Colonization of experimentally arranged resource patches - a case study of fungivorous beetles

The study focuses on a colonization experiment of beetles, using sporocarps of tinder fungus Fomes fomentarius. Initially, a mapping of all sporocarps of F. fomentarius and its inhabitants was made in a 225 ha area of boreal forest in southern Norway (control dataset). 62% of the sporocarps contained one or more beetle individuals. Experimental sporocarps were then placed out for three years, collected and dissected. 21% of these were colonized. The comparison between control and experiment showed that species assemblages were rather similar. Successful between-tree colonization and reproduction in experimental sporocarps by the darkling beetle Bolitophagus reticulatus was observed. Cis jacquemartii colonized 14% of the experimental sporocarps, and there was no effect of distance from known dispersal sources on colonization for this species. This indicates that C. jacquemartii was well able to locate and colonize new substrate within the scale covered in the study

Hazard and risk assessment for early phase road planning in Norway

publishedVersio

The identity factor in Chinese Europe policies: China’s European quest for ontological security

This thesis contends that Chinese ontological security seeking is an overlooked aspect in China-Europe relations, but that several political actions are difficult to explain without accounting for this factor. Whilst the role of the identity factor in Chinese foreign policies towards other great powers has been thoroughly analysed, the literature has yet to address how it shapes China’s policies towards Europe. This omission is puzzling, given that Europe was a key actor shaping the identity crisis of the Chinese polity after the fall of the Qing dynasty. In addressing this scholarly gap, this thesis has thus sought to answer the question of ‘how does Europe matter for Chinese identity, and how does identity matter for China’s current-day policies towards Europe?’ This question has been approached through a two-pronged research strategy, combining a section of historical diachronic analysis with a section of contemporary synchronic analysis. The diachronic section investigates the Chinese view of Europe from the Opium Wars onwards, through a discourse analysis of political textual monuments from four key eras of ontological security seeking: The efforts at reforming the empire during the Self-Strengthening Movement (1861–1872); the Early Republic Era (1910–1915), with its attempts to realize a new republican state; the early days of the Chinese Communist Party’s New China (1945–1955); and the time around Deng Xiaoping’s reforms (1975–1990). The analysis demonstrates how the Chinese idea of Europe was intimately connected to these fundamental changes in China’s political identity, as Europe moved from being regarded as barbaric, to a political lodestar, to a battleground for Communism, and finally to a role as a fundamentally separate civilization in a multipolar world. The synchronic section proceeds to investigate the degree to which this Chinese view of Europe has been a factor in contemporary Sino-European relations, centring on three cases: the political crisis regarding EU’s embargo on arms sales (2003–2006); the fallout with China’s European partners following incidents in 2007 and 2008; and the diplomatic boycotts of the UK and Norway (2010–2016). Analysing these cases through a three-layered approach based on ontological security theory, the empirical argument of this thesis is that the Chinese discourses of Europe, emphasizing ritualized civilizational recognition, shaped a particular range of Chinese policy choices, that cannot be explained through models based on economic or geopolitical rationality. The thesis also argues that the case of China is salient for exploring aspects of ontological security that until now have been under-theorized. By expanding the theoretical framework to include key Chinese concepts, the analysis contributes both to ontological security theory building, and a better understanding of the identity factor in Chinese foreign policies in general

Do conservation measures in forest work? A comparison of three area-based conservation tools for wood-living species in boreal forests

Loss of natural forests and decline in forest biodiversity has led to several policy initiatives in recent years. Despite this, the importance of smaller set-asides vs forest reserves for conservation measures is poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the importance of three different area-based conservation mea- sures commonly used in north-European forests; retention patches, woodland key habitats and forest nature reserves. We did this for two contrasting ecological systems; fungi in late-decay spruce logs and beetles in early-decay aspen snags. Eight replicated sites for each of the three conservation measures were investigated in a total of four boreal forest landscapes in south-Norway. Fungi were surveyed on existent late-decay spruce logs in two landscapes, and beetles trapped on experimentally added aspen dead-wood units in three land- scapes. Richness and species composition were analyzed separately for specialist and generalist species. We found larger differences in species composition between conservation measures for old-growth fungi specialists than generalists, although species richness patterns were less clear. The main contrast was found between nature reserves and retention patches. On the other hand, specialist beetles associ- ated with early-decay aspen showed no difference between set-asides. The assemblage of aspen gener- alist beetles tended to be richest in the woodland key habitats and showed clear differences between the conservation measures. There was considerable variation in response to conservation measures between landscapes, related to quality of the set-asides. Species specialized to an ephemeral, early-decay system were able to utilize such substrates in all of the conservation measures, while the smaller and more modified set-asides could not cater for the spe- cialists dependent on stable, late-decay systems. Species with broader habitat demands in general responded to all conservation measures. We conclude that retention patches, woodland key habitats and forest reserves fill complementary functions for wood-living species in boreal forest and should all be part of future forest conservation strategiespublishedVersio

