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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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Abstract

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of short-term (~1 y) drought events—the most common duration of drought—globally. Yet the impact of this intensification of drought on ecosystem functioning remains poorly resolved. This is due in part to the widely disparate approaches ecologists have employed to study drought, variation in the severity and duration of drought studied, and differences among ecosystems in vegetation, edaphic and climatic attributes that can mediate drought impacts. To overcome these problems and better identify the factors that modulate drought responses, we used a coordinated distributed experiment to quantify the impact of short-term drought on grassland and shrubland ecosystems. With a standardized approach, we imposed ~a single year of drought at 100 sites on six continents. Here we show that loss of a foundational ecosystem function—aboveground net primary production (ANPP)—was 60% greater at sites that experienced statistically extreme drought (1-in-100-y event) vs. those sites where drought was nominal (historically more common) in magnitude (35% vs. 21%, respectively). This reduction in a key carbon cycle process with a single year of extreme drought greatly exceeds previously reported losses for grasslands and shrublands. Our global experiment also revealed high variability in drought response but that relative reductions in ANPP were greater in drier ecosystems and those with fewer plant species. Overall, our results demonstrate with unprecedented rigor that the global impacts of projected increases in drought severity have been significantly underestimated and that drier and less diverse sites are likely to be most vulnerable to extreme drought.

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Abstract

Rising organic charge in northern freshwaters is attributed to increasing levels of dissolved natural organic matter (DNOM) and changes in water chemistry. Organic charge concentration may be determined through charge balance calculations (Org.−) or modelled (OAN−) using the Oliver and Hruška conceptual models, which are based on the density of weak acid functional sites (SD) present in DNOM. The charge density (CD) is governed by SD as well as protonation and complexation reactions on the functional groups. These models use SD as a key parameter to empirically fit the model to Org.−. Utilizing extensive water chemistry datasets, this study shows that spatial and temporal differences in SD and CD are influenced by variations in the humic-to-fulvic ratio of DNOM, organic aluminum (Al) complexation, and the mole fraction of CD to SD, which is governed by acidity. The median SD values obtained for 44 long-term monitored acid-sensitive lakes were 11.1 and 13.9 µEq/mg C for the Oliver and Hruška models, respectively. Over 34 years of monitoring, the CD increased by 70%, likely due to rising pH and declining Al complexation with DNOM. Present-day median SD values for the Oliver and Hruška models in 16 low-order streams are 13.8 and 15.8 µEq/mg C, respectively, and 10.8 and 12.5 µEq/mg C, respectively, in 10 high-order rivers.

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Abstract

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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Abstract

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.