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.
2023
Authors
Freya Ziegler Anita Sønsteby Agnieszka Masny Charles Underwood Lucas Munnes Vivien Rosenthal Sonia Osorio Björn UsadelAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Barbara Mariotti Juan A. Oliet Enrique Andivia Marianthi Tsakaldimi Pedro Villar-Salvador Vladan Ivetić Antonio Montagnoli Ivona Kerkez Janković Nebi Bilir Henrik Bohlenius Branislav Cvjetković Kārlis Dūmiņš Juha Heiskanen Georgi Hinkov Inger Sundheim Fløistad Claudia CocozzaAbstract
Purpose of Review The demand for forest tree seedlings is increasing globally, and Sphagnum peat moss is widely used as a component of growing media for container plant production. However, peat extraction is environmentally unsustainable. The forest nursery sector needs to switch to more sustainable alternatives to peat. This review aims to identify potential substitutes for peat by reviewing the worldwide literature on alternative materials for growing media in forest nurseries. Recent Findings Most studies on alternative growing media focused on single plant species growing under local conditions, thereby limiting generalizations about the effectiveness of alternative materials for plant production. To our knowledge, no systematic reviews of scientific literature on the effectiveness of new, alternative-to-peat materials for enhancing plant growth and the associated growing media characteristics for the forest nursery sector are currently available. Summary Most of the analyzed case studies focused on angiosperms (73.1%), with the majority of studies coming from tropical seasonal forests/savannas (36.5%), followed by woodlands/shrublands (31.6%), and temperate forests (15.0%) biomes. Compost was the most studied material (19.5%), followed by bark, other organic materials, and manure (9.8, 9.7, and 8.0%, respectively). Green and municipal wastes were the principal sources of compost (> 60%), while agriculture and green wastes were the first sources of other materials (> 90%). Tested materials were dependent on the geographic region. Thus, manure was the most tested material in Africa and South America, tree bark in North America, and compost in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Alternative materials effectively provided optimal physicochemical characteristics of growing media and enhanced seedling nursery growth when compared with peat-based growing media in more than 60% of the case studies. This review helps to identify research gaps and, most importantly, provides the basis for the future application of alternative growing media materials in forest nursery management worldwide.
Abstract
The materials used in construction have a significant environmental impact and this is becoming more important as operational energy requirements continue to fall. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to take into account the environmental burdens associated with materials used in construction. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) are useful tools for this purpose. When comparing the results of numerous LCA studies of different construction materials, the main question is often ‘Which material is better for the environment?’. The answer, however, is usually not as simple – but why is it so difficult to decide which material has the lowest environmental impact? To answer this question, we have to consider what life cycle assessment is and how an LCA is undertaken. The report covers the stages of an LCA, from defining the goal and scope of the respective study to the creation of the life cycle inventory (LCI), the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to the reporting and interpretation of the results. Additionally, the report goes in detail into how to approach published LCA studies, how to work with EPDs and the much-discussed issue of Carbon storage in buildings. In the final chapter, the report assesses the comparability of published studies evaluating the environmental impact of different building materials.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Ingerd Skow Hofgaard Guro Brodal Heidi Udnes Aamot Marit Almvik Aina Lundon Russenes Morten Lillemo Simon Graham EdwardsAbstract
Oat harvested from plants infested with plant pathogenic fungi within the Fusarium head blight (FHB) complex may sometimes contain high levels of mycotoxins, which makes the grain unsuitable for food and feed. Fusarium graminearum, a deoxynivalenol (DON) producer, and Fusarium langsethiae, a T-2 toxin (T2) and HT-2 toxin (HT2) producer, are commonly occurring in Norwegian oats. We have analysed grains of Nordic oat varieties and breeding lines for the content of mycotoxins and DNA of Fusarium species belonging to the FHB disease complex (Hofgaard et al. 2022). The grains were harvested from field trials located in South-East Norway in the years 2011-2020. The ranking of oat varieties according to HT2+T2 levels corresponded with the ranking according to the DNA levels of F. langsethiae. However, this ranking did not resemble the ranking for DON and F. graminearum DNA. Our results implies that a moderate resistance to DON producers does not guarantee a moderate resistance to HT2+T2 producers. Separate tests are therefore necessary to determine the resistance towards DON and HT2+T2 producers in oats. This creates practical challenges for the screening of FHB resistance in oats as todays’ screening focuses on resistance to F. graminearum and DON. We identified oat varieties with generally low levels of both mycotoxins and FHB pathogens which should be promoted to mitigate mycotoxin risk in Norwegian oats.
Abstract
The adults of the new species Zachvatkinibates svanhovdi A. Seniczak & S. Seniczak sp. nov. are described and illustrated from Norway, and this is the first finding of Zachvatkinibates Shaldybina, 1973 in Fennoscandia. This species is the most similar to Z. quadrivertex (Halbert, 1920), but differs from it mainly by the shape of notogastral setae, posterior tectum of notogaster and lack of postanal porose area Ap, which in Z. quadrivertex is present. In Z. svanhovdi, the prodorsal seta in is long, translamella is narrow, notogastral setae are short and distally pliable, notogastral porose areas are usually oval and of medium size, but Aa can be larger, especially in males. Dorsal crest on tarsus I is present. The cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcodes (length: 658 bp) of five specimens of the new species are provided; the maximum variation within the species was 2.41% (p-dist). The morphology and ecology of the new species is compared with other Zachvatkinibates species. The knowledge on family Punctoribatidae in Fennoscandia is updated, and Mycobates carli (Schweizer, 1922) is first reported from Norway.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Habtamu AlemAbstract
This study aims to estimate eco-efficiency scores and identify determinants of Norwegian dairy farms using a parametric approach that accounts for methane emissions. The study incorporates an environmental output measure and draws on 30 years of panel data from 692 specialist dairy farms (1991–2020). The findings indicate that Norwegian dairy farms are inefficient, with room for improvement in the dairy production system and the environment. According to the average eco-efficiency score, conventional dairy farms could cut input use and CH4 emissions by 5% while maintaining output. Furthermore, the study found that land tenure, experience, and government subsidies all positively impact eco-efficiency. Policymakers should encourage the best-performing dairy farms to share information on increasing productivity while considering environmental concerns to achieve better social and agricultural development. It should be noted that the study only looks at livestock methane emissions; future research may investigate other environmental factors.
Authors
Habtamu AlemAbstract
No abstract has been registered