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The purpose of my thesis was to portray the contemporary flea markets as a phenomenon. I examined flea markets by using three themes, relationship to products, cleanliness and the flea market tourism. The emipirical part of the thesis consisted of 11 interviews that covered all three themes and of observations made at flea markets. Interviewees were found through an ad posted at flea market Valtteri at the Vallila storehouses. Furthermore, I also found intervieewes when I had my own stall at flea market Valtteri on 15th November 2008. I wrote summaries of the interviews and analysed the information by themes. The relation to used goods and clothing is not unambiguous. At flea markets, products evoke personal memories. Sometimes the buyer does not even want to know the history of the item. Associating background information with the item can hinder the creation of personal connection with the item and thus complicate custody. Old or used products also create a sense of nostalgia. The most important thing is not necessarily the product itself or its history, but rather a personal nostalgic memory that is created. Cleaning used goods and clothes is a ritual-like procedure, through which custody of the product is taken. The aim of the cleaning ritual is to cut the bond between the product and its previous owners. According to my findings, especially the elderly may be suspicious about the cleanliness of flea markets. However, feelings of disgust, previously associated with flea markets, do no longer exist. It is very difficult to define and measure cleanliness despite civilization and public standardsystem. According to my findings, people gladly browse through flea markets in their spare time. A flea market tourist perceives the environment, the people and the flea market culture, which may differ from the conventional culture. At flea markets, the flea market tourist also meets his or her fellowmen. Although conversing and socialising at flea markets is often relaxed, the throng can aggravate tourists spending time at the flea market. In addition, spending time at flea markets meets the criterion of shopping, hence it can be difficult to leave without a “souvenir”.

There are several reasons for increasing the usage of forest biomass for energy in Finland. Apart from the fact that forest biomass is a CO2 -neutral energy source, it is also a domestic resource distributed throughout the country. Usage of forest biomass in the form of logging residues decreases Finland’s dependence of energy import and increases both incomes and employment. Wood chips are mainly made from logging residues, which constitute 64 % of the raw material. A large-scale use of forest biomass requires heed also to the potential negative aspects. Forest bioenergy is used extensively, but its impacts on the forests soil nutrition and carbon balance has not been studied much. Nor have there been many studies on the heavy metal or chlorine content of logging residues. The goal of this study was to examine the content of carbon, macronutrients, heavy metals and other for the combustion harmful substances in Scots pine and Norway spruce wood chips, and to estimate the effect of harvesting of logging residues on the forests carbon and nutrient balance. Another goal was to examine the energy content of the clear cut remains. The Wood chips for this study were gathered from pine and spruce dominated clear cut sites in southern Finland, in the costal forests between Hankoo and Siuntio. The number of sample locations were 29, and the average area was 3,15 ha and the average timber volume 212,6 m3 ha -1. The average logged timber volume was for Scots pine timber 70 m3 ha -1 and for Norway spruce timber 124 m3 ha -1 and for deciduous timber (birch and alder) 18,5 m3 ha -1. The proportion of spruce in the logging residues and the stand-volume were relevant for how much nutrients were taken from the forest ecosystem when harvesting logging residues. In this study it was noted that the nutrient content of the logging residues clearly increased when the percentage of spruce in the timber volume increased. The S, K, Na and Cl -contents in the logging residues in this study increased with an increasing percentage of spruce, which is probably due to the fact that the spruce is an effective collector of atmospheric dry-deposition. The amounts of nutrients that were lost when harvesting logging residues were less than those referred to in the literature. Within a circulation period (100 years), the forest soil gets substantially more nutrients from atmospheric deposition, litter fall and weathering than is lost through harvesting of logging residues after a clear cut. Harvesting of the logging residues makes for a relatively modest increase of the quantity of carbon that is removed from the forest compared to traditional forestry. Due to the fact that the clear cut remains in my study showed a high content of chlorine, there is a risk of corrosion in connection to the incineration of the logging residues in power plants especially at coastal areas/forests. The risk of sulphur -related corrosion is probably rather small, because S concentrations are relatively low in woodchips. The clear cut remains showed rather high heavy metal contents. If the heavy metal contents in this study are representative for the clear cut remains in the coastal forests generally, there might be reason to exert some caution when using the ash for forest fertilizing purposes.

