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We study the compensation required to increase carbon sequestration in privately owned forests as a part of effective climate policy. We develop a theoretically correct understanding of compensating additional carbon sequestration in a voluntary stand-level carbon offset scheme by creating incentives for extending the rotation from the privately optimal length. We examine the cost of extending the length of the rotation to a socially desired level. The resulting costs and the increase in carbon sequestration determine the level of compensation required to make the private forest owner indifferent between joining the compensation scheme and resuming privately optimal forest management. A correctly defined subsidy scheme is required as forests are expected to play a major role in meeting national climate change mitigation targets, and so far, the existing schemes have failed to attract voluntary participants. The well-established univariate optimal rotation model (Faustmann 1894, Samuelson 1976) with a net carbon subsidy (van Kooten et al. 1995) is used to evaluate the compensation structure in the California Forest Offset Protocol and the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, and to present a theoretically sound framework for subsidizing additional carbon sequestration in forests. An empirically more realistic size-structured forestry model with carbon storage (Assmuth et al. 2018) is used to verify the understanding of a correctly defined subsidy scheme when thinnings and multiple carbon pools are included. The results of the theoretical modelling are compared to practical applications in California Cap-and-Trade and the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. These practical applications have faced various problems and have been subject to numerous revisions, due to issues with baseline establishment, over-crediting, questionable additionality, and leakage. We show that if the compensation scheme follows the Californian structure, a significantly high compensation is required to create sufficient incentives for private forest owners to participate in the sequestration program. The exclusion of carbon stored in harvested wood products may have decreased voluntary participation of post-1989 forests in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. These schemes serve as an example for the rest of the world of constructing a carbon sequestration compensation scheme. Thus, it is paramount to evaluate the choices in policy design, by comparing the compensation structure to a theoretically sound way of incentivizing additional carbon sequestration.

Conifers are used for forest plantations and as landscape trees. Norway spruce is the main softwood species in Finland and can occasionally be observed in urban areas. However, root rots of conifer trees caused by Heterobasidion annosum leads to huge economic losses not only in Finland but also in other European countries. Due to the availability of complete genome sequence for both host and pathogen, in this study using Norway spruce and its root rot pathogen (Heterobasidion annosum) as an experimental model, the host-pathogen interaction was investigated. Conifer trees have established a variety of defense mechanisms to repel microbial infections, including constitutive barriers, accumulation of antimicrobial chemicals, activation of signaling pathways and induction of defense-related compounds resulted from an intra-organismic response including cell death. In the conifer pathosystem, cell death associated necrotic browning reactions promote tissue colonization by necrotrophic pathogens such as Heterobasidion annosum. By contrast, in crop plants, cell death associated hypersensitive response (HR) is known to inhibit invasive growth of biotrophic pathogens. However, not much is known about the chemical and molecular characteristics of necrotic cell death responses observed in different developmental stages of conifers from seedlings to mature trees. In addition, the term reaction zone is often used to describe responses of tree tissues bordering the heartwood to pathogenic infections, but nothing is known on whether there are any similarities between the necrosis response and reaction zone. To investigate this, Norway spruce at different developmental stages (seedlings, young trees and mature trees) were challenged with Heterobasidion parviporum. Six major indicators were assayed: necrosis lesions, cell death, pH, reaction zone, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and expressions of defense-related genes (Per1, Per2, LAC, JAZ1, OPR, and STS2). Increased transcript levels of the following genes Per1, Per2, LAC and JAZ1 were documented in seedlings but higher expression of Per2 and LAC was recorded in mature trees. Results revealed that all infected tissues were strongly necrotic or had increased lesion size. This is accompanied by increasing pH units up to 6.0 similar to levels documented in the reaction zone. Furthermore, ROS-generating peroxidase activity increased in infected tissues compared to the control. All these changes were found to be similar to observations in the reaction zone of woody trees. However, cell death was only measured in seedling roots and the method needs to be optimized for woody tissues. Further tests are therefore required for the clarification of relationship between necrotic cell death in seedling plants and reaction zone responses in mature woody tissues.