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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.

2024

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The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the replacement of the wording ‘factory farming’ in Regulation (EU) 2021/11652, Annex II. The opinion of the Group is that the wording ‘factory farming’ is not appropriate to express which animal-derived fertilisers are allowed, restricted, or forbidden to be used in organic farming, as currently defined in Annex II of the Regulation (EU) 2021/1165. Therefore, following an in-depth analysis of possible criteria suitable for defining a method to differentiate animal-derived fertilisers for which use are currently acceptable in organic farming, two major criteria were selected to this purpose: origin of the fertiliser and the occurrence of processing. Depending on the application of these two criteria, the amount of total nitrogen applicable per year and per hectare from conventional animal-derived fertilisers is restricted or not allowed. This restriction is meant to reduce the risk of introducing pollutants into the soil of organic farms. These criteria and their implementation were considered to fulfil the pragmatic approach taken by the Group for not substantially increasing the burden to organic farmers, allowing verification by certifying bodies, and, at the same time, fostering the adoption of other practices of soil fertilization and supporting the reputation of the organic farming sector. A multicriteria approach can be implemented to regulate the use of animal-derived fertilisers in organic farms, to replace the wording ‘factory farming origin forbidden’. Moreover, even though animal by-products are out of the scope of the point 1.9.4 in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/848, the need of a consistent approach to the use of animal-derived fertilising products and considering that these kinds of products are used as a source of nitrogen, the Group recommends including them in the same quantitative approach and resulting restrictions proposed for farmyard manure and its derivatives.

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The Expert Group for Technical Advice on Organic Production (EGTOP) was requested to advise on the use of several substances for use in organic production of food or feed. The Group discussed whether the use of these substances and methods is in line with the objectives and principles of organic production, and whether they should be included in Reg. (EU) 2021/1165.

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This explorative study was aimed at first characterizing the sponge Spongilla lacustris (Linnaeus, 1759) from the sub-Arctic Pasvik River (Northern Fennoscandia), in terms of associated microbial communities and pollutant accumulation. Persistent organic pollutants were determined in sponge mesohyl tissues, along with the estimation of the microbial enzymatic activity rates, prokaryotic abundance and morphometric traits, and the analysis of the taxonomic bacterial diversity by next-generation sequencing techniques. The main bacterial groups associated with S. lacustris were Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, followed by Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria. The structure of the S. lacustris-associated bacterial communities was in sharp contrast to those of the bacterioplankton, being statistically close to those found in sediments. Dieldrin was measured at higher concentrations in the sponge tissues (3.1 ± 0.4 ng/g) compared to sediment of the same site (0.04 ± 0.03 ng/g). Some taxonomic groups were possibly related to the occurrence of certain contaminants, as was the case of Patescibacteria and dieldrin. Obtained results substantially contribute to the still scarce knowledge of bacterial community diversity, activities, and ecology in freshwater sponges. Practitioner Points * Microbial community associated with Spongilla lacustris is probably shaped by the occurrence of certain contaminants, mainly dieldrin and heavy metals. * A higher accumulation of dieldrin in the sponge mesohyl tissues than in sediment was determined. * S. lacustris is suggested as sponge species to be used as a sentinel of pesticide pollution in the Pasvik River. * S. lacustris, living in tight contact with soft substrates, harbored communities more similar to sediment than water communities.