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
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Monica Sanden Johanna Eva Bodin Nur Duale Anne-Marthe Ganes Jevnaker Kristian Prydz Volha Shapaval Tage Thorstensen Ville Erling SipinenAbstract
The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment (VKM) has assessed an application for approval of the genetically modified sugar beet KWS20-1. The scope of the application is for food produced from genetically modified sugar beet KWS20-1 or containing ingredients produced from sugar beet KWS20-1, and feed produced from sugar beet KWS20-1 for import and processing submitted within the framework of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003. The application does not include cultivation or import of viable material.
Authors
Brita Bye Taran Fæhn Lars Harald Gulbrandsen Kevin R. Kaushal Christian Wilhelm Mohr Gunnhild Søgaard Asbjørn Torvanger Jørgen Wettestad Knut ØistadAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Elena Arrigoni Ruairi Hafferty-Hay Pino-Raquel Bodas Liv Guri Velle Kerry Bradshaw Zeren Yang Amanda Cooper Tim Wilkinson Jeffrey G. Duckett Silvia Pressel Rachael Howlett Justin Moat Susan Zappala Martin I. Bidartondo Laura M. Suz Jill KowalAbstract
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (UK) launched the Air Pollution Recovery Indicators Programme (APRI) in 2023. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’s APRI experimental work focuses on heathland recovery where nitrogen (N) pollution has significantly impacted ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and biodiversity. Despite the important ecosystem services they provide, little is known about how heathlands might recover from N pollution, especially below ground. We are investigating the potential of ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) fungi, in both soil and roots, as novel indicators of recovery from N pollution in southern England, and comparing these results to soil and heather roots sourced in less polluted Norway heathlands. ErM fungi form symbiotic associations with heather roots and liverwort rhizoids, mining organic N and phosphorus from nutrient-poor heathland soils; in exchange, the plants supply carbon to the fungi. As such there is an expectation that ErM fungi will respond rapidly to changes in N pollution. Our field experiments are also assessing changes in lichen community composition and evaluating the practicality of using LiDAR, RGB and multispectral drone technology to measure and link biomass changes above ground to N fertilization. We have the following research questions regarding above and below ground heathland condition: How are ErM and soil fungal communities impacted by, and how do they recover from, N pollution? How do changes in above ground vegetation (plants, lichens) link with ErM and soil fungal communities? What are the ErM and non-mycorrhizal fungal communities across a N pollution gradient, in southern England and coastal Norway?
Authors
Elena Arrigoni Ruairi Hafferty-Hay Pino-Raquel Bodas Liv Guri Velle Kerry Bradshaw Zeren Yang Amanda Cooper Tim Wilkinson Jeffrey G. Duckett Silvia Pressel Rachael Howlett Justin Moat Susan Zappala Martin I. Bidartondo Laura M. Suz Jill KowalAbstract
Heathlands are among the most iconic habitats in Northern Europe, with 20% of the world’s total area in the UK. Their wide, open landscape is dominated by low-growing Ericaceae shrubs on nutrient poor, acidic, organic soils, dry or waterlogged. Urbanisation, tree encroachment and nitrogen (N) pollution, contributed to their sharp decline, gaining them the status of priority habitats in country legislation. Heathlands provide ecosystem services such as flood mitigation and climate regulation, and their soils constitute a stable, long-lasting carbon (C) stock. However, the effects of air pollution on their C pool are not well understood. Ericaceae roots (e.g., Calluna vulgaris, Erica spp.) form symbiotic associations with ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (ErM), which enhance their hosts’ N and phosphorous (P) uptake in exchange for C, hence playing a crucial role in in nutrient cycling and contributing to soil C stocks. Our recent study conducted in a lowland dry heathland at Thursley National Nature Reserve (Surrey, UK) showed lingering effects of N deposition on soil chemistry, soil fungal communities, and ErM root colonisation eleven years after simulation of N deposition ceased. While the detrimental effects of N deposition on heath lichens and bryophytes are well documented, soil microbiome and mycorrhizal associations are largely overlooked, as is heathland recovery after