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 is a Gram-negative plant pathogen that causes bacterial speck disease on tomato. The virulence of this bacterium is based on the type III secretion system (T3SS). Similar systems are also used by many other plant and animal pathogens, as well as symbiotic bacteria. The T3SS enables the transfer of specific bacterial virulence proteins from the bacterial cytoplasm into the host cell. This secretion is mediated by a needle-like structure that penetrates the plant cell wall. Once inside the host cells, the effector proteins are capable of shutting down the host’s immune system. However, what happens at the plant cell membrane is not well understood. One of the first bacterial proteins that come into interaction with a host protein during P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 infection is the HrpZ1 protein that is believed to participate in a membrane interaction, facilitating the transfer of effector proteins. Previous research has shown that HrpZ1 binds to a peptide and using an antiserum raised against this peptide in immunoblotting tests of tomato proteins separated by SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing, the target tomato protein of HrpZ1 has been found to be small and acidic. However, this specific protein has not yet been fully characterized. This is why the goal of the work for this thesis was to identify and characterize the target protein of HrpZ1 in tomato. For this purpose, a lambda cDNA expression library from tomato leaves was constructed, followed by immunoscreening of the library with the abovementioned antiserum, and analysing candidate clones by sequencing. Even though a good cDNA library was obtained, the immunoscreenings did not yield satisfactory results. Thus, the pursuit of the HrpZ1 target protein needs to be continued.

This paper focuses on meat consumption patterns in Finland. Empirical analysis for this paper was based on the micro data of three Household Budget Surveys: 1998, 2006 and 2012. A censored linear approximation of the almost ideal demand system (LA-AIDS) model was employed in the study. The major outcomes of the study were the demand expenditure and price elasticities that were obtained from the parameter estimates of five different meat products. Since the data lacked price information, unit values were used as a price substitutes, which gave some insights into quality-quantity upgrading. According to the results, pork expenditure was elastic and thus was luxury good during the study period, whereas ruminant meat and poultry were luxuries only in 2000s. In addition, the price of a good, household size, and income had a large influence on meat consumption. Additionally, other factors (such as age) affected the portion of the budget that was allocated to meat products. In order to obtain more information relating to the food sector, further research concerning disaggregate demand would be needed.

China’s high-speed economic growth has accelerated consumers’ disposable income evidently. With the improvement of living standards, people have increasingly been concerned about their life quality, especially when buying consumables like food, toys and clothing as well as durable commodities like furniture for their children. In the past ten years, the Chinese children's furniture market has developed rapidly, making up 9% of total furniture market. However, no studies concerning the analysis of consumer behavior in this market segment exist so far. The objective of this study is to fill this gap by examining Chinese consumers’ perceptions of children’s furniture based on their socio-demographics, their attitudes towards product, supplier and environmental attributes. The empirical part of the study focused on analyzing quantitative data, which were collected by using a structured questionnaire in Shanghai and Shenzhen of China.The data were analyzed by a wide array of statistical analysis methods using SPSS software package. The final sample size was made up of 299 respondents. The data reveal that females accounted for 67% of the total respondents, with 63% of all respondents being in the range of 31-40 years old and 23% in the range of 20-30 years old. The results indicate that safety and environmental friendliness were the primary consideration for parents to purchase children’s furniture. And supplier quality was detected as the central dimension when respondents perceived different attributes of children’s furniture. In addition, 83% of the respondents chose solid wood as the primary raw material for children’s furniture, and 35% of them stated that they were willing to pay 6-10% more for environmentally friendly children's furniture. The choice of environmentally friendly products was closely connected with consumers’ lifestyle and majority of respondents expressed positive attitudes towards healthy and sustainable lifestyle. However, Chinese consumers showed low brand awareness in the children’s furniture market and their price expectations on solid wood furniture were below current market levels. Nevertheless, the Chinese children’s furniture presents a tremendous market potential not only for wooden furniture producers but also for both domestic and international wood raw material suppliers.

