98024 research outputs found
Sort by
Volume growth responses of Scots pine and Norway spruce to nitrogen fertilization: quantitative synthesis of fertilization experiments in Finland
Full text linkThe effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization on tree growth have been studied widely in boreal forests in Finland, but a quantitative synthesis is still lacking. We performed a quantitative synthesis on volume growth responses to N fertilization in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands in experiments established on mineral soils across Finland. Our study employed findings of 9 published studies including 108 Scots pine and 57 Norway spruce observations covering a wide range of N fertilization treatments, as well as forest stand- and climatic conditions. Based on these observations, we built linear mixed models to describe the N fertilization-induced annual volume growth response of Scots pine and Norway spruce stands. Our models showed that the N dose was the best predictor for volume growth response, and the growth response increased linearly with increasing N dose for both tree species. The volume growth responses also increased along with an increase in mean annual precipitation. The annual volume growth response decreased with the time since fertilization. For Scots pine, the best model also contained site fertility; increase in site fertility increased the volume growth response. These findings emphasize the need for site-specific precision fertilization schemes to sustainably improve growth and carbon sequestration of boreal forests
Site‐specific effects of fertilizer on hay and grain yields of oats: evidence from large‐scale field experiments
Full text linkBACKGROUND
Oat (Avena sativa L.) is a valuable crop due to its strong adaptability to marginal environments, making it an important component of agricultural systems in regions where other cereals may not thrive. The application of chemical fertilizer can influence oat hay and grain yield significantly. However, large-scale meta-analytical studies of the size and variability of oat hay and grain yields in response to fertilizer addition are still lacking. Based on 83 studies worldwide, this meta-analysis quantifies the impact of the addition of fertilizer on oat hay and grain yields under varying environmental conditions (e.g., soil nutrient levels, texture, and climate).
RESULTS
The results confirmed that the fertilizer application increased oat hay yield by 48.9% and grain yield by 36.2%. This study demonstrated that balanced fertilization with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium generally enhances oat hay and grain yield despite large temporal and spatial variations. Boosted regression tree (BRT) models suggest that changes in hay and grain yield were primarily dominated by soil pH and nitrogen fertilizer. The response ratio (the natural logarithm of the mean values of hay yield or grain yield with and without fertilization, respectively) of hay yield declined linearly with soil pH. Elevation was the second most important factor affecting the change in response ratio of hay yield and the third most important factor affecting the change in response ratio of grain yield but climatic conditions were not the dominant factors affecting changes in oat hay or grain yield.
CONCLUSION
Overall, these results will benefit producers considering site-specific fertilization management of oat. They could increase yields and save investment in fertilizer, and help to facilitate the genetic breeding of oat varieties with high nutrient use efficiency.202
Enabled to eat more plant proteins? Capabilities, opportunities, and motivations related to increasing pulse and pulse-based product consumption across consumer groups
Full text linkReplacing even part of dietary red meat with plant proteins, such as pulses, is associated with better environmental and human health. Despite this, meat consumption is still popular while plant proteins are underconsumed in the Western world, especially among certain consumer groups. In this paper, our objective was to examine to what extent 15 different enablers would advance the consumption of pulses and pulse-based products (PBPs) across different genders, age groups, education levels, perceived financial situations, and red meat-eating frequencies. A survey was conducted among Finnish adults aged 18–75 years (n = 1000). The main analysis technique was multivariable linear regression. The Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior (COMsingle bondB) model was applied in discussing the results. The most important enablers for increasing pulse and PBP consumption were better taste, lower price, and having recipes and ideas for use provided, which represent motivation, opportunity, and capability in the COM-B model. In general, women, the young, and respondents with less frequent red meat consumption perceived the enablers could increase their pulse and PBP consumption more than men, older respondents, and those with frequent red meat consumption. Additionally, the effects of age, financial situation, and red meat consumption frequency on the perceived importance of some of the enablers varied between women and men. Taken together, consumer groups differed in the importance of all three COM-B elements. These results can be used to promote plant-based eating among different consumer groups and allow the design of increasingly targeted interventions
Population dynamics of the social wasps, Vespula vulgaris and Dolichovespula media (Vespidae), in Finland
Full text link1. Puna-apilan viljely puhdaskasvustona ja apila-heinäkasviseoksissa eri typpilannoitustasoilla
No full textCurrent policies for promoting neglected and underutilized crop species in Burkina Faso and Niger
Full text linkGreater use of agrobiodiversity and especially neglected and underutilized species (NUS) like amaranth, Bambara groundnut, cassava, fabirama, okra, moringa, Guinea sorrel, or sweet potato can tackle climate change and food insecurity, and build food sovereignty. The role of NUS in policies and strategies in Burkina Faso and Niger has not been studied earlier. This study uses a mixed method where analysis of current policies, an online survey and workshops with stakeholders were combined. It gives an overview on policies on different sectors and helps to explore options for enhancing the efficiency of incentives aimed at promoting the use of NUS. The contribution of the policies and strategies (44 documents of the 96 identified) to the promotion of NUS and agrobiodiversity was analyzed. They generally recognize the importance of agroecological practices and biodiversity, and thus support the promotion of NUS. However, only 17 mention NUS specifically. Some texts refer to gender as a cross-cutting theme and recognize women’s primordial role in a better management of resources. Based on the findings, it is recommended to: (i) include NUS in sectoral policies; (ii) support the marketing and consumption; (iii) consider the best practices implemented in other countries to mainstream NUS in food systems
Ryhtyisinkö maatiaiskanan säilyttäjäksi?
