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Tämä tutkielma käsittelee valittujen kuusi-koivu-sekametsätaimikoiden rakennetta, tilajärjestystä sekä niiden tulevaisuuden kehityksiä eri tavoin toteutettavilla taimikonharvennuksilla. Työ on osa Luonnonvarakeskuksen monivuotista SEKAVA-hanketta. Sekametsät ovat Suomessa harvinaisia puhtaiden havumetsien ollessa vallitsevia. Sekametsien suosimisella olisi kuitenkin lukuisia etuja yhden puulajin metsiin verrattuna. Sekametsällä voidaan pienentää tuhoriskiä, lisätä monimuotoisuutta ja metsien virkistysarvoa sekä hajauttaa taloudellista riskiä. Sekametsillä voidaan valmistautua myös ilmastonmuutoksen aiheuttamiin muutoksiin. Taimikkovaihe on kriittinen sekametsän kasvatuksessa, sillä mikäli sekapuusto menetetään, ei sitä saada takaisin saman kiertoajan aikana. Taimikonharvennus on merkittävä vaihe metsikön tulevaisuuden kannalta, sillä siinä määritetään metsän tilajärjestys ja puulajirakenne. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin kesällä 2021 mittaamalla Etelä- ja Keski-Suomen alueilta sekametsätaimikoita, joihin on tehty varhaisperkaus, muttei taimikonharvennusta. Metsiköissä mitattiin kaksi 500 m2:n ympyräkoealaa, joilta mitattiin jokainen kehityskelpoinen taimi. Kuhunkin mitattuun metsikköön simuloitiin neljä vaihtoehtoista taimikonharvennusta tarkoituksena selvittää eri taimikonharvennusten vaikutusta metsikön kehitykseen. Ensimmäisessä vaihtoehdossa taimikko harvennettiin puhtaaksi kuusikoksi, jossa runkoluku on 1800 r/ha. Toisessa vaihtoehdossa runkoluku pysyi samana, mutta puhtaan kuusikon sijaan metsikköön jätettiin 15 % koivua. Kolmannessa vaihtoehdossa koivun osuus oli 25 % ja neljännessä vaihtoehdossa 25 %, mutta metsikön tiheydeksi jätettiin 1600 r/ha. Taimikkovaiheen metsikkörakenteen tulee olla soveltuva, jotta sekapuustoisuus saadaan aikaan. Taimikossa tulee olla tarpeeksi laadukasta ja oikeassa kehitysvaiheessa olevaa lehtipuustoa, ja puuston täytyy olla jakautunut sopivasti. Mikäli jokin kasvatettavista puulajeista on huomattavasti kehityksessä edellä, kehityksessä perässä olevien lajien kehitys hidastuu tai pahimmillaan ne kuolevat. Sekapuusto ei myöskään saa olla omina ryppäinään, vaan sen tulee tasaisesti alueella. Tämän vuoksi tutkielmassa tarkasteltiin myös kehityskelpoisen puuston tilajärjestystä Ripleyn L- ja L12-funktioilla sekä lähinaapurianalyysilla ja mingling-indeksillä. Metsiköissä oli keskimäärin 3012 kehityskelpoista taimea hehtaarilla. Taimikoiden keskipituus oli 3,8 m. Koivut olivat keskimäärin kuusta edellä kehityksessä, mutta eivät kaikilla koealoilla. Osassa metsiköistä kuusen tiheys ei riittänyt puhtaan kuusikon kasvattamiseen. Kaikki metsiköt soveltuivat sekametsiksi taimiaineksen perusteella. Puuston tilajakauma oli niin ikään sekapuustolle sopiva, sillä viljelytaimet olivat istutuksesta johtuen tasaisesti järjestäytyneet, mutta koko metsikön mittakaavassa kuuset olivat sijoittuneet keskimäärin satunnaisesti. Luontaisesti syntyneet koivut puolestaan kasvoivat metsiköissä satunnaisesti järjestäytyneinä. Puulajit olivat sekoittuneet metsikköön keskenään satunnaisesti, eli ne eivät olleet omina ryhminään. Simulaatioiden perusteella eri taimikonharvennukset eivät juurikaan vaikuttaneet myöhempiin toimenpiteisiin tai kiertoaikoihin. Simulaatioiden lehtipuun osuus pysyi keskimäärin melko muuttumattomana kiertoajan kuluessa, mutta yksittäisissä metsiköissä muutokset olivat suuria. Lievä lehtipuusekoitus johti keskimäärin puhdasta kuusikkoa suurempaan hakkuupoistumaan, mutta erot eri simulaatioiden välillä olivat pieniä. Lehtipuusekoitus kuitenkin pienensi tukkiosuutta ja täten suurin tukkitilavuus saatiin keskimäärin puhtaan kuusikon vaihtoehdolla. Suurin tukkiosuus yhdistettynä kuusen parempaan kantohintaan johti siihen, että suurimmat tulot saavutettiin puhtaalla kuusikolla. Sekametsän kasvatus voi olla houkutteleva vaihtoehto metsänomistajalle, joka ei tavoittele suurinta mahdollista tuottoa vaan taloudellista turvaa, arvostaa myös ei-materiaalisia arvoja tai metsien monikäyttöä, taikka haluaa valmistautua ilmastonmuutoksen aiheuttamiin riskeihin.