Increasing crop yield is one of the objectives of plant breeding to turnip rape (Brassica rapa subsp. oleifera), which could be achieved with hybrid breeding method. Most promising method for turnip rape is the Ogu-INRA cms / Rf hybrid seed production method, which transferred from Japanese radish (Raphanus sativus) to rapeseed (Brassica napus subsp. oleifera). The hybrid breeding method for turnip rape still lacks a fertility restorer paternal line and solution has been sought through interspecific crosses between turnip rape and rapeseed. Turnip rape, rapeseed and radish contain similar regions in their genetic material, which allows the transfer of radish’s fertil-ity restoring PPR-gene region from rapeseed to turnip rape. The aim of this Master’s thesis was to develop an SNP-tool for the identification of R9 chromo-some regions and using SNP-tool to identify turnip rape F1 hybrid offsprings, which have fertility restoring PPR-B gene region, integrated from radish extra chromosome into the turnip rape ge-nome. Earlier in the project PPR-gene was located to the R9 chromosome with BAC64-clone, therefore work focused solely on identifying R9 chromosome regions. For the development of the SNP-tool, objective was to search for a database and select species-specific SNP-markers with in silico-method. B.rapa databases were selected for the work and SNP-markers species specificity tested in the laboratory. The developed SNP-tool consisted of species-specific 28 radish SNP-markers and 48 turnip rape SNP-markers. The results showed amplification of four radish SNP-markers in fertile indi-viduals of turnip rape offspring, which located closest to the PPR-B gene region that restores fertility on the R9 chromosome. However, the SNP-tool could not determine whether integration occurred in fertile individuals of F1 hybrid offsprings, or whether the fertility restoring PPR-B gene region was unintegrated radish chromosome, as all SNP-tools turnip rape SNP-markers am-plified in the turnip rape offsprings. The SNP tool cannot be utilized to develop turnip rape hybrid breeding method, because screening of integration would done to turnip rape F1 hybrids. In fertile individuals amplificated radish SNP-markers could be used as DNA selection markers to identify the individuals with the PPR-B gene region, that restores fertility in F1 hybrids. In addition, the SNP-tool revealed, that the excess of extra radish chromosome is not complete in the genome. This research is part of a research project of the development of a hybrid breeding method for turnip rape, which is studying the utilization of cross breeding between closely related plant spe-cies in the breeding to turnip rape in cooperation with Boreal Plant Breeding Ltd.

The essential role of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) in mitigating further climate warming, alongside substantial emission reductions, is undeniable. However, the actions to remove carbon dioxide are not without consequences, necessitating the integration of external costs into decision-making processes based on cost-efficiency. Previous literature has dominantly focused on the private costs associated with carbon dioxide removal, excluding external costs and their impact on society. The objective of this thesis was to identify the Negative Emission Technologies and Practices (NETPs) that yield the lowest social costs, thereby providing insights into which NETPs should be prioritized for investments in CDR. This evaluation was conducted by developing a Social Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (SMACC) framework, to examine the potentials and social costs of various NETPs. The year under analysis was 2050, the target year for the European Union to achieve net-zero emissions. Results of a comprehensive life-cycle analysis, including impacts on human health and ecosystems, were monetized to establish external costs for each NETP. These external costs were subsequently incorporated with private costs, gathered from existing literature. The final step involved combining these social costs with NETPs’ removal potentials to construct the SMACC curve. The SMACC identified the most feasible NETPs as Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) with combustion technology, Direct Air Capture and Storage (DACCS) with High-Temperature Solid-Sorbent technology, and Enhanced Weathering. The study found that each impact category had a considerably different impact on the SMACC results, with human health impacts and ecosystem impacts providing distinct insights. The socially optimal prioritization was proved to be significantly different from cost-effective prioritization, indicating the importance of incorporating external costs into the analysis. As key conclusions, the policies applied to NETPs necessitate careful application to avoid supporting the implementation of NETPs associated with high negative externalities. Furthermore, to achieve optimal outcomes across the globe, the SMACC necessitates careful consideration of the characteristics of each region where the NETPs are to be implemented. The thesis recommends further research on the economic valuation of LCA results.

