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
Kjersti Holt HanssenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Karen Ane Frøyland Skjennum Thomas Hartnik Gijs D. Breedveld Erlend Grenager Sørmo Jan MulderAbstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose significant environmental and human hazards due to their resistance towards natural degradation. Anthropogenic activities have resulted in worldwide spreading of PFAS, and soil remediation of PFAS is challenging due to its persistent and mobile nature. Amendment with commercial activated carbon (AC) of fossil origin is one of the preferred immobilization strategies for contaminated soil. However, waste-based sorbents may represent a greener alternative to AC. Here, we review the status and potential for the use of waste-based materials as PFAS sorbents in soil remediation. Key properties in the search of candidate materials are discussed, followed by an overview of potential sorbents. The materials reviewed are bark, protein-rich waste, chitosan, amine-modified waste, compost, biosolids, biochar produced from waste-based substrates, and a selection of industrial waste, notably bottom- and fly ash, char and slag. Performance and sorption behavior of these materials are compared for long- and short-chain PFAS, and their applicability is further discussed. Besides great sorption capacity and affinity, promising amendments combine high abundance, low cost, a potential for modification and low risk. Biochar emerges as the most mature and promising candidate of the materials reviewed. Other waste-based materials also show great PFAS sorption capacities, but their performances in soil have not been properly assessed. Besides sorption studies in environmentally relevant matrices, upscaling and long-term studies are needed to further examine the potential use of waste-based sorbents in remediation of PFAS contaminated soil.
Authors
Zahra Bitarafan Wiktoria Kaczmarek-Derda Therese With Berge Inger Sundheim Fløistad Christian AndreasenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Carey Donald Gunnhild Jaastad Marianne Hauglid Flågeng Sylvain Alain Yves Merel Josef Rasinger Marc HG Berntssen Ikram BelghitAbstract
Insect farming is gaining increasing attention because of the ability of insects to upscale a variety of waste and by-product biomass efficiently into proteins and lipids. In the European Union and in Norway, the use of insects is permitted in formulated pig, poultry, and fish feeds and more recently for human consumption. However, the European Food Safety Authority has highlighted the lack of data regarding the safety of processing pesticide-contaminated biomass by insects into feed or food products. Secondly, the presence of insecticide residues in plant biomass might negatively affect the growth or survival of the insects themselves. This study aimed to evaluate the fate of the insecticide pirimiphos-methyl (PM) in black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens, BSF) and yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor, YMW) larvae composting. PM is a dominant pesticide found in relevant insect biomasses. Newly hatched larvae were fed on a standard poultry feed substrate spiked with pirimiphos-methyl at different concentrations: 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg (wet base), under optimal breeding conditions. Poultry feed substrate spiked with methanol served as control group. When the feeding media were spiked with 20 and 40 mg/kg of PM, the survival of both BSF and YMW larvae decreased. Mean larvae mass for both species was reduced with increasing concentrations of PM. PM and 7 compounds were identified in a metabolites/transformation product screen that was aided by in silico predictions. One compound, dihydroxy-PM was uniquely detected in larvae. Neither insect species appears to accumulate PM metabolites, and 90% of PM was metabolised. Results indicate that these insects can be reared on PM-contaminated biomass without risk of PM accumulation.
Authors
Ignacio SevillanoAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Katri Kärkkäinen Sonja T. Kujala Rosario Garcia-Gil Arne Steffenrem Johan Sonesson Liina Hoikkala Harri Mäkinen Sauli ValkonenAbstract
• Genetic effects of continuous cover forestry (CCF) are not well known. We need more research, especially on the genetics of spruce-dominated CCF sites. Levels of relatedness are of interest, as are estimates of safe limits for the intensity and duration of CCF practices that secure genetic potential for good growth and quality. • With even-aged forestry, genetically improved regeneration material can be used to mitigate climate change-related risks through breeding and deployment recommendations. In CCF, currently based on natural regeneration, we assume that enough seedlings establish, and that sites contain enough genetic variation to enable natural selection and evolutionary processes. • Based on research in other regions, the number of reproducing trees must be kept large to avoid excessive levels of relatedness and inbreeding and to maintain sufficient levels of genetic diversity. • In some well-documented long-term experiments in other regions, intensive high-grading has led to slower growth rates, which could partly be due to genetic degradation of the stand. If contemporary recommendations for selection cutting are followed, negative genetic effects should be unlikely.