Tutkimus käsittelee kuusikuitupuun tuoretiheyden vaihtelua. Tuoretiheyden yksikkö on kg/m³. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, kuinka suurta vaihtelu on kahden eri vastaanottopisteen välillä. Lisäksi saadaan selville, voidaanko eri tehtailla mitattuja tietoja käyttää toisella maantieteellisellä alueella sijaitsevalla tehtaalla. Tutkimuksessa vertailtiin kahdelta eri tehtaalla mitattuja tuoretiheyksiä sekä metsäntutkimuslaitoksen alueellisia tuoretiheyslukuja. Tutkimusaineisto koostui 254 otantanipusta, jotka mitattiin Rauman paperitehtaalla 22.6.–30.12.2015. Otanta käsitti 3859,8 m³ kuusikuitupuuta, joka jakautui 254 nippuun. Otantanippujen keskimääräinen kiintotilavuus oli 15,5 m³. Pölkyt mitattiin mittasaksilla keskuskiintomittauksella. Pituus mitattiin 5 cm tasaavaa luokitusta käyttäen ja läpimitta 1 mm:n tarkkuudella. Vertailuaineistona käytettiin nipun saapumisajankohtana Jämsänkosken paperitehtaan vastaanotossa käytössä ollutta keskimääräistä tuoretiheyttä. Vertailussa oli mukana myös vuodesta 2012 alkaen kuukausittaisia tuoretiheyksien keskiarvoja. Aineistoista selvitettiin tuoretiheyksien vaihtelun aiheuttamien tilavuuserojen tilastollinen merkitsevyys t-testillä sekä tutkittiin erojen ja hajonnan suuruutta ja suuntaa. Lisäksi selvitettiin vuorokauden keskilämpötilan ja haihdunnan vaikutusta tuoretiheyteen. Tuoretiheyksien erojen todettiin olevan eri maantieteellisillä alueilla niin suuria, että paras keino päästä puunmittauslain asettamien raja-arvojen sisälle on käyttöpaikoittainen mittaus. Syyksi eroihin todettiin sää- ja varastointiolosuhteiden sekä puuvirtojen suuruuden vaihtelu. Eri tehtaille raakapuuta saapuu eri tahdissa, jolloin myös tuoretiheyden päivitystaajuus on erilainen.

Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin, minkälaisia omistajatyyppejä yhteismetsien omistajissa on ja miten omistajat kokevat omistajuuden tunteen. Tutkimuksen teoreettisena viitekehyksenä oli organisaatiotutkimuksissa paljon käytetty psykologisen omistajuuden teoria. Tutkimuksen aineisto saatiin osittain Helsingin yliopiston Ruralia-instituutilta, mutta myös lisäaineistoa kerättiin tutkimuksen tekovaiheessa. Aineisto koostui kahden eri yhteismetsän omistajista tehdyistä teemahaastatteluista. Toinen yhteismetsä oli Etelä-Pohjanmaalla sijaitseva Kauhavan yhteismetsä, joka on perustettu vuonna 2011 ja josta tehtiin 20 haastattelua. Toinen yhteismetsä oli vuonna 1991 perustettu Pahkakosken yhteismetsä, joka sijaitsee Pohjois-Pohjanmaalla ja josta tehtiin 10 haastattelua. Aineisto koodattiin manuaalisesti. Aineistosta löytyi neljä erilaista omistajatyyppiä. Löydetyt tyypit olivat perinnönvaalijat, aktiivit, talousmetsän omistajat ja etääntyneet. Jatkotutkimusehdotuksiksi esitettiin muun muassa aiheen tutkimisen laajentamista kvantitatiivisin menetelmin, jolloin saataisiin numeerista dataa eri omistajatyyppien osuuksien esiintymisestä suomalaisissa yhteismetsissä.