Aquaculture production has enabled the considerably increased consumption of fish for the past decades. While fish is a good source of nutrition, its production is causing negative externalities for instance in a form of eutrophicating nutrient releases. These are attempted to diminish by regulation which has in turn enhanced the stagnation of the aquaculture sector in the EU. Most of the production is currently performed in marine net cages but to harness the economic potential of the sector without further deteriorating the waters, new, more environmentally sustainable options are sought. Bringing the production to land-based indoor facilities with recirculating water is one plausible option. The nutrient releases from these Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) are significantly smaller as most of the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) can be purified. However, despite the efficiency perks the indoor rearing with adjustable conditions is yielding, the operation and especially the investment costs are likely to be much higher than in the prevailing cage-based production decreasing the desirability of the technology. I conducted a social cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to compare these two alternative aquaculture production technologies, net cage and RAS, from the society’s perspective. In addition to private costs, i.e., investment and production costs, the analysis takes into consideration the eutrophication damage of the released nutrients. The eutrophication damage is determined in monetary terms to make them commensurate with the other costs. For the same reason, all the costs and benefits are discounted to present values prior the comparison. The analysis has special focus on the Baltic Sea and Finland. Due to its dominance in the Finnish aquaculture production, rainbow trout was chosen as the main specie to study along whitefish as a higher value specie. To further examine the economic performance of RAS technology, pike perch production is also included. In addition, due to the uncertainties regarding the cost factors and developing technology, I present a comprehensive sensitivity analysis regarding the discount rate, investment costs of RAS, producer price, and eutrophication damage valuation. When it comes to large scale production of rainbow trout, the results show higher net present value (NPV) for the net cage production. However, when the eutrophication damage costs are taken into consideration the difference between net cage and RAS production decreases. RAS technology seems to be highly profitable in whitefish production, implying that is economically sensible to focus on higher value species. Under the strict environmental legislation regarding the Weser ruling of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) activities preventing or hindering to reach the good environmental status waters cannot be allowed. As this can also cause denial of permits for RAS production and further decreasing the distinctive nutrient load of the net cage aquaculture is a challenge considering the economic and technological restrictions, one solution could be offsetting the nutrient load. Gypsum amendment of fields has been found to be a cost-effective measure in preventing phosphorus releases; thus, the initial analysis is extended to include onetime nutrient offsets from farmers. According to the results, it is sensible offsetting measure as the environmental benefits from offsetting are higher than the costs of doing so under net cage production and at the same level under RAS production. The current environmental regulation is affecting hardest on the point sources such as aquaculture farms. This is felt unfair by the fish farmers. To shed light on the issue, another social CBA examines the social net benefits of beef and cultured meat production and compares the NPVs with rainbow trout farming under net cage and RAS technologies. The analysis is conducted with respect to produced protein to make the alternative food sources commensurate. In addition to private costs and eutrophication damage costs of nutrients, it also includes the atmospheric damage costs of carbon dioxide emissions. The results show clear superiority of aquaculture as a protein producer. The thesis concludes that due to the efficiency of aquaculture in producing protein and its potential in the blue growth sector, it is definitely reasonable to seek sustainable ways to produce fish. While net cage technology is currently the best option for large scale aquaculture, RAS has potential on the niche market of higher value species. The technological development has tendency to decrease the costs related to the necessary equipment and if the technology is to overcome its other uncertainties, it may have an important role in the future. Nevertheless, the environmental regulation ought to be adjusted to enable the blue growth in an environmentally and financially sustainable manner.