Full text linkMaatiaiskanan säilytysohjelman tavoitteena on turvata alkuperäisen maatiaiskanan säilyminen ja ylläpitää rodun perinnöllistä monimuotoisuutta. Säilytysohjelmassa säilyttäjät ylläpitävät 10 erillistä maatiaiskanakantaa
Bio-based fertilisers can replace conventional inorganic P fertilisers under European pedoclimatic conditions
Full text linkMineable phosphorus (P) resources are finite and unevenly distributed globally. Recycling of P from different waste streams as bio-based fertilisers (BBFs) provides a viable option for closing nutrient cycles. To implement this approach effectively, it is necessary to evaluate the P fertiliser efficiency of BBFs under field conditions using a mechanistic approach that links their performance to their chemical composition. This study aimed to test to which extent BBFs can replace conventional inorganic P fertilisers under different pedoclimatic conditions. To this end, the same eight BBFs were tested in field experiments over two consecutive years at five different sites in Europe growing cereals and sunflower. Furthermore, the residual effect of the BBFs in a succeeding crop was investigated. We found that none of the tested P-BBFs resulted in significantly lower yield or total P uptake than triple superphosphate. Ammonium magnesium phosphate (struvite), dicalcium phosphate and phytate-based fertilisers performed best across all field experiments (mean mineral replacement values of 80 – 125 %). No consistent effect of soil or climatic conditions was found. Only marginal residual effects were observed, suggesting that longer trials with repeated applications are necessary to quantify residual effects. The fact that two out of five trial sites were not responsive to P fertilisation highlights the need to consider soil P status for the successful implementation of P fertiliser field trials as well as for fertilising recommendations. In conclusion, most tested BBFs have the potential to replace conventional inorganic P fertilisers across a range of European soils and climate
Marker weighting improves single-step genomic prediction reliabilities of udder health traits in Nordic Red and Jersey dairy cattle populations
No full textThe standard single-step genomic prediction model assumes that all SNP markers explain an equal amount of genetic variance, which, however, may not be true. This is because SNPs are located in or near different genes with different functions. Therefore, it seems logical to consider SNP marker-specific weights when predicting genomic breeding values. We hypothesized that allowing differences in the amount of genetic variance explained by each SNP marker will improve prediction reliability and response to selection. To investigate this hypothesis, we first developed multitrait standard single-step genomic models based on the current multitrait random regression evaluation models for udder health traits of the Nordic Red (RDC) and Jersey (JER) dairy cattle populations. The models included 4 clinical mastitis (CM) traits, 3 test-day SCS traits, and the conformation traits fore udder attachment and udder depth. In the second step, we investigated the effect of applying different SNP marker weighting scenarios in the single-step genomic prediction models, for which a single-step SNP best linear unbiased prediction model was applied. We investigated the prediction reliability of the different models by forward prediction, where the last 4 years of the data were removed to estimate breeding values for validation candidates. In addition, genetic trends of the pedigree-based estimated breeding values (PEBV) and GEBV were examined. The datasets for RDC and JER included 6.9 million and 1.2 million animals, of which 5.6 million and 0.9 million cows had records, respectively. The number of genotyped animals was 125,789 and 64,777 for RDC and JER, respectively. Cows had repeated SCS observations but only single observations for all other traits and breeding values for all traits were modeled by one covariance function. This required modeling 12 eigenvalue breeding value coefficients for each cow and developing SNP marker weights for the principal components rather than for the biological traits. We investigated 3 SNP marker weighting scenarios: (1) a nonlinear method similar to BayesA, (2) using the classical formula 2pqû2 that accounts for allele heterozygosity, and (3) applying a mean SNP weight calculated by 2pqû2 for every 20 adjacent SNP markers. Bias, dispersion, and prediction reliability were calculated using PEBV or GEBV from the evaluation based on the full dataset on those using the reduced dataset. We found that the recent favorable genetic trend in CM and SCS has been accelerated since the introduction of genomic selection. The study also shows that a significant increase in prediction reliability, i.e., 0.74 versus 0.48 for RDC and 0.72 versus 0.41 for JER cows for CM, can be achieved with a standard single-step genomic prediction model compared with a pedigree-based prediction model. Almost all scenarios with SNP marker weighting further improved the prediction reliability between 0.5% and 12.7%. The highest improvement was achieved by weighing the SNP markers based on the 2pqû2 formula