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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.

2024

Sammendrag

Mountain areas in Norway provide important resources for livestock grazing. These resources are crucial for agricultural production in a country with limited agricultural land and a climate and topography that restrict production of feed and food. A key contributor in the harvest of these resources has been mountain summer farming and outfield grazing in general. However, the use of mountainous grazing resources has been declining strongly for several decades with the regrowth of formerly open areas as a consequence. In contrast, recreational use, number of holiday cabins and associated infrastructure is rapidly increasing. Conflicts between recreational and agriculture use have received increasing attention in different media. We investigated the spatial patterns of cabin development and key grazing areas in Norwegian mountain areas, analysing data on livestock, cabins, and associated infrastructure. We found a large number of cabins and associated infrastructure within high-quality grazing areas indicating that the quality of grazing has not been adequately considered in the location of new cabins. Taking into consideration that cabin development seems not to decrease, the reduced availability of grazing resources may result in an increasing level of conflict and also impact food security in the long run.

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Sammendrag

Background Pollinators are under threat from a variety of environmental drivers, including habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticides, climate change, and invasive species. Despite being domesticated animals, honey bees (Apis mellifera) share many traits with invasive species and several studies have suggested that beekeeping might pose a threat to wild bees and other pollinators. In Norway, the history of beekeeping dates to at least the 18th century, yet little is known about the consequences of this agricultural practice on biodiversity, especially on wild pollinators. The Norwegian Environment Agency therefore asked VKM to provide a brief summary of the available literature on the impact of honey bee keeping on wild pollinating insects and assess whether keeping of honey bees might pose a risk to wild pollinators in Norway. VKM was also asked to specifically assess the impact of stocking rates and placement of honey bee hives in relation to important wild pollinator habitats and vulnerable populations of wild pollinators (e.g. threatened species). Finally, VKM was asked to identify and assess possible risk-reducing measures related to any risk identified. Methods To provide a brief review of the literature on how keeping of honey bees affect wild pollinators, VKM conducted a rapid review, using the "updates of systematic reviews" approach. This approach aimed to update and supplement the two existing systematic reviews on the topic. Following established search protocols, the literature review thus focused on the effects of managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) on wild pollinators, specifically addressing three key areas: (i) competition for floral and nesting resources, (ii) transmission of pathogens and parasites, and (iii) indirect effects via changes in plant communities. Based on the hazards identified in the literature review and one additional hazard identified by experts in the project group, VKM conducted a risk assessment that included hazard identification, hazard characterization, likelihood of impact, and risk characterization for each of the hazards identified, focusing on the Norwegian context. Additionally, for each identified hazard, VKM estimated the confidence levels for each step in the risk assessment. Finally, VKM identified potential risk mitigating measures and assessed their effectiveness. This was done by conducting a literature search to identify potential risk reducing measures and assessing the identified mitigating measures their effectiveness, certainty of effectiveness, and potential harms using the approach developed by Conservation Evidence (see www.conservationevidence.com). Results/Conclusions Status of knowledge The literature review performed by VKM identified 45 recent studies that were not included in the two previous systematic reviews on the topic. The new studies did not provide results that altered the conclusions of the previous reviews. A brief summary of the review is presented below. Competition for floral resources. Managed honey bees can compete with wild pollinators for shared floral resources and this competition can have clear, measurable, negative effects on wild pollinators. Spillover of pathogens and parasites. Managed honey bees can potentially spread bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens to wild pollinators. The extent to which these pathogens cause disease in wild pollinators is, however, unknown for most wild pollinators. Several parasitic mites can infest hives of managed honey bees, but none of these have been shown to infest wild pollinators found in Norway. One common honey bee pest, the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida), has been found to also infect nests of wild bees. This species is not currently found in Norway. ............................

2023

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Sammendrag

Questions Field-based ecosystem mapping is prone to observer bias, typically resulting in a mismatch between maps made by different mappers, that is, inconsistency. Experimental studies testing the influence of site, mapping scale, and differences in experience level on inconsistency in field-based ecosystem mapping are lacking. Here, we study how inconsistencies in field-based ecosystem maps depend on these factors. Location Iškoras and Guollemuorsuolu, northeastern Norway, and Landsvik and Lygra, western Norway. Methods In a balanced experiment, four sites were field-mapped wall-to-wall to scales 1:5000 and 1:20,000 by 12 mappers, representing three experience levels. Thematic inconsistency was calculated by overlay analysis of map pairs from the same site, mapped to the same scale. We tested for significant differences between sites, scales, and experience-level groups. Principal components analysis was used in an analysis of additional map inconsistencies and their relationships with site, scale and differences in experience level and time consumption were analysed with redundancy analysis. Results On average, thematic inconsistency was 51%. The most important predictor for thematic inconsistency, and for all map inconsistencies, was site. Scale and its interaction with site predicted map inconsistencies, but only the latter were important for thematic inconsistency. The only experience-level group that differed significantly from the mean thematic inconsistency was that of the most experienced mappers, with nine percentage points. Experience had no significant effect on map inconsistency as a whole. Conclusion Thematic inconsistency was high for all but the dominant thematic units, with potentially adverse consequences for mapping ecosystems that are fragmented or have low coverage. Interactions between site and mapping system properties are considered the main reasons why no relationships between scale and thematic inconsistency were observed. More controlled experiments are needed to quantify the effect of other factors on inconsistency in field-based mapping.

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Sammendrag

Didemnum vexillum is colonial sea squirt, a marine species which originates from the northwest Pacific; it was first recorded in Norway in November 2020. Didemnum vexillum is an alien species, meaning that it is a species that has been transferred from its original region to other regions of the world through human activity, and it had not previously been recorded in Norwegian waters. The species is regarded as having great invasive potential and having strong negative ecological effects on biodiversity. It is also considered to pose a risk to marine industries such as shipping and aquaculture, with possible major negative economic impacts.

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Sammendrag

VKM has evaluated the risk to biodiversity from allowing private import and keeping of the Northern Cardinal as a caged bird in Norway, for birds acquired through the bird trade. VKM has reviewed the invasion ecology of non-native birds in general and of the Northern Cardinal specifically. The assessment includes evaluation of various mechanisms that invasive birds generally have a negative impact through, and includes competition, hybridization, spread of pathogens and interactions with other alien species in Norway. VKM has also evaluated two different scenarios establishment and how climate change can influence both the negative impact and the likelihood of establishment. Overall, VKM finds that there is low risk in regards negative effects on biodiversity in Norway in regard to import and keeping of the Northern Cardinal.