Insect assemblage associated with the polypore Fomitopsis pinicola: a comparison across Fennoscandia

We compiled the data on the insect assemblage occurring within the polypore Fomitopsis pinicola from six regions in Finland, Sweden and Norway. The species composition and diversity of the primary fungivorous beetles (Cisidae and Anobidae) were similar across Fennoscandia. The beetles Cis glabratus Mellié (Cisidae) and C. quadridens Mellié were the most frequent species occurring in 70% and 23% of the fruiting bodies on average. Sulcacis fronticornis (Panzer) and Ennearthron cornutum (Gyllenhal) were relatively common in southern Sweden, while absent from the study regions in Norway and Finland. Similarly, Cis bidentatus (Olivier) and Cis dentatus Mellié were rather common inNorway, but almost absent from the Finnish samples. Species relative abundances in the six study regions exhibit more variation, which to some extent corresponds the biogeographical zones. Our results on the high similarity in species composition indicate deterministic nature of the F. pinicola-associated insect assemblage over large spatial scales. On the other hand, climatic factors probably have an impact on the relative abundance of species

Moth species richness and diversity decline in a 30‑year time series in Norway, irrespective of species’ latitudinal range extent and habitat

Introduction Insects are reported to be in decline around the globe, but long-term datasets are rare. The causes of these trends are elusive, with changes in land use and climate among the top candidates. Yet if species traits can predict rates of population change, this can help identify underlying mechanisms. If climate change is important, for example, high-latitude species may decline as temperate species expand. Land use changes, however, may impact species that rely on certain habitats. Aims and methods We present 30 years of moth captures (comprising 97,032 individuals of 808 species) from a site in southeast Norway to test for population trends that are correlated with species traits. We use time series analyses and joint species distribution models combined with local climate and habitat data. Results and discussion Species richness declined by 8.2% per decade and total abundance appeared to decline as well (−9.4%, p = 0.14) but inter-annual variability was high. One-fifth of species declined, although 6% increased. Winter and summer weather were correlated with annual rates of abundance change for many species. Opposite to general expectation, many species responded negatively to higher summer and winter temperatures. Surprisingly, species’ northern range limits and the habitat in which their food plants grew were not strong predictors of their time trends or their responses to climatic variation. Complex and indirect effects of both land use and climate change may play a role in these declines. Implications for insect conservation Our results provide additional evidence for long-term declines in insect abundance. The multifaceted causes of population changes may limit the ability of species traits to reveal which species are most at risk.publishedVersio

Veteran trees in decline: Stratified national monitoring of oaks in Norway

Old veteran trees function as biodiversity hotspots in both forests and open landscapes, and protecting such trees is an important measure to halt loss of biodiversity. Nevertheless, the number of veteran trees continues to decline worldwide, although estimates of this decline mainly stem from geographically restricted case studies. In Norway, veteran oak trees have received special protection since 2011 through the Norwegian Biodiversity Act, however, there is a lack of knowledge on status and trends for these trees. A national monitoring program was started in 2012, using a random, stratified sampling procedure. We use the data from the baseline survey and the first monitoring revisit to estimate the total number as well as mortality trends of veteran oaks in Norway. Further, we assess recruitment potential (in the baseline survey) and changes in variables describing ecological state such as regrowth. The monitoring area covered the geographical distribution of oaks in Norway and was divided into > 200 000 plots of 500 × 500 m. A set of 500 monitoring plots were randomly selected from two strata: High probability plots (n = 100; plots with high probability of occurrence of veteran oaks), and Low probability plots (n = 400), using existing knowledge and databases. Plots were surveyed over a five year-period (2012–2016), with 20 HighProb-plots and 80 LowProb-plots each year. All veteran oaks that were observed during the baseline survey were revisited in 2019, three to seven years after they were initially registered. Tree absence and cause of death/ change of ecological status was recorded. We estimated a total of 138 100 veteran oaks in Norway based on the baseline survey, of which 25 000 could be denoted “top quality oaks”. Based on the revisit, we estimated a loss of 7 600 veteran trees, i.e., an annual mortality rate of 1.2%. Recruitment oaks were present in most plots with veteran oaks, but recruitment into the veteran oak category is slow and unlikely to balance out the mortality rate. More precise estimates of recruitment should be prioritized in future monitoring. The estimate of 138 000 veteran oaks far exceeds the appr. 10 000 trees registered in the national database, and clearly demonstrates the need for continued mapping and monitoring to improve the foundation for a knowledge-based land management. Further, this short-term monitoring demonstrates the decline of this biodiversity hotspot and pivotal source of ecosystem functions, despite increased protection in recent years. Our results and conclusions are relevant also for veteran trees of other species than oak. Quercus Ancient tree Tree inventory Monitoring Annual decline Biodiversity hotspot Heritage treespublishedVersio