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
Mohammad Tirgariseraji A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi Mahmood Sabouhi Sabouni Yaghoob Jafari Tomas Persson Alisher Mirzabaev Alireza Nikouei Kieron Moller Naser Shahnoushi ForoushaniAbstract
Food production is the primary source of nitrogen pollution, which has significantly impacted the nitrogen cycle and exceeded the nitrogen-safe operation space of the planet. The objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the Nitrogen Regulatory Policy (NRP) in reducing nitrogen fertilizer use under population pressure for meat, dairy, wheat, and potatoes in the Zayandeh-Rud River basin, Iran. The methodology of this study involves two main components. First, an elasticity criterion was formulated to assess the trade-off between nitrogen fertilizer use and food production capacity. This criterion integrates optimized cropland, the Block of Distributed Calories (BDC), and nitrogen fertilizer use, with food production capacity quantified in terms of the BDC at its optimal level. Second, the simulated distribution of the elasticity criterion was analyzed using Simulation and Econometrics to Analyze Risk (Simetar), defining elastic and inelastic zones to capture the variability in the trade-off under different conditions. The results of this study identified key factors influencing the elastic and inelastic ranges of the elasticity criterion, including technological change, the weight of diet components in dietary preferences, and the diminishing returns of the NRP. The NRP solution aims to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use by targeting a lower application range. It addresses the challenges of fertilizer management under population pressure, specifically for farming systems in the Zayandeh-Rud River basin operating at the ‘diminishing marginal production’ stage. The trade-off between livestock and non-livestock diet components enhances nitrogen fertilizer efficiency under population pressure as long as livestock components remain within the elastic zone and non-livestock components stay within the inelastic zone. The novelty of this study lies in the introduction of the elasticity criterion for nitrogen fertilizer use under population pressure. This innovative metric highlights the risk of ineffective trade-offs between food production capacity and nitrogen fertilizer adjustments, offering a crucial tool to guide sustainable agricultural practices within the defined criterion ranges.
Authors
Linn Fenna Groeneveld Oksana Bekkevold Trond Bergskås Martin Linkogel Cord Luellmann Marit AlmvikAbstract
Regulatory bodies aim to protect consumers from harmful substances. The use of certain antibiotics is prohibited in food-producing animals in the EU due to their potential detrimental effects on humans. Among these are nitrofuran antibiotics, which degrade rapidly so that their metabolites are used as markers in screening for their illegal use. The use of one metabolite, semicarbazide (SEM), as a marker for detecting the antibiotic nitrofurazone, has been criticized due to the many pathways it can be formed by and its natural occurrence in some food items. A recent change in the reference point of action (RPA) for SEM, as stated in Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/1871, due to a reassessment of sensitivity of the analyses,poses a problem for the export of heather honey in Norway. Norwegian heather honey seems to exceed the lowered RPA in numerous cases. Here we show that Norwegian heather honey samples, but not polyfloral ‘summer’ honey samples from the same hives, contain SEM. The simplest explanation for the demonstrated pattern is a natural source of SEM in heather honey, not the use of a banned antibiotic. Based on our results, we propose that an exception to the EU regulation should be added, exempting heather honey derived from Calluna vulgaris unless other nitrofurans or their metabolites are found together with SEM.
Abstract
The precise spatially explicit data on land cover and land use changes is one of the essential variables for enhancing the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions and removals, which is relevant for meeting the goal of the European economy and society to become climate-neutral by 2050. The accuracy of the machine learning models trained on remote-sensed data suffers from a lack of reliable training datasets and they are often site-specific. Therefore, in this study, we proposed a method that integrates the bi-temporal analysis of the combination of spectral indices that detects the potential changes, which then serve as reference data for the Random Forest classifier. In addition, we examined the transferability of the pre-trained model over time, which is an important aspect from the operational point of view and may significantly reduce the time required for the preparation of reliable and accurate training data. Two types of vegetation losses were identified: woody coverage converted to non-woody vegetation, and vegetated areas converted to sealed surfaces or bare soil. The vegetation losses were detected annually over the period 2018–2021 with an overall accuracy (OA) above 0.97 and a Kappa coefficient of 0.95 for all time intervals in the study regions in Poland and Norway. Additionally, the pre-trained model’s temporal transferability revealed an improvement of the OA by 5 percentage points and the macroF1-Score value by 12 percentage points compared to the original model.
Abstract
Bacterial canker caused by Pseudomonas syringae is an important disease on stone fruit trees. The development of infections after artificial inoculation of sweet cherry and plum trees in the nursery phase was examined. Furthermore, sweet cherry trees were observed in a nursery and for up to four years after planting in commercial sweet cherry orchards. If inoculated at the time of grafting, this caused near 100% death of the scions. Following inoculation of defeathering wounds, a mean of 52 and 61% of inoculation sites developed bacterial canker on sweet cherry and plum, respectively. Of non-inoculated nursery trees observed as healthy in the autumn, between 20 and 80% had developed visible bacterial cankers after a period of cold storage. In the planting year, a mean of 21% of the trees developed bacterial canker in seven commercial orchards included in the investigation, and by 2–4 years after planting 40% of the trees had symptoms of the disease. All sweet cherry cultivars and rootstocks developed bacterial canker in the commercial orchards. Cultivar Giorgia had the most severe symptoms. Up to 60% replacement of trees within two years after planting was experienced in the orchards.