Background: Different protein sources can have a major impact on not only our health, but also on the environment. We also know that dietary habits learned in early childhood often carry into adulthood. A novel way to examine dietary and purchase behaviour is using loyalty card data. This thesis utilises loyalty card complied by the LoCard research group from Finland’s largest grocery chain (S-group) in assessing the protein source purchases made by Finnish families with children in 2018. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to examine what protein sources Finnish families with chil- dren purchase, and to assess whether relationships exist between different sociodemographic factors and protein source purchases, as well as the amount of money used on food purchases overall in 2018. Methods: This study utilised data from the LoCard data set which included food purchase data, as well as information on sociodemographic factors obtained from a background questionnaire. Inclusion criteria stated that self-assessed loyalty score (to S-group stores) had to be >60% to be included into this study, and the main study population could only include families with at least 1 child under 7-years of age. Overall, 7807 participants’ purchase data was received from LoCard, with 3904 being households with young children, and 3903 being control households. The statistical analysis methods utilised in this thesis study included linear regression analyses, as well as the independent samples Mann-Whitney U-test and chi-squared test. Results: Statistically significant findings included the following; Finnish families with small children had a larger share of their total protein purchases coming from dairy (30.4% of total protein), red meat (16.9%), and infant formula (0.3%), but less from plant-based protein sources (2%) compared to the control group (2.5%). In terms of sociodemographic factors, increase in household size, age and being employed were associated with increased proportion of protein from red meat purchases. Increase in educational level was associated with less protein from red meat purchases. For poultry, increase in age was associated with decreased protein from purchases. For plant-based protein sources, having an undergraduate degree or higher level of education, as well as being unemployed were associated with increased proportion of protein from purchases. Being in the highest income category and increase in age and household size were associated with decreased protein from plant-based protein source purchases. For protein coming from fish, increase in income category as well as age and having a graduate degree were associated with increased proportion of protein. Increase in household size and being employed were associated with decreased protein proportions. In terms of the money used on all food purchases, families with small children spent less money, as well as those with graduate degrees. Increase in income category, as well as in age and household size were associated with more money spent on food purchases. Conclusions: The main protein sources purchased by Finnish families with small children were dairy and red meat. Fish and plant-based protein source purchases were relatively low. Existing research is well in line with the findings of this thesis. More work needs to be done to shift diets of families with small children to adhere to the dietary guidelines more closely. Future LoCard research should include specific ages of other household members in the background questionnaire, as well as work on acquiring purchase data from other grocery chains.

Consumers have rated meat tenderness as one of the most important quality of the meat and they are ready to pay more for tender than tough meat. All tenderization methods have effect on meat myofibrillar structures and/or meat collagen. During tenderization myofibrillar structures fragmentate and collagen changes more soluble. According to earlier studies soy sauce contains enzymes which have proteinase activities. These enzymes are the metabolites of Aspergillus moulds which are added to soy sauce in the beginning of its fermentation process. The aim of this study was to examine if used soy sauces have tenderization effects on meat. Effects of soy sauces were tested by treating beef top loin slices with five different marinades. Marinades included two different soy sauces in two different concentrations. There was also one control marinade with salt and water. The measurements used in the study were pH, MFI (myofibrillar fragmentation index), percentage of soluble collagen of total collagen, cooking loss, loss during marinating and sensory evaluation. In sensory evaluation panellists evaluated meat tenderness, juiciness and taste with a 9-point scale. Percentage of soluble collagen of total collagen did not variate between treatments. Trend was that solubility increased in all but not in control samples when marinating time became longer. MFI values were slightly different between samples which were treated with different marinades. Based on the results of this thesis, soy sauce can be used in marinades for the purpose of tenderizing meat. Soy sauce included marinade does not have effect on taste and juiciness of the meat. Meat tenderness correlated positively with MFI value. There was also a positive correlation between meat tenderness and juiciness. MFI explained 28 % of the meat tenderness.

