Environmental conditions affect the occurrence of species and changes in conditions change distribution patterns of species. At the time of Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ~ 21 ka), climate has been colder and drier and glaciers have spread over large areas of Europe, which has had a significant impact on the occurrence of plant and animal populations and biodiversity up to modern times. According to the traditional view, the Mediterranean peninsulas have acted as refugia for various species, but several paleoecological and phylogeographical evidence have challenged this notion, as they suggest that the more northern regions may also have had suitable habitats for both temperate and boreal species. The aim of this work is to study the potential distribution areas of terrestrial mammals and the distribution of potential species richness in Europe at the time of LGM using species distribution modelling (SDM). Presence/absence records of mammal species were collected by the Societas Europaea Mammalogica with a resolution of 50 x 50 km. After pre-processing, the data provided information on 107 species in Europe west of 32° E. Modelling was carried out using ensemble modelling and climate data was used as explanatory variable. Hindcasting was done separately with three different LGM climate simulations to allow the assessment of the geographical distribution of climatically suitable areas for the species. Maps of the potential species richness of different species groups were compiled from LGM projections of individual species belonging to the species group. There was variation in modelling success between different species, but consensus models could be made for each species and thus also distribution predictions for the LGM. The climatically potential distribution areas of the different species differed clearly in both size and location and were related to the species' current distribution. Overall, the potential species richness during the LGM was higher than average in the Mediterranean peninsulas, the southern Western Europe, the Black Sea region, and the Carpathian region. The focus of the distribution of southern species was in the areas south of the Alps and of the northern species north and east of the Alps. The potential ranges of northern species were also larger on average than those of southern species. For mammals, climatically potential distribution areas were modelled extensively across the glacial Europe. The results support the idea of several suitable refugia for temperate species, some of which are located on the southern peninsulas and some north of traditional southern refugia. Northern species, on the other hand, have been able to find suitable living conditions in much of central and eastern Europe and therefore have not necessarily been limited to certain refugia. In the light of the results, it appears that mammalian glacial distribution patterns may have varied greatly depending on the characteristics of the species and that the climate during the LGM may not have significantly limited the distribution of all species.

Antropogeeninen toiminta vaikuttaa heikentävästi vedenlaatuun. Tämä vaikutus perustuu luonnollisia prosesseja ja syklejä häiritsevään toimintaan. Kasvavat ravinnepitoisuudet saavat aikaan vesistöjen rehevöitymistä ja maanpinnan rikkoutumisesta johtuva lisääntyvä eroosio lisää vesien turbiditeettia ja sedimentaatiota. Etenkin liuenneiden raskasmetallien lisääntyminen on hyvin haitallista, sillä ne eivät hajoa luonnossa ja bioakkumuloituvat helposti. Hydrologiaa ja vedenlaatua on tärkeätä tarkkailla, jotta kuormituksen haitalliset vaikutukset voidaan minimoida. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää maankäytön vaikutusten merkitystä veden laatuun ihmistoiminnan muuttamilla pienillä valuma-alueilla Etelä-Suomessa. Tutkimus sijoittuu Kirkkonummen kunnan alueelle. Tutkimukseen kerättiin vesinäytteitä ja tietoja kemiallisista muuttujista marraskuun 2016 aikana 38 valuma-alueelta Kirkkonummen alueelta. Kerätyistä näytteistä analysoitiin vuoden 2017 alussa kokonaisravinne-, aines- ja liuenneiden metallien pitoisuudet. Maankäyttöluokitus määritettiin CORINE-aineiston ja Kirkkonummen kunnan tarjoaman hulevesiaineiston avulla ArcGIS-ohjelmistossa. Maankäyttöluokitusta verrattiin saatuihin vedenlaadun muuttujiin regressioanalyysillä. Tutkimus toteutetaan valuma-aluepohjaisella tarkastelutavalla, sillä sen avulla pystytään tarjoamaan hyvä yleiskuva valuma-alueen vesistöjen kunnosta kustannustehokkaasti. Saatujen tulosten perusteella Kirkkonummen pienten valuma-alueiden vedenlaatuun vaikuttaa eniten pellon osuus valuma-alueella lisäämällä kokonaisravinteiden ja ainespitoisuuden määrää. Metsän vaikutus on korrelaation perusteella vähäisempi ja ravinnekuormaa vähentävä. Rakennetun alueen määrän merkitys ravinteisiin ja ainespitoisuuteen olisi saatujen tuloksien mukaan alhainen. Ravinnepitoisuudet ovat kaiken kaikkiaan suuret tutkituilla valuma-alueilla. Liuenneista metalleista kadmiumin ja tinan määritysrajat eivät ylittyneet puolissa näytteistä. Keskiarvon perusteella arseenin määrä on vähäisempi tutkituissa puroissa kuin eteläisen Suomen latvapuroissa yleensä. Mangaanin, raudan ja lyijyn pitoisuudet ovat keskimääräisesti samalla tasolla. Keskimääräistä enemmän Kirkkonummen puroissa on alumiinia, vanadiinia, kromia, nikkeliä, kuparia ja sinkkiä. Verrattuna aiempiin tutkimuksiin kokonaisravinteiden ja ainespitoisuuden määrät korreloivat maankäytön kanssa teorian mukaisesti. Metsän ja rakennetun alueen korrelaatio tosin erottui oletettua vähäisempänä. Tähän voinee vaikuttaa se, että näytepisteitä oli vain 38 ja rakennetun alueen intensiteetti sekä osuus valuma-alueiden alasta ei ylittänyt 80 %. Ravinnepitoisuuksiltaan Kirkkonummen pienet joet ovat rehevöityneet. Tulevissa tutkimuksissa voitaisiin lisätä näytepisteiden paikkaa ja analysoida saatuja tuloksia mallinnuksen keinoin. Lisähyötyä voitaisiin saavuttaa lisäämällä tutkittavia parametreja esimerkiksi bakteriologian puolelta.