More than half of the agricultural land in Finland is cultivated with cereals, and on many farms, cereals are also grown in monoculture. Studies have shown that crop rotation can decrease the need of inputs and also increase crop yields. At the same time more knowledge is needed about qualities and benefits of different crops. The aim of this study was to investigate the qualities of white lupin as a one year green manure crop, and to investigate its impact and nitrogen effect on barley yield formation and yield quality during the subsequent growth period. The aim was furthermore to investigate if white lupin affected soil mineral nitrogen content. A two year long field experiment was established during the growth season of 2010 at Viikki research farm in Helsinki. In year 2010 white lupin, barley and fallow was cultivated as precrops for the following growth period. In year 2011 only barley was cultivated and different nitrogen treatments were included in the experiment to be able to evaluate precrop nitrogen effect. In year 2011 cultivation of white lupin and barley was also repeated in a second field experiment. In the experiments, white lupin lenght development, ground coverage and biomass accumulation were recorded and compared with barley. The total amount of nitrogen that white lupin accumulated was also determined. In year 2011 precrop and nitrogen treatment effects on barley yield formation and yield quality was determined. Precrop and nitrogen treatment effects on soil mineral nitrogen was investigated from fall 2010 to fall 2011. White lupin was successfully cultivated without any input of fertilizers. White lupin showed less ground coverage in early summer, and therefore showed inferior weed competition compared with barley. White lupin achieved the same plant lenght and total biomass as barley, but accumulated over 200 N kg/ha. In the precrop and nitrogen treatments, barley grain yield did not indicate any need of nitrogen fertilizer, where white lupin had been used as precrop. Grain protein content, however, showed that even with white lupin as precrop, a 20 kg/ha nitrogen starter was not sufficient. Soil mineral nitrogen content was clearly increased by white lupin only before sowing in year 2011.

The literature review focused on quinoa saponins, on their extraction, isolation and chromatographic analysis. The aim of this study was to develop a quantitative and qualitative analysis method for saponins in quinoa. Gas chromatograph (GC) was used for separation. Saponin aglycones were indentified by mass spectrometry (MS) and quantified by flame ionization detector (FID). Sample pretreatment included extraction of fat soluble compounds and saponins by accelerated solvent extraction (Dionex ASE). Saponin aglycones liberated by acid hydrolysis followed by liquid-liquid extraction. Aglycones were derivatised to silylethers and analysed with GC-MS/FID. Finally this method was used to analyse saponins in washed and pearled quinoa seeds. Method evaluation included repeatability test (4 separate days, total n = 14). Average, standard deviation, relative standard deviation and Horrat(r) - value were calculated for the results. Method realability was evaluated by recovery test. Known amount of saponin was added to flour samples (n = 3). Additions responded 6, 4 µg, 12, 8 µg and 32 µg hederagenin aglycone. Four saponin aglycones, oleanolic acid (ole), hederagenin (hed), serjanic acid (ser) and phytolaccagenic acid (phy), were successfully identified in all samples by method prescribed. Method was repeatabale for ole and ser quantition but not for hed and phy. Satisfactory recovery, 80 %, was achieved on 32 µg addition level. Recoveries for 6, 4 µg and 12, 3 µg addition levels were 76 and 66 %. Results could be explained by aglycones pH dependent solubility combined to inaccurate pH adjustment after hydrolysis. In the future neutralization step should be revaluated. Washing reduced saponins 20–58 % and pearling reduced 58 % saponins in quinoa seeds. However pearling caused loss of protein from 12, 3 % to 5, 8 %.

Introduction: Vitamin K is required in the carboxylation reaction of osteocalcin (OC). Concentration of serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) is regarded as a sensitive marker of vitamin K status. Low serum concentration of ucOC has been inversely associated with bone mineral density (BMD). However, the role of dietary vitamin K in bone health remains unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate the associations among vitamin K intake, serum OC concentrations and tibial BMD, bone mineral content (BMC) and bone strength indices (BSI, CSI, SSI) in Finnish middle-aged women. Methods: A sample of 364 37- to 47-year-old premenopausal females who participated in the PHOMI Study was included in the analyses. Fasting blood samples were collected, as well as habitual dietary intake by 3-day food records and food frequency questionnaires. Serum total osteocalcin (totOC), carboxylated osteocalcin (cOC) and ucOC were assessed by two-site immunoassay. Bone traits from distal and proximal sites of tibia were measured with peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). The data was analysed by analysis of variance and covariance as well as correlation analysis and partial correlation analysis adjusted for height, weight, physical activity, dietary calcium intake, smoking and serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentrations. Results: Dietary vitamin K was not associated with bone traits nor serum OC concentrations (p>0.05). Serum ucOC correlated negatively with BMC (r=-0.133, p=0.014), BMD (r=-0.164, p=0.002) and BSI (r=-0.147, p=0.006) in distal tibia and with BMD (r=-0.130, P=0.015) in proximal tibia. Serum cOC correlated negatively with BMD in distal tibia (r=-0,124, p=0,021) and in proximal tibia (r=-0,132, p=0,014). Serum totOC correlated negatively with BMC (r=-0,148, p=0,004) in distal tibia and with BMD (r=-0,175, p=0,001) and BSI (r=-0,171, p=0,002) in proximal tibia. Conclusion: There were no associations between vitamin K intake and bone health in the adjusted model in the current study but serum OC concentrations correlated negatively with some bone traits. Differences in bioavailability of vitamin K and high intake of calcium and vitamin D in the study sample could explain why associations were not found between dietary vitamin K and bone traits. Moreover, the association between vitamin K and bone traits may be different in pre- and postmenopausal women.