Soil rutting in forest operations is a critical phenomenon, characterized by depressions or tracks on the forest floor, often caused by heavy machinery use such as logging equipment. These disturbances can have profound impacts on forest health and ecosystem integrity, disrupting soil structure, compacting soil layers, and altering drainage patterns. Consequently, soil erosion may occur, leading to the loss of topsoil, nutrient depletion, and reduced soil fertility, ultimately affecting forest vegetation growth and vitality, while also posing aesthetic concerns. This study aims to explore the relationship between soil rutting and various influencing factors by utilizing Random Forest machine learning model to predict soil rut severity based on these predictors within forest stands across Finland. Encompassing 40 forest stands comprising 420 sample plots and 425 rut measurement points, the study aims to produce soil rut susceptibility maps to aid forest managers and stakeholders in identifying high-risk areas and implementing targeted mitigation strategies. The study seeks to understand the dynamic relationship between soil rutting and its controlling factors, while also determining the most influential contributors to severity of rut in forest operations in both mineral soils and peatland forest stands. The rut severity index (RSI) which was defined as the number of rut occurrences exceeding 10 cm in depth within a 30m width measurement area, served as our main target for prediction. The findings indicate that tree volume in mineral soils and aspect in peatlands are the most important variables explaining rut occurrences. Furthermore, disparities in susceptibility to soil rutting are observed among different soil types, particularly between mineral soils and peatlands. The Random Forest predictive models showed better performances in mineral forest stands than in peatland stands, with their ability to predict approximately 72% of the variability in rut severity index in mineral soils and 26% in their counterparts. Accuracy assessment was conducted using the Mean Squared Error (MSE), a measure of the average squared difference between predicted and actual rut severity values. A lower MSE indicates a closer alignment between predictions and actual values. Our study found that the Random Forest model achieved a MSE of 0.839 for mineral soils, indicating more precise predictions compared to peatlands, which exhibited a higher MSE of 25.341. This study underscores the importance of comprehending the interplay between soil rutting and its controlling factors for sustainable forest management, as well as the application of machine learning techniques, providing robust capabilities for future research, enabling more accurate predictions and informed decision-making in forest management practices.

Tutkimukseni tavoite ja teoreettinen viitekehys on kolmiosainen. Ensimmäinen tavoite on taustoittaa kotimaisen sokerin tuotantoa esittäen niin perustiedot sokerijuurikkaan viljelystä kuin myös kotimaisen sokerintuotannon murrokseen johtaneista syistä. Toinen tavoite on esittää sokerijuurikkaan tuotantofunktioanalyysiin liittyvät keskeisimmät tuotantoteoreettiset pääperiaatteet. Kolmas tavoite on määrittää Sokerijuurikkaan Tutkimuskeskuksen vuosina 2013–2016 keräämistä typpiporraskoetuloksista sokerijuurikkaan taloudellisesti optimaaliset typpilannoitus- ja satotasot. Lopuksi taloudellisesti optimaalisista typpilannoitus- ja satotasoista johdetaan sokerijuurikkaan typpilannoituksen katetuottolaskelma hintasuhteen ja laskennallisen sokeripitoisuuden mukaan määritettynä. Tutkimukseni tuotantoteoriaosassa tarkastellaan typpilannoitepanoksen vaikutusta sokerijuurikkaan juurisadon tuotantoon. Tarkastelu rajataan käsittämään vain muuttuvan typpilannoitepanoksen