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
Habtamu AlemAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The timing of migration is fundamental for species exploiting seasonally variable environments. For ungulates, earlier spring migration is expected with earlier vegetation green-up. However, other drivers, such as access to agricultural farmland and variation in local conditions, are also known to affect migration. We investigated the timing of spring migration for 96 male and 201 female red deer (Cervus elaphus) using a long-term dataset (2005–2020). Overall, the timing of migration was mainly characterized by large individual variability between and within years (95% range 6 April to 18 June). The spring migration timing was, as expected, later with colder winter and spring conditions (North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) winter and April indices) and later peak vegetation green-up (NDVI), with a five-day delay in green-up causing a migration delay of 1.2 days. Timing was also influenced by local conditions in summer and winter home ranges. Red deer with greater access to farmland and a more variable topography (hence variable plant phenology) in winter delayed migration. Similarly, individuals with higher-elevation summer ranges (with delayed onset of plant growth) also delayed migration. Our analyses highlight that the timing of red deer migration is determined by multiple drivers affecting foraging conditions in the landscape, indicative of considerable phenotypic plasticity.
Authors
Berit Marie Blomstrand Stig Milan Thamsborg Håvard Steinshamn Heidi L Enemark Inga Marie Aasen Karl-christian Mahnert Kristin Sørheim Francesca Sheperd Jos Houdijk Spiridoula AthanasiadouAbstract
Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) may improve gastrointestinal health by exerting immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory and/or antiparasitic effects. Bark extracts from coniferous tree species have previously been shown to reduce the burden of a range of parasite species in the gastrointestinal tract, with condensed tannins as the potential active compounds. In the present study, the impact of an acetone extract of pine bark (Pinus sylvestris) on the resistance, performance and tolerance of genetically diverse mice (Mus musculus) was assessed. Mice able to clear an infection quickly (fast responders, BALB/c) or slowly (slow responders, C57BL/6) were infected orally with 200 infective third-stage larvae (L3) of the parasitic nematode Heligmosomoides bakeri or remained uninfected (dosed with water only). Each infection group of mice was gavaged for 3 consecutive days from day 19 post-infection with either bark extract or dimethyl sulphoxide (5%) as vehicle control. Oral administration of pine bark extract did not have an impact on any of the measured parasitological parameter. It did, however, have a positive impact on the performance of infected, slow-responder mice, through an increase in body weight (BW) and carcase weight and reduced feed intake by BW ratio. Importantly, bark extract administration had a negative impact on the fast responders, by reducing their ability to mediate the impact of parasitism through reducing their performance and tolerance. The results indicate that the impact of PSMs on parasitized hosts is affected by host's genetic susceptibility, with susceptible hosts benefiting more from bark extract administration compared to resistant ones.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Urban agriculture is often considered a tool to increase the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cities and city food systems. However, sustainability is difficult to measure, resulting in debate about how sustainable urban agriculture truly is. There is therefore a lack of incentive to promote urban agriculture or protect existing initiatives that are threatened by development pressure on urban land. Monitoring the sustainability impact of urban agriculture could provide evidence and enable politicians and decision makers to make informed decisions about whether and where to prioritise different forms of urban agriculture above competing interests. We used case examples from five European cities to identify the challenges involved in monitoring urban agriculture, from selecting indicators and gathering data, to using the results. We found large differences in approach in terms of what topics to monitor and who was responsible, who gathered the data and when, what data was recorded and how they were stored, and how findings were disseminated or published. Based on these experiences, we recommend stronger involvement of existing interest groups and educational institutions in monitoring urban agriculture, and promotion of convenient tools for data collection by citizen science and for long-term data storage.
Abstract
We used a survey to investigate the effects of personality, motives, and socioeconomics for drinking hard cider among 3,373 Norwegian respondents in 2023. Wine interest, cultural interest, having a high score on conspicuous attitude, or being female increased the predicted consumption frequencies of hard cider. Scoring high on the taste index, being a conscientious respondent, being older, higher educated, or believing religion is important reduced the predicted frequencies. The estimated effects were compared with the corresponding effects for red, white, and sparkling wines. Cultural interest and wine interest are the main motives for hard cider and all categories of wine.
Authors
Lone RossAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Wendy Wuyts Nhat Strøm-Andersen Shumaila Khatri Arild Eriksen Per F. Jørgensen Arild Øvergaard Emil Rygh Angelica Kveen Alexander Mertens Jannicke Stadaas Inger Gamme Veronique Vasseur Anders Q. Nyrud Kristine NoreAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
This study investigates food neophobia as a potential barrier to the use of unconventional fertilizers, such as fish sludge and human waste, in food production. Using data from Norway, the study estimates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for lettuce grown with these fertilizers. Results from the random effect interval regression model show that, on average, consumers are willing to pay 8 % more for conventional lettuce compared to lettuce grown with fish sludge and 13 % more for lettuce grown with human waste. However, between 40 % and 50 % of respondents accepted lettuce produced with unconventional fertilizers and were not willing to pay more for conventional lettuce compared to these alternatives. Key factors influencing WTP include gender, the presence of children in the household, and food neophobia. These findings suggest that food neophobia and socio-demographic factors can significantly impact consumer acceptance of sustainable agricultural practices. Targeted communication strategies focusing on food safety, environmental sustainability, and the benefits of nutrient recycling are needed to foster broader public acceptance and support for recycled waste in agriculture.
Authors
Lisa Fagerli Lunde Tone Birkemoe Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson Johan Asplund Rune Halvorsen O. Janne Kjønaas Jenni Nordén Sundy Maurice Inger Skrede Line Nybakken Håvard KauserudAbstract
Boreal forests are important carbon sinks and host a diverse array of species that provide important ecosystem functions. Boreal forests have a long history of intensive forestry, in which even-aged management with clear-cutting has been the dominant harvesting practice for the past 50–80 years. As a second cycle of clear-cutting is emerging, there is an urgent need to examine the effects of repeated clear-cutting events on biodiversity. Clear-cutting has led to reduced numbers of old and large trees, decreased volumes of dead wood of varied decay stages and diameters, and altered physical and chemical compositions of soils. The old-growth boreal forest has been fragmented and considerably reduced. Here, we review short- and long-term (≥50 years) effects of clear-cutting on boreal forest biodiversity in four key substrates: living trees, dead wood, ground and soil. We then assess landscape-level changes (habitat fragmentation and edge effects) on this biodiversity. There is evidence for long-term community changes after clear-cutting for several taxa: epiphytic lichens; saproxylic fungi, bryophytes and insects; epigeic bryophytes; and soil snails, bacteria, and ectomycorrhizal fungi. Long-term declines in species richness were found for saproxylic fungi, bryophytes and true flies. However, for the majority of taxa, long-term effects of clear-cutting are not well understood. On the landscape level, reduced connectivity to old-growth forests has negative effects on several species of fungi, lichens, bryophytes and insects, notably among Red-Listed species. Furthermore, altered microclimate near clear-cut edges negatively affects epiphytic lichens and epigeic arthropods, implying complex effects of habitat fragmentation. Repeated cycles of clear-cutting might pose even stronger pressures on boreal forest biodiversity due to continued fragmentation of old-growth forests and accumulation of extinction debts. Examining the broad effects of forestry on biodiversity across the boreal biome is crucial: (i) to increase our knowledge of long-term and landscape-level effects of former clear-cutting; and (ii) to gain a better understanding of how forestry will affect biodiversity and, subsequently, ecosystem functioning, with repeated cycles of clear-cutting.