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The objective of this study was to develop a method for estimation of forest stand variables and updating the forest resource data, based on a well known and widely used method among forest sector, aerial photography. The second objective was to produce information of cost-effectiveness and accuracy of digital surface model (DSM) generated from very high resolution aerial images in comparison of methods based on aerial laser scanning (ALS). The study area covering circa 2000 hectares is located in state owned forest in Hämeenlinna, Southern Finland. The study material consisted of 85 digitised and orthorectified colour-infrared (CIR) aerial photographs, LiDAR measurements of the corresponding area and field measurements of 402 concentric circular plots. Both the remote sensing data and the field measurements were acquired in 2009. In this study, the accuracy of DSM generated from very high resolution CIR - aerial images was examined in the estimation of forest stand variables. Estimation of forest stand variables was made using non-parametric k-nearest neighbour method. Sequential forward selection was used for selecting features from remote sensing data and the examination of accuracy was done with cross validation. The variables examined were mean diameter, basal area, mean height, dominant height and mean volume. Relative RMSE -values of DMS estimation were at the best with mean diameter, basal area, mean height, dominant height and mean volume 33,67 %, 36,23 %, 25,33 %, 23,53 % and 40,39 %. For the reference ALS-data, relative RMSE-values were 25,26 %, 27,89 %, 19,94 %, 16,76 % ja 31,26 %. Photogrammetric DSM was best suited for estimating dominant and mean height and produced estimates slightly more inaccurate than those of reference ALS-data. When estimating mean diameter, photogrammetric DSM was slightly better, but at mean volume estimation, ALS-data proved again to be a little more a accurate than photogrammetric DSM. At basal area estimation, ALS-data gave considerably better results than photogrammetric DSM. This research showed that the photogrammetric DSM suits well for updating the forest resource data, and also satisfies the requirements in a more economic way.

Recreational use of forests promotes both health and well-being thus reducing health care costs, which in turn gains the whole national economy. When moving around in the forests the recreational users value the attractive landscapes and the facilities for outdoor activities provided by the forests. A great deal of the recreational use takes place in commercial forests, which means that in forest management planning there is a need to take into account the interests of different stakeholders. According to previous preference studies recreational users in Finland in general prefer open forest stands with old trees and dislike large clearcut areas, logging residues and tracks made by the logging machinery. Also the forest owners in Finland have been showing a growing interest towards uneven-aged (continuous cover) forestry and matters concerning forest landscape and recreational use of forests. In order to produce forests suitable for recreational use by means of forest management planning there is a need for better information on how and to what extent the recreational users notice the structural features of a forest stand (e.g. density, tree species etc.) when judging on the scenic beauty of the stand or it’s suitability for their leisure activities. This was the aim of this study as well as to find out how well the methods used in this study work in finding the answers to these questions. The study was done as a survey in Ruunaa hiking area where the respondents were asked to fill a questionnaire where they were met unlike in previous preference studies, where the interviews have been done in predefined places. According to the results the judgement of how attractive a forest stand is is affected not only by the structural features of that forest stand. This has also been the conclusion of many previous studies. In case of Ruunaa the lake scenes and the sounds of the rapids form an essential part of the landscape and this affected the valuations. Structural features were seen only in the landscape close to the beholder. When the respondents compared the interview site to a commercial forest of same age, they found that the commercial forests were suitable for various leisure activities as well as the interview site, thoug Ruunaa was considered to be better for activities related with nature (e.g. birdwatching or botanical interests). One of the original aims of the study was also to find out how the respondents related to the small scale gap felling experiments in Ruunaa. No respondents were met at these felling sites, but some of the respondents told they had seen them and that they didn’t seem to have anything against the gap fellings.

