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.
2018
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Lise Tingstad John-Arvid Grytnes Vivian Astrup Felde Aino Juslén Esko Hyvärinen Anders DahlbergAbstract
Loss of biodiversity is a pressing global issue, hence it is vital to facilitate informed and effective conservation. As conservation mainly operates at the level of habitats, aiming for species of conservation interest, conservation and management require adequate ecological knowledge of prioritized species for the geographic and environmental setting considered. Our aim was to investigate if ecological documentation in national Red Lists could be combined and used to identify important forest habitats and ecological variables for red-listed forest species in Fennoscandia, and whether this knowledge could be arranged at different geographical scales and for various selections of species of conservation interest. We compiled the national Red Lists of Finland, Norway and Sweden and extracted ecological information for all red-listed forest species (n = 4830). We used a principal component analysis to investigate variation in distribution of species and their habitat associations and taxonomical groups, and to group species of similar associations. We further used the listed species in Sweden as an example, and compared the proportions of species associated to the ecological variables dead wood, living trees or merely the “forest floor and understory” a) at larger and smaller scale (Fennoscandia – county in Sweden), b) in regions with contrasting biomes (nemoral and boreal), and c) in two more limited selections of species of conservation interest; Fennoscandian and globally red-listed species also red-listed in Sweden. Ecological information could be extracted for 96% of the species, albeit with a low resolution; i.e. overall forest habitats, associated tree species, lifeforms and six other ecological variables selected based on their frequent appearance in the Red List documentation. Using this information, we identified five large-scale patterns for Fennoscandian red-listed species; the majority of red-listed species is associated with coniferous forest. The number of red-listed species associated with specific tree species was poorly correlated with the amount of each tree species in Fennoscandia. Dead wood was one of the most important habitat features in terms of number of associated red-listed species, and the proportion of species associated to dead wood was similar in coniferous, boreal and nemoral broadleaved forests types. We demonstrate that ecological documentation in national Red Lists can be used to identify general ecological variables at varying geographical scales and for different selections of species, albeit not with sufficient resolution to provide detailed local conservation guidelines.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Sigridur DalmannsdottirAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
In temperate forests, red wood ants (Formica aquilonia) are considered ecosystem engineers affecting ecosystem properties and functions. Possible effects of F. aquilonia ants on species communities of invertebrates and plants were studied in the pine-dominated Geitaknottane forest reserve, Norway. Species richness of carabids, lichens and epiphytes (tree-living lichens and bryophytes) was negatively affected by ant mound density. Species of all groups, except for lichens and snails, were affected either positively or negatively by ant presence. Food availability and interference competition are plausible explanations of decreased species richness and negative species associations in carabids; while collecting, foraging and changed chemical environment may explain decreased species richness in lichens and epiphytes. Thirteen out of 15 plant and invertebrate species were weakly associated with ant mound density. Associations of only two species (Carabus violaceus and Drusilla canaliculata) were negative, while Pella humeralis and Agroeca proxima were associated positively and very strongly with ant mounds. Positive associations with ants of those invertebrates may be a response to excessive abundance of food and chemical mimicry.
Authors
Shahid Nadeem Håvard Steinshamn Elin Halvorsen Sikkeland Anne-Maj Gustavsson Anne Kjersti BakkenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Land use change can affect biodiversity, and this has an impact on ecosystem services (ESs), but the relationships between biodiversity and ESs are complex and poorly understood. Biodiversity is declining due to the abandonment of extensively grazed semi-natural grasslands. We therefore aim to explore relationships between biodiversity and ESs provided by extensively managed semi-natural grasslands. Focusing on vascular plant species richness, as well as the ESs fodder quantity, quality, and stability, allergy control, climate regulation, nutrient cycling, pollination, and aesthetic appreciation, we carried out botanical field surveys of 28 paired extensively grazed and abandoned semi-natural grassland plots, with four subplots of 4m2 in each plot. The management of the semi-natural grasslands is and has been at low intensity. We calculated the influence of abandonment on the ES indicators, measured the correlation between the biodiversity measure of vascular plant species richness and ES indicators, and finally determined how the relationships between plant species richness and the ES indicators were affected by the cessation of the extensive management. ES indicators are often, but not always, positively correlated with species richness. Cessation of extensive grazing has both negative and positive effects on ES indicators but the relationships between species richness and ES indicators are often different in extensively managed and abandoned semi-natural grasslands. The relationships between species richness and ES indicators are less pronounced in the extensively managed semi-natural grassland than for the abandoned. One possible reason for this outcome is high functional redundancy in the extensively managed semi-natural grasslands.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
James Johnson Elisabeth Graf Pannatier Stefano Carnicelli Guia Cecchini Nicholas Clarke Nathalie Cools Karin Hansen Henning Meesenburg Tiina M. Nieminen Gunilla Pihl-Karlsson Hugues Titeux Elena Vanguelova Arne Verstraeten Lars Vesterdal Peter Waldner Mathieu JonardAbstract
Acid deposition arising from sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) emissions from fossil fuel combustion and agriculture has contributed to the acidification of terrestrial ecosys- tems in many regions globally. However, in Europe and North America, S deposition has greatly decreased in recent decades due to emissions controls. In this study, we assessed the response of soil solution chemistry in mineral horizons of European forests to these changes. Trends in pH, acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), major ions, total aluminium (Al tot ) and dissolved organic carbon were determined for the period 1995–2012. Plots with at least 10 years of observations from the ICP Forests moni- toring network were used. Trends were assessed for the upper mineral soil (10– 20 cm, 104 plots) and subsoil (40–80 cm, 162 plots). There was a large decrease in the concentration of sulphate (SO 2 4 ) in soil solution; over a 10-year period (2000– 2010), SO 2 4 decreased by 52% at 10–20 cm and 40% at 40–80 cm. Nitrate was unchanged at 10–20 cm but decreased at 40–80 cm. The decrease in acid anions was accompanied by a large and significant decrease in the concentration of the nutrient base cations: calcium, magnesium and potassium (Bc = Ca 2+ + Mg 2+ + K + ) and Al tot over the entire dataset. The response of soil solution acidity was nonuni- form. At 10–20 cm, ANC increased in acid-sensitive soils (base saturation ≤10%) indicating a recovery, but ANC decreased in soils with base saturation >10%. At 40–80 cm, ANC remained unchanged in acid-sensitive soils (base saturation ≤20%, pH CaCl 2 ≤ 4.5) and decreased in better-buffered soils (base saturation >20%, pH CaCl 2 > 4.5). In addition, the molar ratio of Bc to Al tot either did not change or decreased. The results suggest a long-time lag between emission abatement and changes in soil solution acidity and underline the importance of long-term monitor- ing in evaluating ecosystem response to decreases in deposition.
Authors
Arne Verstraeten Elena Gottardini Nicolas Bruffaerts Bruno de Vos Elena Vanguelova Fabiana Cristofolini Sue Benham Pasi Rautio Liisa Ukonmaanaho Päivi Merilä Peter Waldner Marijke Hendrickx Gerrit Genouw Peter Roskams Nathalie Cools J Neirynck Anita Nussbaumer Mathias Neumann Nicholas Clarke Volkmar Timmermann Karin Hansen Hans-Peter Diettrich Manuel Nicolas Maria Schmitt Anne Thimonier Katrin Meusburger Silvio Schueler Anna KowalskaAbstract
No abstract has been registered