The aim of this study was to describe where dog owners are looking for information from when pet becomes ill or shows symptoms and what factors affect clinic of choice. In addition to explaining how the pet's medical care is realized, as well as how consumers see veterinarian status and professionalism. The main data consists interviews of 17 dog owners, as well as interviews of the three veterinarian. Secondary data was collected by observing the work, facilities and atmosphere of three veterinary clinic, as well as social media by reading a dog-themed discussion forums. The research data analysis has been used thematic analysis. The main subjects are the pet health-related information search, a veterinary check, the owner's commitment to pet care and veterinary medicine expert status. Dog owners tell about their pets' health and care for them to be important. When pet shows symptoms or illness, dog owners are looking for information and guidelines on social media, acquaintances, breeders and veterinarians.Veterinary clinic is usually chosen for their location and the recommendations of the (WOM) basis. Good service offering and veterinary expertise get a dog owner to remain a user of services. Dog owners and veterinarians have different point of views when it comes to commitment to drug therapy. Dog owners say they are committed to the pet medication, but veterinarians feel that the owners tend to forget or do not get fed drugs to pets successfully. Dog owners are seen to rely veterinarians even more than the people of the treating physician, as a pet treated as a small child, who can not speak. In this case, the layman is a reliable professional. Vets feel pride in themselves and their own profession. Vets feel that they are in professional expert position.

The cold storage, utilized to increase the shelf life of raw milk, favors the growth of psychrotrophic bacteria. Psychrotrophs are considered as problematic because they produce heat-stable spoilage enzymes. In addition, some pathogenic bacteria are capable of growing at cold storage temperatures and it has been observed in previous studies that the psychrotrophs in raw milk can be resistant to several antibiotics. In the literature review section of this study, the microbial composition of raw milk and the effect of cold storage, nitrogen gas (N2) treatment and activation of the lactoperoxidase system (LPS) on the raw milk bacteria was reviewed; moreover, the evolution, spread and mechanisms of bacterial antibiotic resistance and the antibiotic resistance on dairy farms and of raw milk bacteria was reviewed. Also the methods to study raw milk bacteria and their antibiotic resistance were documented. The aim of the experimental part was to study the effects of cold storage, N2 gas treatment and LPS treatment on the levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria in raw milk. Untreated, N2-treated and LPS-treated raw milk samples were stored at 6 °C and the counts of bacteria resistant to gentamicin, ceftatzidime, levofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were determined in the beginning of the experiments and after three and seven days of cold storage. The antibiotic resistance and spoilage features of bacterial isolates selected from different plates were compared. In addition, DNA fingerprints of selected isolates were obtained by rep-PCR method and for a couple of isolates 16S rRNA gene partial sequencing was performed. The presence of certain antibiotic resistance genes for the isolates partially identified was investigated using a PCR-based method. The length of cold storage affected the proportions of antibiotic resistant bacteria in raw milk. The proportions of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the control milk sample were generally, with the exception of TS-resistant bacteria in some cases, at their lowest after seven days of cold storage when the milk was, though, microbiologically unacceptable. There was a lot of variation in the prevalence of bacterial antibiotic resistance between the milk samples treated differently. The proportions of resistant bacteria were on average clearly higher in LPS samples than in control samples, whereas the effect of the N2 treatment on the proportions of resistant bacteria varied between the experiments. The bacterial isolates resistant to all the considered antibiotics produced less frequently protease and phospholipase than the isolates resistant to fewer antibiotics. The isolates from LPS samples were more frequently resistant to all the antibiotics studied and produced less frequently protease and phospholipase than the isolates from control and N2-treated samples. On the basis of the rep-PCR fingerprints, there were both similar and different strains among the bacterial isolates. Based on the 16S rRNA partial gene sequence, two isolates were identified as Pseudomonas spp. and two isolates as Stenotrophomonas spp. The targeted antibiotic resistance genes were not detected among the considered isolates. Possible reasons can be variations in the gene sequences, suboptimal PCR conditions or that the isolates lacked the genes studied. A PCR product was obtained for one Pseudomonas isolate using mexA-F/R primers, but according to the database the gene sequence did not show homology with antibiotic resistance genes. Further analyses would be required to confirm if the gene studied is linked to antibiotic resistance.