In Finland, the most common envelope materials around the drain pipe are gravel together with coconut prewrapping and thin fabric sheet. The use of prewrapped envelopes has increased due to the benefits in drainage installationtime compared with other envelope materials. However, failure of subsurface drains with prewrapped envelope materials have been reported in several studies. This has caused disagreement in the use of prewrapped envelopes. Disfunction of subsurface drains leads to wetness of soil, which can cause problems in the bearing capacity of the soil and in the field crop production. Prewrapped envelope materials are important element in subsurface drainage, but there isn t enough information on their functionality in Finnish drainage. The purpose of this study was to examine how prewrapped envelope materials have worked in clay and sandy soils for over 10 years. The most important task was to find out the tendency to the degradation of the envelope materials, and how the degradation influenced in the function of envelopes. Studied prewrapped envelope materials were coconut fibre and a Finnish thin fabric sheet, which didn t meet the standards of prewrapped materials. The chosen soil types, clay and sand soils, had different characteristics, and their influence on the functionality of the prewrapping and clogging of the drain pipe was examined. Field investigations were carried out on subsurface drained fields in seven localities across Finland. Drain pipes were dug open at least in three places of the field and soil samples were collected until the depth of the drain pipe. Particle-size distribution and soil type were determined in the laboratory. Degradation of the envelope material around the pipe was examined visually. The drain pipe was cut open and the quantity and texture of the sediment in the pipe were studied. A sewer camera was used to inspect the condition of the pipe. According to the results, degradation of envelopes had advanced greatly in most of the sites. The thin fabric sheet had decayed totally except one research field. Envelope degradation was also found on quite new drains. The coconut prewrapping was better preserved than the thin fabric sheet in most of the target fields. Clogging of the drain pipes was not directly explained by degradation of the envelopes. Pipes were clogged more sensitively in envelope s problem soil areas, especially when envelopes around the pipes were degradated.

Cryptosporidium, a parasitic eukaryote, is the causative agent of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrheal disease with the potential to be life threatening in immunocompromised people. The number of cases has been rising as diagnostics have improved, suggesting the disease is more common than previously thought. Currently in Finland, samples are only typed to the genus level. The objective of the study was to establish a Cryptosporidium typing protocol for outbreak investigation nationally at the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare with the long-term goal of preventing outbreaks. Reliable typing methods could also help find new reasons behind the increase in cases, monitor the emergence of new subtypes, and reveal new transmission routes. Typing was set up with samples from the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District laboratory as well as the Finnish Food Authority. DNA was extracted from stool samples, species were identified with real-time PCR of the 18S rRNA gene, and gp60 subtypes were determined with nested PCR as well as Sanger sequencing. The Zymo QuickDNA Fecal/Soil Microbe Miniprep Kit was suitable for extracting troublesome parasite DNA. Out of the successfully subtyped samples, the majority was identified as Cryptosporidium parvum, out of which 60 % belonged to the IIaA15G2R1 subtype. The typing method described in this study was successful in typing 19 of 22 samples and will be utilised by the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare for outbreak investigation on the national level.

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) resist carbapenem class of antibiotics in addition to the other type of antibiotic resistances they usually carry. The blaKPC-3 gene is one of the genes causing the carbapenemase production in bacteria. The aim of this study was to establish the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION sequencing method and integrate it with Illumina sequencing into a hybrid assembly for investigating the location of the blaKPC-3 gene in the bacterial genome. We used 14 isolates suspected of plasmid-mediated gene transfer and prepared three libraries using different DNA extraction methods. The contigs from the hybrid assembly sequences were used to annotate the target genes, which were then included in a phylogenetic tree and distance matrix analysis. DNA extraction method had an impact on the amount of data and the length of reads produced in MinION and the Smart DNA prep extraction kit with InnuPure C16 touch extraction device produced the best results. The blaKPC-3 gene was located on plasmids in each isolate, and the similarity of the plasmid sequences indicated that horizontal plasmid-mediated gene transfer has likely occurred between different species. However, the clonal spread cannot be excluded, and further research is needed to confirm these findings.