Authors
Seija Tuulentie Therese Bjärstig Inger Hansen Unni Støbet Lande Paul McLean Jani Pellikka Rainer Peltola Jasmine ZhangAbstract
• Sustainable forest management approaches, regardless of whether they involve continuous cover forestry (CCF) or rotation forestry (RF), require a holistic landscape perspective that acknowledges the multiple interests, values, and uses that depend on the locally relevant economic, ecological, and socio-cultural circumstances. These must be considered alongside the use of forests and forest landscapes as a resource for rural development. • Forests provide a wide range of goods and services. Those addressed here (i.e. tourism, recreation, health, grazing, non-timber forest products, and societal protection from natural hazards) are a subset of all of those potential services that are already considered to be of special significance for the Nordic region. • Most recreational users consider variation in the forest landscape and longdistance views as visually attractive but think that clearcuttings and soil tilling are harmful. • In general, CCF favours bilberries, while lingonberries and some mushrooms benefit from even-aged forestry. • Owing to the many and varied demands relating to forests and forest landscapes in Norway, Sweden, and Finland, CCF-supported multiple-use strategies and planning will need to consider stakeholder requirements more, now and in the future, than is currently the case.
Authors
Matti Koivula Adam Felton Mari Jönsson Therese Löfroth Fride Høistad Schei Juha Siitonen Jörgen SjögrenAbstract
• This chapter summarises biodiversity responses to continuous cover forestry (CCF). The comparator throughout this chapter is rotation forestry (RF) and its main harvesting method—clearcutting—unless otherwise stated. • Research on the biodiversity effects of logging methods applied in CCF (mostly selection or gap cutting) mainly concerns the short-term effects of measures taken in mature, originally fairly even-aged forests, at best 10–15 years after cutting. Thus far, no surveys or chronosequences cover the whole rotation period (60–100 years). • Continuous cover forestry is likely to beneft species that suffer when the tree cover is removed, such as bilberry and its associated species. Species requiring spatial continuity in host trees or canopy cover may also benefit. • Selection cutting may preserve the majority of species in the mature forest, but the most sensitive species may decline or even disappear. Gap cutting (diameter 20–50 m) affects forest-interior species relatively little, but species’ abundances in gaps change with increasing gap size. Shelterwood cutting seems to closely resemble selection cutting in terms of species responses. In the long term, however, shelterwood cutting results in an even-aged and sparse overstorey, which does not produce the biodiversity benefits of CCF. • Species that have declined due to forestry mostly require large living and dead trees. The preservation of these species is not ensured by CCF alone, but requires deliberately maintaining these structural features. • A mosaic of different forest-management practices within landscapes may provide complementary ways to maintain rich biodiversity.
Authors
Jarkko Hantula Malin Elfstrand Anne-Maarit Hekkala Ari Hietala Juha Honkaniemi Maartje Klapwijk Matti Koivula Juho Matala Jonas Rönnberg Juha Siitonen Fredrik WidemoAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Alexey Mikaberidze Christian Cruz Ayalsew Zerihun Abel Barreto Pieter S. Beck Rocío Calderón Carlos Camino Rebecca Campbell Stephanie Delalieux Frederic Fabre Elin Falla Stuart Fraser Kaitlin Gold Carlos Gongora-Canul Frédéric Hamelin Dalphy Ondine Camira Harteveld Cheng-Fang Hong Melen Leclerc Da-Young Lee Murillo Lobo Jr Anne-Katrin Mahlein Emily McLay Paul Melloy Stephen Parnell Uwe Rascher Jack Rich Irene Sarlotti Samuel Soubeyrand Susie Sprague Antony Surano Sandhya Takooree Thomas Taylor Suzanne Touzeau Pablo Zarco-Tejada Nik CunniffeAbstract
Plant diseases impair yield and quality of crops and threaten the health of natural plant communities. Epidemiological models can predict disease and inform management. However, data are scarce, since traditional methods to measure plant diseases are resource intensive and this often limits model performance. Optical sensing offers a methodology to acquire detailed data on plant diseases across various spatial and temporal scales. Key technologies include multispectral, hyperspectral and thermal imaging, and light detection and ranging; the associated sensors can be installed on ground-based platforms, uncrewed aerial vehicles, aeroplanes and satellites. However, despite enormous potential for synergy, optical sensing and epidemiological modelling have rarely been integrated. To address this gap, we first review the state-of-the-art to develop a common language accessible to both research communities. We then explore the opportunities and challenges in combining optical sensing with epidemiological modelling. We discuss how optical sensing can inform epidemiological modelling by improving model selection and parameterisation and providing accurate maps of host plants. Epidemiological modelling can inform optical sensing by boosting measurement accuracy, improving data interpretation and optimising sensor deployment. We consider outstanding challenges in: A) identifying particular diseases; B) data availability, quality and resolution, C) linking optical sensing and epidemiological modelling, and D) emerging diseases. We conclude with recommendations to motivate and shape research and practice in both fields. Among other suggestions, we propose to standardise methods and protocols for optical sensing of plant health and develop open access databases including both optical sensing data and epidemiological models to foster cross-disciplinary work.