pollution declines. This led to Kew’s partnership with Joint Nature Conservation Committee’s Air Pollution Recovery Indicators (APRI) project, investigating ErM response and recovery from air pollution, and their suitability as indicators. We established thirty 4x4 m plots in a dry heath at Thursley, 15 fertilised with cumulative 30 kg/ha of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), and 15 with water as control. Combining DNA techniques and microscopy, we are monitoring ErM root colonisation, root and soil fungal communities, and soil fungal biomass post treatments. Belowground measurements will be integrated with vegetation structure changes measured with LiDAR, RGB and multispectral drone imaging to develop a C calculation method. A lichen survey was conducted to assess differences in postfire recovery on N-fertilised vs control plots. Thursley’s background deposition is 13.4 kg N/ha/yr, the higher end of critical load for heathlands (5-15 kg N/ha/yr), possibly beyond the tipping point for fungal communities, and recovery may not be apparent. To address this, we sampled six wet heathlands in Norway, along a south-north N deposition gradient (1-6 kg N/ha/yr), and a comparable wet heathland at Thursley. By studying Norwegian root and soil fungal communities, we are investigating potential mycorrhizal indicators of “healthy” heathlands below the critical load. Preliminary results show ErM fungi are more diverse than thought, with ongoing analyses linking root colonisation to N deposition and climate data to understand heathland recovery and identify key indicators.
Authors
Alexander Jueterbock Clément Gauci Anne Margrete Leiros Nilsen Niko Steiner Ananya Khatei Griffin Goldstein Hill Leo Minini Christian Guido Bruckner Nikolai Buer Ralf Rautenberger Mark J. Cock Inka BartschAbstract
Kelp farming is an essential component of the European blue economy, yet rising ocean temperatures threaten its sustainability. Breeding resistant strains takes several years, and reduces genetic diversity. Priming-induced epigenetic could rapidly enhance stress resilience and performance, but must be adapted from terrestrial plants to kelp and its bi-phasic life-cycle. Research investigating the long-term impacts of nursery conditions at the gametophyte stage on the growth and resilience of sporophytes is scarce. Our research shows that temmperature extremes at the gametophyte stage can significantly influence the growth, productivity, and thermal tolerance at the sporophyte stage, demonstrating transgenerational effects. We propose three aspects to advance biotechnological research to generate resilient kelp without breeding: 1) a mariculture test framework that allows to assess the influence of early life cycle stage treatments on sporophyte characteristics, balancing the operational capacity of commercial-scale farms with the replication in smaller production units; 2) the specificities of kelp epigenetics as a potential mechanism to carry a memory of environmental effects from the gametophyte stage to the sporophyte stage, and an angle point for non-genetic adaptation; 3) a modeling approach to simulate the effects of increasing thermal tolerance on the potential recovery of kelp habitat and farming area under projected climate change. Integrating a mariculture trial framework with molecular biology, and ecological modeling offers a pathway to develop resilient and kelp strains that show enhanced growth without compromising biodiversity or regulatory frameworks.
Abstract
Despite abundant knowledge on the causes and threats of biodiversity loss, we keep failing in addressing this crisis and environmental concerns are still more often than not trumped by other societal interests. An important cause of this failure is that available information on species occurrences lacks sufficient spatial coverage and is not accessible at a scale that is relevant to managers and decision-makers. They need access to relevant data with sufficient spatial coverage and on a sufficiently fine spatial scale, as well as guidance to interpret and use this data. Here, we present a framework for modelling species distributions developed in the ECoMAP project specifically for meeting these needs. We take a hierarchical Bayesian approach, impleme- nting an observation submodel, a spatial random effects submodel and regularization routines. The ECoMAP model can provide species maps downscaled to a resolution of below 100 x 100 m, is automatable, and predicted maps are thus updatable.
Authors
Lars Olav Brandsæter Øystein Skagestad Kirsten Tørresen Torfinn Torp Vegard Hjerpaasen Timo Lötjönen Jukka SalonenAbstract
No abstract has been registered