish entering the machines.
Authors
Christian Levers Marcel Schwieder Petra Dieker Stefan Erasmi Roberto Azofeifa Rodríguez Ulrike Bayr Ana Julieta Calvo Obando Wendy Fjellstad Satsuki Furubayashi Janne Heliölä Felix Herzog Terho Hyvönen Linda Ieviņa Pēteris Lakovskis Eliane Meier Hannu Ojanen Timo Pitkänen Walfrido Moraes TomasAbstract
This paper outlines the rationale for, and the current state of, mapping habitat diversity. It provides an overview of progress in assessing and monitoring farmland habitat biodiversity at the national level, in line with the proposed OECD Farmland Habitat Biodiversity Indicator (FHBI). The paper describes pilot studies by eight countries, summarising the approaches to mapping habitats, assessing habitat quality, and implementing the FHBI at the national level. Drawing from the experience of the FHBI pilot countries, this paper offers general guidelines for defining habitats and assigning biodiversity values of habitats for calculation of the FHBI. It provides guidance on selecting the appropriate tier level for data acquisition, processing, and reporting, and summarises strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the current FHBI structure used in the pilot studies.
Authors
Shun Hasegawa Kjetil Schanke Aas Ulrika Jansson Asplund Lise Dalsgaard Heleen de Wit Andreas Hagenbo Carl-Fredrik Johannesson Jenni NordénAbstract
Norwegian forests cover 12 million hectares and are vital for carbon uptake and biodiversity, yet CO2 absorption has declined since 2010 due to increased harvesting, mortality and reduced growth as more forests surpass harvest maturity. With 45% now economically mature and 20% older than 120 years, the future carbon uptake of these stands is uncertain, particularly if they develop towards old-growth. Old-growth forests form without stand-replacing disturbances and have diverse structures and deadwood. Norwegian mature forests mostly originate from clear-cutting, so insights from primary old-growth must be applied with caution. After maturity, forests continue to sequester carbon but more slowly, with increasing storage in deadwood and soil. Soil carbon trajectories remain uncertain: disturbance often causes short-term losses followed by decades of accumulation. Microbial communities, especially fungi, influence long-term soil carbon, but data are limited. Norway uses the Yasso soil carbon model, which predicts continued soil carbon increases with age though at slowing rates; however, it simplifies key processes, and more advanced models are in development. Biodiversity supports carbon cycling, resilience and soil health, yet knowledge gaps persist. Climate change is expected to increase disturbances, raising long-term risks for older stands. The report highlights the need for improved monitoring, research and modelling to better understand carbon dynamics and resilience as forests age.
Authors
Sonja I. Kimmel Matthias Schumacher Michael Spaeth Markus Sökefeld Oyebanji O. Alagbo Alicia Allmendinger Dionisio Andujar Therese With Berge Reiner Braun Sergiu Cioca Parasca Jessica Emminghaus Ioannis Glykos Pavel Hamouz Adam Hruška Michael Merkle Georg Naruhn Gerassimos G. Peteinatos Bahadir Sin Roland GerhardsAbstract
Effective weed management is crucial in the critical period of sugar beet production, but often lacks sustainability and environmental protection. Recent advancements in sensor-based weed control systems have rendered the latter a realistic prospect, which demands detailed analyses, especially under suboptimal field conditions. The present study analysed six robotic-assisted weed control systems (RAWS) in three experiments on sugar beets in 2024, conducted under dry soil and high weed pressure. The experiments included sensor-based inter-row and intra-row hoeing, spot- and band-spraying and were compared to a broadcast herbicide treatment and an untreated control. Weed control efficacy (WCE) in the intra- and inter-row areas, as well as weed species composition and crop plant damage, were assessed after treatment. The data show that intra-row WCE of two hoeing robots (Farming GT® and Robovator®) equipped with selective intra-row blades achieved up to 80%, which was higher than the broadcast herbicide control with 67% WCE. In the inter-row area, Farming GT® robotic hoeing and ARA® spot-spraying resulted in more than 90% WCE, which was equal to the broadcast herbicide application. Weed species composition was not affected by the different RAWS. Crop plants were affected by all hoeing treatments with maximum non-lethal burial rates of 33%. The highest lethal uprooting of crop plants occurred after Farming GT® robotic hoeing, at 5.5% overall. The results demonstrate the great potential of robotic weeding to replace broadcast herbicide applications.