Ruokakulttuuri on kokenut merkittäviä muutoksia viime vuosien aikana. Siihen liittyvät ilmiöt ovat herättäneet runsaasti kiinnostusta niin tutkijoiden kuin kuluttajienkin keskuudessa. Erilaiset syömisen mahdollisuudet ovat lisääntyneet ja ravintoloissa käymistä sekä ruokahifistelyä kotikeittiöissä pidetään trendikkäänä. Tässä sosiokulttuurisen tutkimuksen piiriin kuuluvassa maisterintutkielmassa tutkitaan ruokakulttuurin estetisoitumista keskittyen ravintolakulutukseen sekä ravintolamaisten käytäntöjen harjoittamiseen kotona. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on tarkastella esteettisyyden ja ravintolamaisuuden ilmenemistä osana nuorten aikuisten ruoka-arkea. Lisäksi tarkastellaan koronapandemiasta ja Ukrainan sodasta johtuvia muutoksia näissä ruokakäytänteissä, haasteita esteettisten ja ravintolamaisten käytäntöjen toteuttamisessa ja selvitetään, miten erilaiset käytäntöjen elementit näyttäytyvät ravintolamaista kulutusta koskevassa kuluttajien puheessa. Elementeillä viitataan materiaaleihin, toimintatapoihin sekä merkityksiin. Tutkimus pyrkii täsmentämään ja tarjoamaan uutta tietoa ruokaestetisaation ja kotona harjoitettavien ravintolamaisten käytäntöjen välisestä suhteesta. Tutkimuksessa haastateltiin kymmentä ruoasta kiinnostunutta pääkaupunkiseudulla asuvaa henkilöä puolistrukturoiduin teemahaastatteluin. Aineisto analysoitiin laadullisesti teoriaohjaavan sisältöanalyysin keinoin aiempaa tutkimusta sekä käytäntöteoriaa hyödyntäen. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että estetisoituneemmat kulutustavat painottuvat erityisesti viikonlopuille niin ravintoloissa käymisen kuin kotona valmistettavan ruoan suhteen, ja arkipäivinä ruokailutavat voivat olla hyvinkin vaatimattomia. Ravintoloissa vierailu sekä ravintolamaisten käytäntöjen harjoittaminen kotona koetaan erityisesti nautinnon lähteenä sekä merkityksellisenä kenttänä sosiaalisten suhteiden ylläpitämiselle. Ruokaan liitetään myös erilaisia ominaisuuksia, jotka samalla ohjaavat ruokailun suhteen tehtäviä valintoja. Syötiin ruokaa sitten kotona tai ravintoloissa, ruoalta odotetaan hyvää makua ja hinta-laatusuhdetta sekä terveellisyyttä. Estetisoituneemmissa ruokailuhetkissä myös ympäristön ja tunnelman merkitys korostuu. Estetisoituneet ruokailukäytännöt heijastelevat kasvanutta kiinnostusta ruokaa sekä ruoanlaittoa kohtaan tehden niistä mielenkiintoisia kulutussosiologisia tutkimuskohteita. Tutkielman lopussa esitelläänkin muutamia jatkotutkimusehdotuksia, joille tämä tutkimus voisi toimia taustoituksena. Estetisoituneiden ruokakäytäntöjen yhteydessä olisi esimerkiksi mielekästä tutkia lisää ikärakenteen ja asuinalueen merkitystä käytäntöjen toteuttamiselle sekä toisaalta myös autenttisten ja esteettisten käytäntöjen kytkeytymistä nuorten kaupunkilaisten ruoka-arjessa.