Kehittynyt teknologia mahdollistaa kuluttajien osallistumisen hyödykkeiden suunnitteluun ja valmistamiseen aikaisempaa enemmän. Kuluttajan rooli tuotteiden ja palveluiden arvoketjussa on nähty viime vuosikymmeninä merkittävänä kuluttaja- ja markkinointitieteissä. Keskusteluissa on tuotu esiin, että kuluttajien osallistuminen yhdessä yrityksen kanssa tuotteiden suunnitteluun, valmistamiseen sekä kokemiseen loisi arvoa kuluttajille. Tutkielma tarkastelee kuluttajien kokemuksia osallistumisesta tuotteiden ja brändien kehitykseen joukkoistamistyökalun avulla. Yritykset voivat joukkoistamisen avulla ulkoistaa suunnitteluprosessin isommalle joukolle toimijoita kuin perinteisesti on tehty ja samalla osallistaa kuluttajia tuotteiden ja brändien kehitykseen. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on tarkastella sitä, osallistuvatko kuluttajat joukkoistamismenetelmällä tehtyyn kampanjaan ja miten he kokevat kampanjan ja siihen osallistumisen. Tutkimusta varten tehtiin ensin pilotointi, jossa hyödynnettin joukkoistamista. 17 000 kuluttajaa osallistui kampanjaan. Kampanjaan osallistuneiden joukosta valittiin 11 kuluttajaa puolistrukturoituun haastatteluun. Heiltä kysyttiin kokemuksia osallistumisesta. Kuluttajien kokemuksia analysointiin teoria-ohjaavan analyysin avulla, jossa aineistoa käsiteltiin kuluttajan arvonluomista koskevan kirjallisuuden avulla sekä aikaisemman joukkoistamista käsittelevän tutkimuksen avulla. Kuluttajat kokevat osallistumisen pääosin ajan vietteeksi. Samalla he kuitenkin osoittivat kiinnostusta osallistua laajemminkin hyödykkeiden kehittämiseen yhdessä yrityksen kanssa. Kuluttajien osallistuminen kampanjaan riippui tilannetekijöistä ja osallistuminen loi sekä hedonistisia että utilitaristisia arvon kokemuksia kuluttajalle samaan tapaan kuin kuluttaja kokee saavansa arvoa muissakin kulutustapahtumissa. Hedonistiset kokemukset ilmenivät kampanjaan osallistumisen toimimisena ajanvietteenä ja miellyttävänä kokemuksena osallistumisesta kampanjaan kuluttajalle. Utilitariset arvot ilmenivät arvostuksena tiedosta uusista tuotteista, palkinnon saamisen arvostamisen ja ennen kaikkea vaikuttamisesta yrityksen tuotteisiin. Tulokset osoittavat teorian oletusten mukaisesti kuluttaja on aktiivinen ja halukas olemaan kanssa käymisissä yrityksen kanssa muun muassa uuden teknologian avulla kuten myös perinteisimmillä keinoilla.

Protein-energy malnutrition and mineral deficiencies are two of the three forms of nutritional deficiencies that affect most developing countries due to inadequate access to food and diets based on a sole crop. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the staple crop of Nicaragua and it has the potential to improve the nutritional status of the poorest group of the nation. Its high content of both protein and nonhaem iron provides many nutrients, but inhibitors also may prevent absorption of iron and zinc by the human consumer. A proper production chain must be followed to ensure the best grain quality for the consumer. To achieve food security, both production and high nutritional content must be maintained. Four nationally important accessions of common bean, with different harvesting dates, were selected to be submitted to two treatments: to evaluate the impact of storage conditions on the end quality of the grain. The duration of the study was six months with sampling every six weeks, and the two treatments were controlled one stored at 40°C and 75 RH %, and the other was stored in in-situ conditions. Proximate and mineral composition was evaluated as well as tannin, phytate and bioavailability. Significant differences among different accessions were found, being the most significant in protein, Fe and Zn content, tannins and phytate. Protein values ranged from 21-23%. Iron content was 61-81 mg/kg but only 3-4% was bioavailable. Zinc content was 21-25 mg/kg and 10-12% was bioavailable. The concentration of phytate ranged from 8.6-9.6 mg/g while tannin values ranged within 37.7-43.8 mg/g. Storage at high temperatures was demonstrated to have an impact on certain nutritional compounds and proved detrimental to final grain quality. Soluble sugar content and tannin content decreased after six months in both storage conditions, IDF decreased in the in-situ and SDF in the stress. The iron content and bioavailability in INTA Biofortificado were not as outstanding as expected, so experiments should be conducted to compare its iron uptake and delivery with other cultivars.

