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.
2023
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The complex evolutionary patterns in the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the most species-rich shark order, the Carcharhiniformes (ground sharks) has led to challenges in the phylogenomic reconstruction of the families and genera belonging to the order, particularly the family Triakidae (houndsharks). The current state of Triakidae phylogeny remains controversial, with arguments for both monophyly and paraphyly within the family. We hypothesize that this variability is triggered by the selection of different a priori partitioning schemes to account for site and gene heterogeneity within the mitogenome. Here we used an extensive statistical framework to select the a priori partitioning scheme for inference of the mitochondrial phylogenomic relationships within Carcharhiniformes, tested site heterogeneous CAT + GTR + G4 models and incorporated the multi-species coalescent model (MSCM) into our analyses to account for the influence of gene tree discordance on species tree inference. We included five newly assembled houndshark mitogenomes to increase resolution of Triakidae. During the assembly procedure, we uncovered a 714 bp-duplication in the mitogenome of Galeorhinus galeus. Phylogenetic reconstruction confirmed monophyly within Triakidae and the existence of two distinct clades of the expanded Mustelus genus. The latter alludes to potential evolutionary reversal of reproductive mode from placental to aplacental, suggesting that reproductive mode has played a role in the trajectory of adaptive divergence. These new sequences have the potential to contribute to population genomic investigations, species phylogeography delineation, environmental DNA metabarcoding databases and, ultimately, improved conservation strategies for these ecologically and economically important species.
Abstract
Light penetration plays a vital role in lakes and drinking water reservoirs, influencing fundamental processes such as primary production and thermal budgets. The Secchi depth (ZSD) and the compensation depth (ZCD) are commonly used measurements in this context. ZSD is determined through visual inspection using a Secchi disc, while ZCD represents the depth at which photosynthetic activity balances respiration and can be measured using a quantum irradiance sensor. Through in situ water-core samples from 23 lakes within a lake district in Southeastern Norway, we observed that DNOM exerts a diverse influence on these light irradiance measurements. If DNOM concentrations are reduced to half or a quarter of the current concentration, similar to what was measured during the 1980s, the median ZCD:ZSD ratios are estimated to have decreased by approximately 30 and 60% since then, respectively. Conversely, a plausible future climate-driven doubling or quadrupling of the present DNOM concentrations are estimated to further decrease the median ZCD:ZSD ratios in the lake district with approximately 10 and 25%, respectively. From this, the ZCD:ZSD ratios seem to have experienced a considerable long-term decline attributed to both climate change and the recovery from acid rain, and a further climate-driven decrease is expected.
Authors
Michelle Devlin Theo C. Prins Lisette Enserink Wera Leujak Birgit Heyden Philip Axe Hans Ruiter Anouk Blauw Eileen Bresnan Kate Collingridge David Devreker Liam Fernand Francisco Gomez Jakobsen Carolyn Graves Alain Lefebvre Herman-J. Lenhart Stiig Markager Marta Nogueira Garvan O’Donnell Hjalte Parner Eva Skarbøvik Morten D. Skogen Lars Sonesten Sonja M. Van Leeuwen Robert Wilkes Eleanor Dening Alejandro Iglesias-CamposAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Freya Ziegler Anita Sønsteby Agnieszka Masny Charles Underwood Lucas Munnes Vivien Rosenthal Sonia Osorio Björn UsadelAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Barbara Mariotti Juan A. Oliet Enrique Andivia Marianthi Tsakaldimi Pedro Villar-Salvador Vladan Ivetić Antonio Montagnoli Ivona Kerkez Janković Nebi Bilir Henrik Bohlenius Branislav Cvjetković Kārlis Dūmiņš Juha Heiskanen Georgi Hinkov Inger Sundheim Fløistad Claudia CocozzaAbstract
Purpose of Review The demand for forest tree seedlings is increasing globally, and Sphagnum peat moss is widely used as a component of growing media for container plant production. However, peat extraction is environmentally unsustainable. The forest nursery sector needs to switch to more sustainable alternatives to peat. This review aims to identify potential substitutes for peat by reviewing the worldwide literature on alternative materials for growing media in forest nurseries. Recent Findings Most studies on alternative growing media focused on single plant species growing under local conditions, thereby limiting generalizations about the effectiveness of alternative materials for plant production. To our knowledge, no systematic reviews of scientific literature on the effectiveness of new, alternative-to-peat materials for enhancing plant growth and the associated growing media characteristics for the forest nursery sector are currently available. Summary Most of the analyzed case studies focused on angiosperms (73.1%), with the majority of studies coming from tropical seasonal forests/savannas (36.5%), followed by woodlands/shrublands (31.6%), and temperate forests (15.0%) biomes. Compost was the most studied material (19.5%), followed by bark, other organic materials, and manure (9.8, 9.7, and 8.0%, respectively). Green and municipal wastes were the principal sources of compost (> 60%), while agriculture and green wastes were the first sources of other materials (> 90%). Tested materials were dependent on the geographic region. Thus, manure was the most tested material in Africa and South America, tree bark in North America, and compost in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Alternative materials effectively provided optimal physicochemical characteristics of growing media and enhanced seedling nursery growth when compared with peat-based growing media in more than 60% of the case studies. This review helps to identify research gaps and, most importantly, provides the basis for the future application of alternative growing media materials in forest nursery management worldwide.
Abstract
The materials used in construction have a significant environmental impact and this is becoming more important as operational energy requirements continue to fall. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to take into account the environmental burdens associated with materials used in construction. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) are useful tools for this purpose. When comparing the results of numerous LCA studies of different construction materials, the main question is often ‘Which material is better for the environment?’. The answer, however, is usually not as simple – but why is it so difficult to decide which material has the lowest environmental impact? To answer this question, we have to consider what life cycle assessment is and how an LCA is undertaken. The report covers the stages of an LCA, from defining the goal and scope of the respective study to the creation of the life cycle inventory (LCI), the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to the reporting and interpretation of the results. Additionally, the report goes in detail into how to approach published LCA studies, how to work with EPDs and the much-discussed issue of Carbon storage in buildings. In the final chapter, the report assesses the comparability of published studies evaluating the environmental impact of different building materials.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Ingerd Skow Hofgaard Guro Brodal Heidi Udnes Aamot Marit Almvik Aina Lundon Russenes Morten Lillemo Simon Graham EdwardsAbstract
Oat harvested from plants infested with plant pathogenic fungi within the Fusarium head blight (FHB) complex may sometimes contain high levels of mycotoxins, which makes the grain unsuitable for food and feed. Fusarium graminearum, a deoxynivalenol (DON) producer, and Fusarium langsethiae, a T-2 toxin (T2) and HT-2 toxin (HT2) producer, are commonly occurring in Norwegian oats. We have analysed grains of Nordic oat varieties and breeding lines for the content of mycotoxins and DNA of Fusarium species belonging to the FHB disease complex (Hofgaard et al. 2022). The grains were harvested from field trials located in South-East Norway in the years 2011-2020. The ranking of oat varieties according to HT2+T2 levels corresponded with the ranking according to the DNA levels of F. langsethiae. However, this ranking did not resemble the ranking for DON and F. graminearum DNA. Our results implies that a moderate resistance to DON producers does not guarantee a moderate resistance to HT2+T2 producers. Separate tests are therefore necessary to determine the resistance towards DON and HT2+T2 producers in oats. This creates practical challenges for the screening of FHB resistance in oats as todays’ screening focuses on resistance to F. graminearum and DON. We identified oat varieties with generally low levels of both mycotoxins and FHB pathogens which should be promoted to mitigate mycotoxin risk in Norwegian oats.