Purpose of this thesis is to estimate the carbon sequestration potential in eucalyptus plantations in Uruguay. This study also aims to show how beneficial these plantations are for carbon sinks. The aim of this research is calculate total carbon balance in eucalyptus plantations and compare the results to degraded lands. This study is first-of-its-kind study in Uruguay, but not unique globally. The objective was to use a modeling approach to formulate the results. The methodology of this study is based to the dynamic growth model (CO2fix V3.1). Model is developed to calculate and estimate forest carbon fluxes and stocks. In this study the model was utilized for estimating how much carbon is sequestered in eucalyptus plantations and soils. In this thesis the model was used to simulate eucalyptus forest plantations that stem from numerous studies and different data. Ad hoc Excel model was generated to form calculated results from the simulated data. A separate sensitivity analysis is also formulated to reveal a possible different outcome. The framework is based on a stand-level inventory data of forestry plantations provided by the Ministry of Uruguay (MGAP) and companies. Also multiple scientific reports and previous studies were used as guidelines for simulations and results. The forest stand, yield, soil and weather data used for this study are from three different departments. There are over 700 000 hectares of different species of eucalyptus plantations in Uruguay. The theoretical framework was tested computationally with eleven simulations. CO2fix was parameterized for fast-growing eucalyptus species used in different parts of Uruguay. The model gave outputs per hectare and then this result was scaled up to the national level. This study will also estimate how much grassland (Pampa) and former pasture land could sequester carbon. Situation prior to plantation is a baseline scenario and it is compared to the expected carbon sequestration of plantations. The model is also used to calculate the effect of changing rotation length on carbon stocks of forest ecosystem (forest vegetation and soil) and wood products. The results of this study show that currently the 707,674 hectares of eucalyptus plantations in Uruguay have the potential to sequester 65 million tonnes of carbon and reduce 238 million tonnes of CO2. The calculated carbon storage is 38 and simulated 25 million tonnes of C, products are deducted from the equation. During 22 years (1990–2012) the annual carbon sequestration benefit (afforestation-baseline) without products is 1 757 847 Mg C. The results suggest that it is reasonable to establish eucalyptus plantations on degraded, grassland (Pampa) and abandoned pasture land. The implications of the results are that eucalyptus plantations in Uruguay actually enhance carbon sequestration, are carbon sinks and store more carbon than grassland and abandoned pasture land. Plantations have a vast sequestration potential and are important in mitigating of CO2 emission and effects of the climate change. The findings endorse the significance of plantations to increase carbon sinks and this role will broaden in the future. The most relevant findings of this study are that afforestation increases the soil carbon in 10-year rotation plantations by 34% (101.1>75.6) and in 12-year rotation 38% (104.4>75.6 Mg Cha-1) in a 60-year simulation. The net (afforestation-baseline) average carbon stock benefit in the soil is 25.5 Mg C ha?1 in a 60-year simulation. The (CO2Fix) model indicate that the total average carbon sequestration for eucalyptus plantations is 92.3 Mg Cha?1. The average total carbon storage ranges from 25.8–138.5 Mg Cha?1 during a 60-year simulation. The simulations show that the net annual carbon storage in the living biomass is 29.1, 25.5 (soil) and 37.6 Mg C (products) on the average scenario. There is some fluctuation in the sequestration results in other 10 simulations. Previous studies have showed that the average carbon stock for eucalyptus plantations varies from 30–60 Mg C ha-1, when soil and products are deducted. The capacity of forest ecosystems to sequester carbon in the long run could be even more strengthened if a rotation length increases. Extending rotation from 10 to 12 years increased the average soil carbon stock from 25.5 to 28.8 Mg C (by 13%) in 60 year simulation. The results also indicate that mean annual precipitation (MAP) alters the carbon sinks of the forest ecosystem. There are some limitations in this study and they are clearly explained and analyzed. Hence, most of the results are estimations. Ministry and companies need to prolong planting of trees and even intensify annual programs in order to achieve carbon sequestration targets. Further research is needed to get an estimate of the total forest ecosystem carbon storages and fluxes.

Patellar luxation is a typical orthopaedic disorder in small sized dogs. Patella can luxate either medially or laterally, medial luxation being by far more common than the lateral luxation. PL is considered hereditary since certain breeds have great susceptibility to get the condition, and the symptoms may occur at young age. PL is diagnosed by following the so-called Putnam’s scale where the stifle joint is palpated and manipulated. PL is graded from 0=normal…4=permanent luxation. The aim of this study was to estimate the variance components and the heritability of PL, to visualize PL’s genetic trend and to calculate the genetic correlation between left and right stifle and between PL and hip dysplasia (HD) in Japanese Spitz. The PL, HD and pedigree data were provided by the Finnish Kennel Club. Data were modified with both R-program and Microsoft Office Excel. The pedigree check was performed with RelaX2 program and variance component analyses were done with DMU program using the restricted maximum likelihood method. Heritabilities (h2) were from very low to low depending on the model and breed. When the dependent variable was the mean of left and right patellae of an individual the lowest heritability was in the Pomeranian h2=0.03 and highest in the Chihuahua h2=0.18. The genetic correlation of left and right patellae was 1 in all breeds which suggests that they are genetically the same trait. In the Japanese Spitz the genetic correlation between PL and HD was -0.05. The genetic trend of PL was favorable in the Chihuahua and the Japanese Spitz. In the Pomeranian the trend was negative and neutral in the Finnish Spitz. Based on the results, the selection against PL has not been efficient. In future, patellae health should be controlled by using breeding indexes because the heritability of PL is low. Also, improvements in phenotyping could lead to more accurate selection.

