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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.

2018

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Sammendrag

Horizontal Visibility Graphs (HVGs) are a recently developed method to construct networks from time series. The values of the time series are considered as the nodes of the network and are linked to each other if there is no larger value between them, such as they can “see” each other. The network properties reflect the nonlinear dynamics of the time series. For some classes of stochastic processes and for periodic time series, analytical results can be obtained for network-derived quantities such as the degree distribution, the local clustering coefficient distribution, the mean path length, and others. HVGs have the potential to discern between deterministic-chaotic and correlated-stochastic time series. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of the HVG methodology to properties and pre-processing of real-world data, i.e., time series length, the presence of ties, and deseasonalization, using a set of around 150 runoff time series from managed rivers at daily resolution from Brazil with an average length of 65 years. We show that an application of HVGs on real-world time series requires a careful consideration of data pre-processing steps and analysis methodology before robust results and interpretations can be obtained. For example, one recent analysis of the degree distribution of runoff records reported pronounced sub-exponential “long-tailed” behavior of North American rivers, whereas another study of South American rivers showed hyper-exponential “short-tailed” behavior resembling correlated noise.We demonstrate, using the dataset of Brazilian rivers, that these apparently contradictory results can be reconciled by minor differences in data-preprocessing (here: small differences in subtracting the seasonal cycle). Hence, data-preprocessing that is conventional in hydrology (“deseasonalization”) changes long-term correlations and the overall runoff dynamics substantially, and we present empirical consequences and extensive simulations to investigate these issues from a HVG methodological perspective. After carefully accounting for these methodological aspects, the HVG analysis reveals that the river runoff dataset shows indeed complex behavior that appears to stem from a superposition of short-term correlated noise and “long-tailed behaviour,” i.e., highly connected nodes. Moreover, the construction of a dam along a river tends to increase short-term correlations in runoff series. In summary, the present study illustrates the (often substantial) effects of methodological and data-preprocessing choices for the interpretation of river runoff dynamics in the HVG framework and its general applicability for real-world time series.

Sammendrag

In this article, we estimate the progress of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in the Norwegian grain production sector. Previous studies conducted in TFP estimation can be criticized for estimated production function relied on the assumption that the underlying technology is the same for all regions and firms face similar environmental conditions. In reality, agricultural firms in different regions resource endowment, adoption of new technology, and innovation might be different because of farmers face different production opportunities. For this study, we classified the country into two main grain producing regions with district level of development, and hence production technologies. We used farm level balanced panel data for 19 years (1996-2014) with 1463 observations from farms specialized in grain production. We applied the ‘true' fixed effect stochastic frontier model to estimate region level efficiency and source of productivity changes. The result of the analysis shows that there has been a productivity improvement in the sector, and technical change has had the main source of productivity change.

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The sugarcane industry is the third largest user of pesticides in Malawi. Our aim with this study was to document pesticide use and handling practices that influence pesticide exposure among sugarcane farmers in Malawi. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 55 purposively selected sugarcane farmers and 7 key informants representing 1474 farmers in Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota and Chikwawa Districts in Malawi. Our results indicate that herbicides and insecticides were widely used. Fifteen moderately and one extremely hazardous pesticide, based on World Health Organization (WHO) classification, were in use. Several of these pesticides: ametryn, acetochlor, monosodium methylarsonate and profenofos are not approved in the European Union because of their toxicity to terrestrial and aquatic life, and/or persistence in water and soil. Farmers (95%) knew that pesticides could enter the human body through the skin, nose (53%) and mouth (42%). They knew that pesticide runoff (80%) and leaching (100%) lead to contamination of water wells. However, this knowledge was not enough to motivate them to take precautionary measures to reduce pesticide exposure. Farmers (78%) had experienced skin irritation, 67% had headache, coughing and running nose during pesticide handling. Measures are in place to reduce pesticide exposure in the large estates and farms operated by farmer associations. Smallholder farmers acting independently do not have the resources and capacity to minimize their exposure to pesticides. There is need to put in place pesticide residue monitoring programs and farmer education on commercial sugarcane production and safe pesticide use as ways of reducing pesticide exposure.

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Here we assess the impact of geographically dependent (latitude, longitude, and altitude) changes in bioclimatic (temperature, precipitation, and primary productivity) variability on fungal fruiting phenology across Europe. Two main nutritional guilds of fungi, saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal, were further separated into spring and autumn fruiters. We used a path analysis to investigate how biogeographic patterns in fungal fruiting phenology coincided with seasonal changes in climate and primary production. Across central to northern Europe, mean fruiting varied by approximately 25 d, primarily with latitude. Altitude affected fruiting by up to 30 d, with spring delays and autumnal accelerations. Fruiting was as much explained by the effects of bioclimatic variability as by their large‐scale spatial patterns. Temperature drove fruiting of autumnal ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic groups as well as spring saprotrophic groups, while primary production and precipitation were major drivers for spring‐fruiting ectomycorrhizal fungi. Species‐specific phenology predictors were not stable, instead deviating from the overall mean. There is significant likelihood that further climatic change, especially in temperature, will impact fungal phenology patterns at large spatial scales. The ecological implications are diverse, potentially affecting food webs (asynchrony), nutrient cycling and the timing of nutrient availability in ecosystems.