Punkkivälitteiset patogeenit (PVP) ovat yleisimpiä zoonoottisten tartuntojen aiheuttajia Suomessa. Tautitaakkaan vaikuttavat erityisesti Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato -bakteerien (BBSL) ja puutiaisaivokuumeviruksen (TBEV) aiheuttamat tartunnat. Molemmat ovat lisääntyneet Suomessa viime vuosikymmeninä. Tapausten lisääntymisen voi pääosin laskea taudinaiheuttajien päävektorien, puutiaisen (Ixodes ricinus) ja taigapunkin (I. persulcatus), levittäytymisen ansioksi. Ulkoloisina punkit välittävät tauteja useisiin selkärankaisiin ruokinnan yhteydessä. Ankarat talvet ovat rajoittaneet punkkien levittäytymistä pohjoiseen, mutta ilmastonmuutoksen aiheuttamat leudommat talvikelit ovat edistäneet valloitusretkeä uusille alueille. Vaikka sopiva ilmasto on olennaista punkkien esiintyvyydelle, vaikuttaa punkkien isäntälajiston rakenne mitä luultavimmin punkkien ja PVP:ien yleisyyteen paikallisella tasolla. Tässä tutkielmassa punkkeja kerättiin 6 aitausalueelta ja niiden ympäristöstä. Samoilta alueilta määritettiin lisäksi piennisäkkäiden ja hirvieläinten määrät. Koska aitaukset ja niiden ympäristöt luultavasti edustavat samankaltaista ilmastoa, pyrittiin tutkielmassa tutkia, kuinka punkki-isäntiin liittyvät tekijät vaikuttavat punkkien ja PVP:ien esiintyvyyteen. TBEV-positiivisen poolin sekä TBEV-vasta-aineita kantavien piennisäkkäiden perusteella Hangossa varmistettiin mahdollisesti uusi TBEV pesäke. Aitausten, piennisäkäsmäärien ja hirvieläintiheyksien pohjilta luotiin yleistettyjä lineaarisia sekamalleja (GLMM) selittämään punkkien ja PVP:ien esiintyvyyttä tutkimusalueilla. TBEV jätettiin mallinnuksen ulkopuolelle pienen otoskoon takia. Hirvieläintiheydet olivat erittäin merkitsevä punkkien esiintyvyyteen vaikuttava tekijä. BBSL:n yleisyyteen ei yksikään tekijä vaikuttanut merkitsevällä tasolla – mahdollisena syynä piennisäkäspopulaatioiden muutoksen viiveellinen heijastuminen kerättyjen punkkien tartunta-asteeseen.