Authors
Junbin Zhao Simon Weldon Alexandra Barthelmes Erin Swails Kristell Hergoualc’h Ülo Mander Chunjing Qiu John Connolly Whendee L. Silver David I. CampbellAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Introduction: The discovery of the methane-mitigating effect of the red seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis has triggered a search for other seaweed species with similar effects. Brown seaweeds constitute the largest production volume of seaweeds in Europe. Some brown algae are known to inhibit methanogens and could potentially reduce enteric methane emissions. Use of by-products generated from industrial processing of plants are typically inedible for human consumption but well known as ruminant feeds. As fractions from Laminaria hyperborea showed significant reductions in methane emissions in vitro, a L. hyperborea by-product was chosen for an in vivo trial with sheep. The aim was to investigate the effect of L. hyperborea by-product inclusion in the diet of growing lambs on dry matter intake, methane emissions, growth rate and nitrogen digestibility. Methods: Twenty-four Norwegian White Sheep lambs (12 ewe and 12 male lambs, 4 months; 36.8 kg live weight) were fed a Control diet (grass silage and control concentrate) or an Algae diet (grass silage and algae concentrate 2% inclusion rate). Lambs were fed a basic diet (grass silage and neutral concentrate) and, in staggered order, introduced to their respective diets for five weeks before entering one of six open circuit respiration chambers. Methane production was measured for three consecutive days. All lambs entered the chambers three time (Periods 1, 2 and 3). Feed intake was measured four consecutive days a week, and live weight (kg) was measured every two weeks. Twelve male lambs were used to investigate in vivo nitrogen digestibility using metabolism crates. Results: The inclusion rate of L. hyperborea by-product was above the target and ended at 2.5% of DM. There was an increase in feed intake and live weight over the experimental period, consistent with the growth of the lambs. Methane production, yield, or intensity was not affected by diet, overall, but the Algae diet reduced methane in Period 1. Male lambs produced more methane than female lambs. Algae inclusion affected live weight negatively. Discusssion: It is concluded that use of L. hyperborea by-products as a feed additive to sheep needs further investigation due to inconclusive results in the present study.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Gunhild Bødtker Claire Coutris Eva Marie-Louise Denison Åsa Frostegård Erik J. Joner Bjørn Tore Lunestad Elisabeth Henie Madslien Kaare Magne Nielsen Pål TrosvikAbstract
In this self-tasking scoping review, VKM will map research about the environmental impacts of biodegradable plastics, including biodegradation rates and material persistence in different environments and geographical regions, the influence on microbial ecology and activity, and ecotoxicological effects of materials and associated chemical substances. Related to this is also research associated with the development of methodology, standards, environmental risk assessment, life cycle impact analyses, material sources and properties of biodegradable plastics and products. The aim is to 1) determine the extent of evidence summarised in reviews and original research papers within this emerging research area and 2) map the evidence according to the materials and chemicals studied, types of environments and geographical regions covered, the hypotheses addressed, the type of endpoints assessed and the reported key findings. Systematic literature searches will be performed to identify the summarised evidence, applying APRIO to develop a tailored search protocol that addresses the multi- and cross-disciplinary nature of the research area. We will select and map the identified publications applying Rayyan and sort them into three categories based on their main scientific focus and aim of study: 1) material properties and application, 2) biodegradation and microbial ecology, and 3) ecotoxicology. There will be no geographical restrictions on the search and study selection, but in the data charting process we will highlight findings relevant to Norway and other Nordic countries. The current project adheres to the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist” for protocol development and reporting. We will address uncertainties associated with research studies applying EFSA guidelines and their generic list of common types of uncertainty affecting scientific studies and assessments.
Authors
Heikki Korpunen Yrjö Nuutinen Paula Jylhä Lars Eliasson Aksel Granhus Juha Laitila Stephan Hoffmann Timo MuhonenAbstract
• Overall forest management objectives and stand properties set the requirements and possibilities for harvesting in continuous cover forestry (CCF). • Harvester and forwarder operators play a key role in successful CCF harvesting, as both productivity and quality of work are essential factors in harvesting operations. • Optimal stand conditions improve work productivity on selection harvesting sites; harvested stem volume correlates well with work productivity in cutting, and density of remaining trees does not significantly reduce work productivity in forwarding. • Carefully executed group cutting and shelterwood harvesting can reduce the number of damaged remaining trees, which is beneficial for future tree generations. • Research-based information is needed about work productivity in harvesting, damage caused by harvesting, and optimisation of strip road and forest road networks for CCF.