Inbreeding is a significant concern in animal breeding programs as it can lead to decreased genetic diversity, impaired fertility and production traits and a higher prevalence of genetic disorders. Therefore, estimation of inbreeding in pig breeds is crucial for the development of breeding programs that maintain genetic diversity while also improving production traits and health. In this study, inbreeding coefficients were estimated using both pedigree-based methods and runs of homozygosity (ROH) based methods. Pedigree-based methods involve tracing the ancestry of individuals through a pedigree, while ROH-based methods use genomic data to identify regions of the genome that are homozygous due to common ancestry. The results from the two methods were compared to evaluate their effectiveness in estimating inbreeding coefficient in the two pig breeds. The study used data from 941 pigs with both genotype and pedigree information and found that ROH-based estimates were higher than pedigree-based estimates even though the differences were not too big. The results also showed that the pig breeds had moderate levels of inbreeding, with the mean inbreeding coefficient estimated from pedigree were 0.15 and 0.11 for Yorkshire and Landrace, respectively; mean inbreeding coefficient from runs of homozygosity were 0.18 and 0.16 for Yorkshire and Landrace, respectively. These findings are important for pig breeding programs as they highlight the need to monitor and manage inbreeding levels to maintain genetic diversity and prevent potential negative effects on production traits and health traits. The results also demonstrate the usefulness of ROH-based analysis in estimating inbreeding levels and identifying recent inbreeding events in pig populations. In conclusion, this study will provide an extensive comparative analysis of estimation of inbreeding coefficient through pedigree and genomic information that will be useful in the breeding strategies of these Finnish pig breeds.

The intensity and frequency of insect outbreaks have increased in Finland in the last decades and they are expected to increase even further in the future due to global climate change. In 1998-2001 Finland suffered the most severe insect outbreak ever recorded, over 500,000 hectares. The outbreak was caused by the common pine sawfly (Diprion pini L.). The outbreak has continued in the study area, Palokangas, ever since. To find a good method to monitor this type of outbreaks, the purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of multitemporal ERS-2 and ENVISAT SAR imagery for estimating Scots pine defoliation. The study area, Palokangas, is located in Ilomantsi district, Eastern-Finland and consists mainly even-aged Scots pine forests on relatively dry soils. Most of the forests in the area are young or middle-aged managed forests. The study material was comprised of multi-temporal ERS-2 and ENVISAT synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. The images had been taken between the years 2001 and 2008. The field data consisted 16 sample plots which had been measured seven times between the years 2002 and 2009. In addition, eight sample plots were added afterwards to places which were known to have had cuttings during the study period. Three methods were tested to estimate Scots pine defoliation: unsupervised k-means clustering, supervised linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and logistic regression. In addition, it was assessed if harvested areas could be differentiated from the defoliated forest using the same methods. Two different speckle filters were used to determine the effect of filtering on the SAR imagery and subsequent results. The logistic regression performed best, producing a classification accuracy of 81.6% (kappa 0.62) with two classes (no defoliation, >20% defoliation). LDA accuracy was with two classes at best 77.7% (kappa 0.54) and k-means 72.8 (0.46). In general, the largest speckle filter, 5 x 5 image window, performed best. When additional classes were added the accuracy was usually degraded on a step-by-step basis. The results were good, but because of the restrictions in the study they should be confirmed with independent data, before full conclusions can be made that results are reliable. The restrictions include the small size field data and, thus, the problems with accuracy assessment (no separate testing data) as well as the lack of meteorological data from the imaging dates.