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.
2025
Forfattere
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 KowalSammendrag
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.
Forfattere
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 BartschSammendrag
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.
Sammendrag
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.
Forfattere
Lars Olav Brandsæter Øystein Skagestad Kirsten Tørresen Torfinn Torp Vegard Hjerpaasen Timo Lötjönen Jukka SalonenSammendrag
Det er ikke registrert sammendrag
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Sammendrag
Weed management in the apple orchard is crucial to maintain a high fruit yield and quality. Glyphosate applied twice is the usual strategy in apple orchards in Norway. Due to a recurring debate about the future of glyphosate use and a target in the Farm to Fork strategy of a 50% reduction in pesticide use by 2030, alternative solutions are needed. Two field trials conducted in 2023 in orchards (two- and eleven-year-old trees) are presented here. Six alternative strategies were tested: 1) hot water at 3 L m-2 x 3 (spring, early summer, summer), 2) hot water at 6 L m-2 x 3 (times as previous), 3) pelargonic acid at full dose (10.9 kg a.s. ha-1) x 2 (early summer, summer), 4) pelargonic acid at half dose (5.44 kg a.s. ha-1) x 2 (spring, summer), 5) acetic acid 10% at 25 kg a.s. ha-1 x 2 (early summer, summer) and 6) rotary hoe x 3 (spring, early summer, summer). Glyphosate at 1.08 kg a.s. ha-1 x 2 (early summer, summer) was included as a reference strategy. Hot water (±80 C, 0.1 bar) was applied with a commercial machine (Heatweed Technologies, Norway). For mechanical treatment “Orizzonti Mira” rotary hoe was used. Dry biomass and visual assessments of a percentage of ground covered by living vegetation were used to estimate weed control efficacy. Dominating species were Epilobium sp., Taraxacum officinale, Rumex longifolius in both fields, Aegopodium podagraria and Senecio vulgaris in the two-year-old field and Geranium sp. in the eleven-year-old field. Visual assessed in mid-July, i.e. about 3 weeks after the last application of the treatments, 3 hot water strategies with 6 L m-2 resulted in the highest level of weed control, i.e. 6 and 9% total weed cover in the eleven-year-old field and the two-year-old field, respectively. 3 L m-2 resulted in 16% and 20% total weed cover in the two-year-old field and the eleven-year-old field, respectively. This was better than the glyphosate strategy (23% and 55% total weed cover in eleven-year-old field and two-year-old field, respectively) and much better than pelargonic acid (both treatments), acetic acid 10% and rotary hoe strategy. The results of these trials showed very good efficacy of hot water, especially against annual weeds. No significant benefit of doubling hot water from 3 to 6 L ha L ha-1. Dry biomass was in the same order as visual assessments.
Sammendrag
Det er ikke registrert sammendrag
Sammendrag
Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) cultivated in open fields is an important crop in Norway due to its economic and societal value. Strawberry fields are usually kept for three years mainly in a mated-row system and adequate control of weeds and runners in strawberry beds is crucial to obtain a high yield. Due to the withdrawal of diquat, strawberries producers urgently need new solutions for controlling of runners and weeds in their fields. Two trials were conducted in one- and two-year-old strawberry fields. Seven alternative strategies in 4 treatment times, 2 pre-harvest (late spring, early summer) and 2 post-harvest (late summer, autumn) were tested: 1) hot water at 3 L m-2 preceded by mowing x 4 (late spring, early and late summer, early autumn), 2) hot water at 6 L m-2 x 4 (times as previous), 3) pelargonic acid at half dose (5.44 kg a.s. ha-1) x 2 (late spring, early summer) and pyraflufen-ethyl at 0.01 kg a.s. ha-1 x 2 (late summer, early autumn), 4) pelargonic acid at half dose (5.44 kg a.s. ha-1) x 2 (times as previous) and carfentrazone-ethyl at 0.02 kg a.s. ha-1 x 1 (late summer) and pyraflufen-ethyl at 0.05 kg a.s. ha-1 x 1 (early autumn), 5) mixture of pelargonic acid at full dose (10.9 kg a.s. ha-1) and alcohol ethoxylate propoxylate at 0.01 kg a.s. ha-1 x 1 (late spring) and mixture of acetic acid 10% at 25 kg a.s. ha-1 and paraffin oil at1 kg a.s. ha-1 x 3 (early and late summer, early autumn), 6) acetic acid 10% at 25 kg a.s. ha-1 x 4 (late spring, early and late summer, early autumn), 7) mixture of acetic acid 10% at 25 kg a.s. ha-1 and paraffin oil at 1 kg a.s. ha-1 x 4 (as previous). Hot water (about 80 C, 0.1 bar) was applied with a commercial machine (Heatweed Technologies, Norway) and a lawnmower was used for mechanical mowing. Visual assessments of the percentage of ground covered by living vegetation (weeds and runners) and a number of runners between strawberry rows were used to estimate efficacy. Percent damage of the culture was recorded after all spraying times. The last assessment in early October, i.e. about 3 weeks after the last application of the treatments showed a promising effect of hot water alone or combined with mechanical mowing (0-9% total cover of weeds and runners) against runners and weeds. Mowing with a lawnmower enhanced the effect of hot water. Effectivness of bioherbicides were generally weak and the addition of adjuvants did not improve them. The post-harvest treatments with pyraflufen-ethyl (0.01 kg a.s. ha-1 x 2) showed a promising effect on runners and the effect appeared to be durable. Repeated hot water treatments seems to be a good alternative to herbicides against runners and weeds.
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This study evaluates the effectiveness of various peat-free and peat-reduced growing media on the growth and yield of tomatoes and carrots, with the aim to develop sustainable alternatives to traditional peat-based substrates in horticulture. Thirty different growing media mixtures were tested, incorporating materials such as wood fiber, compost, biochar, bio-ash, and struvite, with the goal of identifying viable alternatives to peat. The experiments were conducted in greenhouse conditions, and the performance of these mixtures was assessed based on yield and overall vitality of tomato and carrot plants. The results revealed that fully peat-free mixtures generally underperformed compared to peat-based references. However, some peat-reduced mixtures with 30% peat in combination with wood fiber, compost, struvite or bio-ash demonstrated promising results. Bio-ash and struvite were evaluated as phosphorus sources, with findings suggesting that both materials can enhance substrate fertility when combined with appropriate nitrogen fertilizers. The effect of biochar was not very pronounced in general. Moreover, the addition of biochar was associated with a disappearance of plant-available nitrogen from the growing media, which likely contributed to its limited effectiveness in improving crop performance. The study underscores the continual challenge of completely phasing out peat in growing media for horticulture but highlights the potential of reducing it greatly and integrating more sustainable materials such as wood fiber and recycled materials such as compost, bio-ash and struvite. The results suggest that with further refinement, specific combinations of these materials could be developed into optimized substrate mixtures for sustainable horticultural practices without compromising productivity.