The objective of this thesis is to evaluate different means of increasing natural reproduction of migratory fish, especially salmon, in the river Kymijoki. The original stocks of migratory fish in Kymijoki were lost by the 1950s because of hydropower plants and worsened quality of water in the river. Nowadays the salmon stocks is based on hatchery-reared fish, even though there is significant potential of natural smolt production in the river. The main problem in the natural reproduction is that the migratory fish cannot ascend to the reproduction areas above the Korkeakoski and Koivukoski hydropower plants. In this thesis alternative projects which aim to open these ascencion routes and their costs and benefits are evaluated. The method used in the evaluation is social cost-benefit analysis. The alternative projects evaluated in this thesis consist of projects that aim to change the flow patterns between the eastern branches of Kymijoki and projects that involve building a fish ladder. Also different combinations of these projects are considered. The objective of this thesis is to find the project that is the most profitable to execute; this evaluation can be done in comparing the net present values of the projects. In addition to this, a sensitivity analysis will be made on the parameter values that are most uncertain. We compare the net present values of the projects with the net present values of hatchery-reared smolt releases, so we can evaluate, if the projects or the smolt releases are more socially profitable in the long term. The results of this thesis indicate that especially the projects that involve building a fish ladder next to the Korkeakoski hydropower plant are the most socially profitable. If this fish ladder would be built, the natural reproduction of salmon in the Kymijoki river could become so extensive, that hatchery-reared smolt releases could even be stopped. The results of the sensivity analysis indicate that the net present values of the projects depend especially on the initial smolt survival rate of wild salmon and the functioning of the potential fish ladder in Korkeakoski. Also the changes of other parameter values influence the results of the cost-benefit analysis, but not as significantly. When the net present values of the projects and the smolt releases are compared, the results depend on which period of time is selected to count the average catches of reared salmon. If the average of the last 5 years catches is used in counting the net benefits of smolt releases, all the alternative projects are more profitable than the releases. When the average of the last 10 years is used, only building of the fish ladder in Korkeakoski and all the project combinations are more profitable than the smolt releases.

The forest industry achieves each year large quantities of waste material, such as wood, bark and branches. The waste material is mainly used for energy production, but new applications are being investigated. The bark has been identified as a potential source of numerous bioactive compounds, which would have use, for example, in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries as well as in the pest management of agriculture, forestry and horticulture. The thesis is part of the European Union-funded ForestSpeCs project, which aims to find alternative ways to use the materials of forest industry. The bark extracts of ten economically remarkable northern trees were tested for possibilities as antifeedants for the larvae of the cabbage white (Pieris brassicae L.), the Egyptian cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis Boisduwal), and some of them also for the mustard leaf beetle (Phaedon cochleariae Fabricius) and the alder leaf beetle (Agelastica alni L.). The extracts were prepared in cooperation with the project groups or independently using different methods. Testing was carried out in laboratory conditions by using the dual-choice leaf-disc bioassays for the crude extracts and the individual compounds separated from them. The feeding deterrent indices (FDI) were calculated from the measurements. On the basis of the results, nearly all the tested extracts, at least to some extent, appeared to have an effect on the insect’s eating behavior. Slightly more than half of the 46 extracts tested with the cabbage white caused more than 50% feeding deterrence, in other words the cabbage butterfly preferred the control leaves more often than the treated ones. For Egyptian cotton leafworm larvae over 50% feeding deterrence was caused only by the seven of the tested 56 extracts. In addition, three of the extracts stimulated the consuming of the treated leaves significantly. The alder leaf beetle larvae and adults were deterred by the leaves treated with abietic acid, in particular. The extracts tested on the mustard leaf beetle were also working promisingly. It is possible to extract biologically active compounds from the bark of the tested tree species, but it is necessary, in the context of pest management, to have more research on the correct concentrations of the extracts and effective extracting methods. The quality and quantity of compounds in the bark depend on many factors, such as the impact of the environment and genetics. Tolerance in insects varies a lot by species and there are also differences between individuals. The pesticides manufactured of extracts could be possible to include in the integrated pest management alongside the other methods in the future.