This study focuses on understanding the relationship between organic wine production and economic performance. The aim of this study is to clarify, what are the economic impacts that result from the conversion of wine production from conventional to organic. This is an interesting topic to be explored in more detail because despite the increasing demand of organic wine and share of vineyard area used for organic winemaking, the economic consequences of the conversion are still somewhat unclear. Understanding the economic impacts of the conversion process is very important for wine producers from an economic perspective and contributes to an up-to-date picture of the organic wine industry´s economic performance also for the scientific field. The theoretical framework of the study was built in order to investigate the relationship between environmental responsibility and economic performance. The environmental impacts of organic wine production have so far not been scientifically proved but the organic production is widely viewed as an environmentally sustainable way of producing wine. The theoretical review showed that environmentally responsible production may cause both direct cost impacts and also indirect cost and revenue impacts on the economy. Moreover, the net impact creates the final economic performance and influences the success of a company. The study is based on an empirical approach focusing on understanding an economic phenomenon in its real-life context. The data is collected from representatives of organic wine estates from different parts of the world, who have experience of the conversion from conventional to organic wine production. The empirical study was implemented during fall 2012 in two parts. The first dataset was collected through a survey sent via e-mail and the second dataset was through interviews that were organized in one of the studied estates. Both parts of the data collection were based on a qualitative semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of five sections, which all together covered four themes: vineyard, cellar, wine and business aspects. To accomplish the objectives of the study, first the focus was to understand the impacts of the conversion of production from conventional to organic on a wine estate in general. After this the impacts were categorized according to economic performance. The changes were classified into positive and negative cost and revenue impacts by using the existing theoretical knowledge about how environmental responsibility may affect a company´s economic performance. The findings indicated that most of the cost impacts, positive as well as negative, occurred in the early parts of the production chain, in vineyard and cellar procedures. The strongest cost increase was observed in the vineyard production processes, and slightly decreasing level of cost occurred in cellar production process. Varying revenue impacts were naturally indicated more frequently in later procedures, in wine and business themes. In overall, cost effects were considered both negative and positive, but the revenue impacts were mainly positive. Moreover, the cost impacts where more obvious, especially in the vineyard processes, than the changes that had impacts on revenue. Still any significant conclusions about net economic performance cannot be drawn because the findings do not offer any exact information on the magnitude of these impacts and the sample size is rather small. In general, the findings of this study seem to be consistent with other studies. This study was, however, able to offer more detailed information on the economic impacts of the conversion process than previous studies. In general, the representatives considered the organic wine business to have much positive potential, yet benefiting from the potential in economic term was little. The organic market is currently developing and growing faster than the conventional wine market, which creates a possibility to find new customers and increase the marketing channels. Still clear differentiation strategy that would potentially allow premium pricing and bring new customer segments was in use by only minority of the estates. Previous studies indicated that certification has an important role in organic wine marketing as well as in ensuring sustainable competition in the markets. Furthermore, organic wine production is a more risky business than the conventional one, and therefore developing insurance arrangements might be a useful mechanism for balancing the risks and an important factor in encouraging new estates to acquire certificates.

Increasing societal demands are driving forest industry companies to evaluate the impacts of their business activities more comprehensively. Corporate responsibility (CR) is not a new phenomenon to the industry sector as environmental considerations have been on the agenda of the firms for decades through the use of forest resources. Globalization and relocations of operations overseas have increased the general public's awareness of the societal effects of business. CR of major forest industry corporations has been studied extensively but a research gap was identified in the case of CR in small and medium-sized (SME) Finnish forest industry companies. The significance of SMEs is expected to grow within Finnish forest industry in the future as mechanical forest industry increases its relative importance. Based on literature this study suggests that SMEs should approach CR as a strategic issue, i.e., they should evaluate which aspects of this multidimensional phenomenon can affect the firm's ability to reach its objectives. The relatively limited resources of the firm should be allocated to those strategic CR issues. Empirical primary data was collected by interviewing the line managers of medium-sized Finnish sawmills. The managers were asked to identify sources of competitive advantage within the company, to give their definitions of CR and to discuss the potential of CR as a source of competitive advantage. The findings were congruent with earlier studies on SMEs in other industry fields. The firms often execute CR without identifying it and relate to CR through their key stakeholders (employees, community, customers). The interviewed line managers did not generally perceive CR to have potential as a source of CA. If CR is to be promoted amongst Finnish forest industry SMEs, robust business cases have to be presented to demonstrate the measurable benefits of CR. Practical examples of what CR incorporates in the smaller firm are required. Consumer studies are necessary to discover the value of CR stewardship perceived by the customers.