Hopp til hovedinnholdet

Publikasjoner

NIBIOs ansatte publiserer flere hundre vitenskapelige artikler og forskningsrapporter hvert år. Her finner du referanser og lenker til publikasjoner og andre forsknings- og formidlingsaktiviteter. Samlingen oppdateres løpende med både nytt og historisk materiale. For mer informasjon om NIBIOs publikasjoner, besøk NIBIOs bibliotek.

2015

Til dokument

Sammendrag

Europe’s and the World’s northernmost agriculture is very vulnerable to harsh overwintering conditions. It is important from both an economic and societal standpoint to have accurate methods of predicting the severity and impact of the current snow season. Technology has advanced to enable such measurements to be regularly recorded but despite this, a detailed assessment, involving remote sensing , of the impacts of various types of snow season on agricultural yields in northernmost Europe has not previously been undertaken. Here we characterize variation in snow types and concomitant soil frost and ground-ice accumulation at a Norwegian sub-Arctic, maritime-buffered site (Tromsø, Troms County, 69 °N) during the period 1989/90 to 2013/14 and analyse how winter conditions affect agricultural productivity (both measured in the field and using remote sensing). These data were then used to build important predictive modelling approaches. In total, five contrasting types of snow season were identified, from snow-rich with no soil frost and no ground-ice to low snow and considerable soil frost and ground-ice. Conditions of low snow and low soil frost and ground-ice that result from numerous warming events were rare within the time period studied but are predicted to become the dominant snow season type. Agricultural productivity was lowest and claim settlements paid to farmers were highest after winters with high accumulation of plant-damaging, hermetic ground-ice. Deep soil frost per se did not affect primary productivity. Overall, our results together with information from other sources, suggest that icy, low snow conditions are the most challenging of all seasonal types for both the environment and livelihoods in sub-Arctic Norway. Winters with extremely deep snow also cause considerable problems. As winters are expected to warm more than summers, it is likely that the winter climate will become an even stronger regulator of northern primary productivity. To better understand the physical and biological effects of the changing winter climate, there is a requirement for continued and increasing monitoring of winter processes, especially related to frost and ice in the rhizosphere, as this is currently not well covered in national monitoring programs. Continued monitoring will enable further refinement of predictions and will support the better community planning for greatest agricultural benefit. climate change, crop yield, ice, NDVI, plant mortality, snow dynamics, winter climate

Sammendrag

High northern latitudes are increasingly exposed to the combination of extreme winter climate and deposition of long-distance dispersed nitrogen pollution. The nature in the north is vulnerable, and these combined pressures may over time drive changes in plant composition and carbon uptake.

Til dokument

Sammendrag

High northern latitudes are increasingly exposed to the combination of extreme winter climate and deposition of long-distance dispersed nitrogen pollution. The nature in the north is vulnerable, and these combined stresses may over time affect the composition of plant species and carbon uptake. How will North-Norwegian ecosystems tolerate unstable winters and nitrogen pollution?

Til dokument

Sammendrag

Keeping horses in groups is widely recommended but limited information is available about how this is implemented in practice. The aim of this survey was to describe how horses are kept in the Nordic countries in relation to sex, age, breed, and equestrian discipline and to assess owners’ attitudes toward keeping horses in groups. Horse owners in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden were approached using a web-based questionnaire, which was translated into 4 languages and distributed online via equestrian forums, organizations, and social media. The number of respondents was 3,229, taking care of 17,248 horses. Only 8% of horses were never kept in groups, 47% were permanently grouped for 24 h/d, and 45% were stabled singly but grouped during turnout. Yearlings were most often permanently kept in groups (75%), mares and geldings more commonly during parts of the day (50 and 51%, respectively), and stallions were often kept alone (38%). Icelandic horses were more likely to be permanently kept in groups (36%) than warmbloods (16%) and ponies (15%). Twice as many competition horses (51%) were never grouped compared with horses used for breeding (20%) or leisure purposes (15%). The majority of respondents (86%) strongly agreed that group housing benefits horse welfare and that it is important for horses to have the company of conspecifics (92%). Nevertheless, not all horses were kept in groups, showing that attitudes toward group housing may not necessarily reflect current management. The risk of injury was a concern of many respondents (45%), as was introducing unfamiliar horses into already established groups (40%) and challenges in relation to feeding in groups (44%). Safety of people (23%) and difficulties handling groupkept horses (19%) were regarded as less problematic. Results suggest that the majority of horses have the possibility to freely interact with other horses, either as fulltime members of a group during 24 h/d or during turnout. Future research should address the extent to which being a part-time member of a group affects horse welfare. For permanent group housing to become more widespread, such as it is the case for most farm animals, future research could focus on solving some of the reoccurring problems perceived with keeping horses in groups. The dissemination of evidence-based information on all aspects around keeping horses in groups can ultimately stimulate further positive changes in the management of group-kept horses.