tuotantovaikutusta. Voitonmaksimointiongelma rajataan käsittämään typpilannoitepanoksen ja sokerijuurikkaan juurisadon tapaus panospuolelta ratkaistuna. Ekonometrian teoriaosassa tarkastellaan pienimmän neliösumman menetelmää (OLS), joka on yksi yleisimmin käytetty menetelmä ekonometrisen mallin estimoimiseksi. Lisäksi tarkastellaan kriteereitä, joita OLS-estimaattoreiden tulee teoreettisesti täyttää. Kriteerien tarkastelu johtaa myös painotetun pienimmän neliösumman menetelmän (WLS) hyödyntämiseen, koska virhetermeissä havaittiin heteroskedastisuutta. Tutkimustulosten tarkastelu osoittaa, että kvadraattifunktioon perustuvat sokerijuurikkaan juurisadon tuotantofunktiomallit OLS-menetelmällä estimoituna kuvaavat juurisadon tuotantofunktiota huomattavasti paremmin kuin neliöjuurifunktioon perustuvat mallit. Tuotantofunktiomalleissa hyödynnetään dummy-muuttujia typpilannoitustavan, vuosivaihtelun ja paikkavaihtelun huomioimiseksi. Dummy-muuttujien perusteella todetaan jaetun lannoituksen tuottavan sokerijuurikkaan sadonlisän. Siirryttäessä OLS-menetelmästä WLS-menetelmään vuosivaihtelua kuvaavien dummy-muuttujien tilastollinen merkitsevyys juurisadon tuotantofunktiomalleissa korostuu. WLS-menetelmällä parhaan mallisovitteen (A2) biologiseksi typpioptimiksi saadaan 204 kg typpeä hehtaarille ja biologiseksi sato-optimiksi 49 235 kg hehtaarilta. Saman mallin taloudelliseksi typpioptimiksi saadaan hintasuhteista riippuen 97‒154 kg typpeä hehtaarille ja sato-optimiksi 45 408‒48 399 kg hehtaarilta. Samasta mallista johdetusta sokerijuurikkaan typpilannoituksen katetuottolaskelmasta havaitaan, että sokerijuurikkaan hehtaarikate nousee keskiarvolta 136 tai 142 euroa laskennallisen sokeripitoisuuden noustessa prosentilla hintasuhteesta riippuen. Typpilannoitepanoksen taloudellisesti optimaalinen käyttö kasvaa hintasuhteesta riippuen 2–9 kg/ha laskennallisen sokeripitoisuuden noustessa prosentilla. Teoreettisesti tarkasteltuna todetaan, että sokerijuurikkaan hinnan noustessa sokeripitoisuuden kasvaessa panoskäytön intensiivisyyttä kannattaa lisätä.

Kuluttajat ovat yhä kiinnostuneempia terveydestään ja hyvinvoinnistaan ja tämä kehityssuunta näkyy myös kasvavana kiinnostuksena sokerin kulutuksen vähentämiseen. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää sokeria välttävien kuluttajien sokerin välttämiseen ja erilaisiin makeutustapoihin liittämiä merkityksiä. Tutkimuksen viitekehyksen muodostavat kirjallisuus kulutuksen merkitysten rakentumisesta, ruoan kulutuksen merkityksistä sekä ruokaan liittyvistä vastakkainasetteluista. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena ja tutkimusmenetelmänä toimi teemahaastattelut. Aineisto koostui 11 sokeria välttävän kuluttajan haastattelusta. Aineisto analysoitiin teoriaohjaavaa laadullista sisällönanalyysiä käyttäen. Sokerin välttämiseen sekä makeutustapoihin liittyviä merkityksiä löytyi monia. Tutkimuksen perusteella sokerin välttämiseen yhdistettäviä merkityksiä ovat: 1) terveys, 2) elämäntapa, 3) vaivannäkö – vaivattomuus, 4) luottamus ja 5) sosiaalinen. Makeutustapojen merkityksissä esiin nousivat 1) luonnollisuus ja 2) turvallisuus. Tutkimus osoitti, että sokerin välttämisen tärkeimmät motiivit löytyvät terveys- ja elämäntapamerkityksistä. Vaivannäkö – vaivattomuus ja luottamus merkitykset olivat vahvasti yhteydessä toisiinsa ja liittyivät sokerin välttämisen toteuttamiseen käytännössä. Sosiaalinen merkitys liittyi sokerin sallimiseen tai välttämiseen sosiaalisissa tilanteissa, ja sokerin sallivuuteen vaikutti erityisesti juhlapyhät sekä muut merkkipäivät. Sokerin välttämiseen voidaan tämän tutkimuksen perusteella todeta liittyvän sosiaalisia normeja sekä kulttuurisia arvolatauksia. Tutkimuksessa selvisi, että terveys arvona ohjaa makeutustapojen valintaa ja liittyy vahvasti luonnollisuus sekä turvallisuus -merkitys.