Authors
Frans-Jan W. Parmentier Alexandra Pongracz Marius Lambert Rosie Fisher Adrian Gustafson Paul A. Miller Sam S. Rabin Ane Vollsnes David WårlindAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
In modern agricultural landscapes, field margins are important for the survival of many species of plants and animals. We recorded vascular plant species in three kinds of field margins: road verges, margins adjacent to pasture, and strips of vegetation with arable fields on either side (“corridors”). Field margins are not included in the current national monitoring programme, due to limited funds and difficulties standardising recording methods. In this study, we repeated a survey done 15 years earlier. For both surveys, recording effort was standardised by using the shape and size of the mapped field margin to calculate the time allocated for recording a full species list. We found that there were fewer flowering plants in the margins than previously, including a decline in many pollinator plants. However, invasive species had increased in frequency. Road verges were the most species rich, presumably because the vegetation is regularly cut for traffic safety reasons. But the Norwegian Public Roads Administration are also managing species-rich roadsides through adapted mowing. Considering international ambitions to restore nature, regular management of field boundaries could be a suitable measure in agricultural landscapes, to increase their value for biodiversity.
Authors
Nima Shokri David A. Robinson Mehdi Afshar Christine Alewell Milad Aminzadeh Emmanuel Arthur Nils Broothaerts Grant A. Campbell Lina Eklund Surya Gupta Richard Harper Amirhossein Hassani Cathy Hohenegger Thomas Keller Maximilian Kiener Inma Lebron Kaveh Madani Tshilidzi Marwala Francis Matthews Per Moldrup Attila Nemes Panos Panagos Remus Prăvălie Matthias C. Rillig Philipp Saggau Salome M. S. Shokri‐Kuehni Pete Smith Amy Thomas Lis Wollesen de Jonge Dani OrAbstract
The increasing threat of soil degradation presents significant challenges to soil health, especially within agroecosystems that are vital for food security, climate regulation, and economic stability. This growing concern arises from intricate interactions between land use practices and climatic conditions, which, if not addressed, could jeopardize sustainable development and environmental resilience. This review offers a comprehensive examination of soil degradation, including its definitions, global prevalence, underlying mechanisms, and methods of measurement. It underscores the connections between soil degradation and land use, with a focus on socio‐economic consequences. Current assessment methods frequently depend on insufficient data, concentrate on singular factors, and utilize arbitrary thresholds, potentially resulting in misclassification and misguided decisions. We analyze these shortcomings and investigate emerging methodologies that provide scalable and objective evaluations, offering a more accurate representation of soil vulnerability. Additionally, the review assesses both physical and biological indicators, as well as the potential of technologies such as remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics for enhanced monitoring and forecasting. Key factors driving soil degradation, including unsustainable agricultural practices, deforestation, industrial activities, and extreme climate events, are thoroughly examined. The review emphasizes the importance of healthy soils in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly concerning food and water security, ecosystem health, poverty alleviation, and climate action. It suggests future research directions that prioritize standardized metrics, interdisciplinary collaboration, and predictive modeling to facilitate more integrated and effective management of soil degradation in the context of global environmental changes.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Monica Sanden Eirill Ager-Wick Johanna Eva Bodin Nur Duale Kristian Prydz Volha Shapaval Tage Thorstensen Anne-Marthe Ganes Jevnaker Ville Erling SipinenAbstract
Genetically modified soybean MON 94637 was developed through Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation of soybean tissue to express Cry1A.2 and Cry1B.2 proteins conferring resistance to lepidopteran (order of butterflies and moths) pests. The scientific documentation provided in the application for soybean MON 94637 is adequate for risk assessment, and in accordance with EFSA guidance on risk assessment of genetically modified plants for use in food or feed. The VKM GMO panel does not consider the introduced modifications in soybean MON 94637 to imply potential specific health or environmental risks in Norway, compared to EU-countries
Authors
Christian PedersenAbstract
No abstract has been registered