Soil carbon stocks of arctic regions are globally a remarkable carbon storage and a fundamental component in the global carbon cycle, as they store more than twice the amount of carbon compared to the atmosphere. Environmental controllers and mechanisms behind soil carbon stocks should be comprehensively studied, as there is no clear agreement of the climate change impacts on the sensitive tundra ecosystems and the soil carbon storages. Therefore, there is an urgent need for reliable and extensive soil carbon data to evaluate both local and global impacts of ecosystem changes in tundra regions. Typically, the upscaling of soil organic carbon predictions made in arctic regions has been based totally or partly on vegetation and land cover classifications. This might be one reason why we are lacking a wide view of the potential of using topographical variables in the upscaling of carbon stocks. Even though, the theory has proven a strong indirect relationship between topography and soil properties. Consequently, only variables extracted from a terrain model were used in this study. The aim of the study was to produce as realistic regional soil organic carbon prediction as possible and to investigate the potential of modeling soil organic carbon with topographical variables. Additionally, the variation of soil carbon stocks in relation to the topographical position were examined closely. The landscape scaled subarctic research area located in northern Norway in a mountainous region with relative elevation reaching almost one thousand meters. Hence, the area has a wide range of environmental gradients, which makes it a great area for studying ecological impacts. The research material consisted of field measurements and soil samples of which carbon contents were analyzed in laboratory. Carbon storages were examined against topographical variables extracted from the terrain model using two different multivariate models: generalized additive model (GAM) and generalized boosted regression modeling (GBM). Models were assessed through correlations between observed and predicted values and through model residuals and their root mean square errors (RMSE). Based on the predictive models, soil carbon stocks varied on the research area between 0–34,5 kg C m-2 and the regional mean estimate was 4,2 kg C m-2. These estimates and the regional variation in stocks are in line with earlier inventories made in similar environments. The largest soil carbon stocks were found above the treeline in valleys, at gently sloping hillsides and in local water-logged peatlands. Soil carbon stocks were generally smaller in the mountain birch forest compared to the shrub and heath tundra areas. Local scale variability in carbon stocks were significant and a great portion of total storages was found on a limited area. Above a height of 700 meters, steep topography and harsh climate conditions limits soil formation leaving only barren ground, which explains the low observed carbon storages. Relationships between local topography and soil carbon stocks presented in theory were also recognized in the results of the multivariate models. Absolute height above sea level regulated soil carbon stock especially through the impact on vegetation and temperature conditions. Hence, these mechanisms made up the robust landscape scaled distribution in predicted carbon storages. Instead, soil moisture determined the fine scaled variation. As well, the results indicated soil moistures essential role in soil carbon accumulation. Earlier observations of topographical variables potential in soil carbon prediction modeling are supported by the fairly good models of this research. Nevertheless, large uncertainties are still associated with regional upscaling of soil carbon stocks, which should be paid attention to in future researches to improve the reliability of predictions. A holistic perspective will be necessary to understand the spatial distribution and environmental factors influence on soil carbon storages. Reliable estimations of soil carbon stocks are a key component when determining future climate change impacts and feedbacks as these mechanisms have globally reaching consequences.

The spatial and temporal variations in soil moisture can cause natural hazards, such as droughts and floods. Soil moisture and its mediating environmental factors are fairly unknown from the point of view of climate change, even though climate is a major controlling factor. A significant feedback loop between climate and soil moisture affects various ecosystem processes, especially in the Arctic. Soil moisture is fairly fast and simple to measure in the field, but even so it has not been the subject of comprehensive research. Especially the temporal changes in soil moisture in the Arctic are poorly understood. In low-energy systems, such as Arctic-alpine regions, soil moisture is an important limiting factor for vegetation. This study aims to understand which factors mediate soil moistures spatial variation and temporal change. In addition, one of the objectives of this study is to determine the importance of soil moisture for vascular plant distribution at the landscape scale. The data comprehends 945 individual square meter plots from a 130 km² research area in northern Norway, where relative elevation reaches almost 1000 meters. The variable relief covers a vast range of extreme environmental gradients over short distances, such as a moisture gradient from dry, sun-baked slopes to water-logged peatlands and a vegetation gradient from rugged mountain tops to flood-meadows rich in species. The data consists of in situ field measurements and observations as well as data based on topography, remote sensing and climate models. Factors controlling the spatial variation and temporal change of soil moisture are studied with multivariate models (GLM: Generalized linear model and GAM: Generalizes additive model) at different scales. The importance of soil moisture for vegetation is examined by using four modelling techniques (GLM, GAM, GBM: Generalized boosted regression model, and RF: Random forest) within BIOMOD, an ensemble platform for species distribution modelling. Soil moisture is mediated by various factors, but this research stresses soil properties as the most important variable for the spatial variation in soil moisture conditions. Temporal changes in moisture are mainly controlled by climate factors along with soil properties. Throughout all scales, vegetation, topography, and snow were also proven to be important factors. Vegetation distribution is controlled by soil moisture, as several previous studies have shown. Moisture models based on field measurements as opposed to wetness indices based on topography (SWI: Saga wetness index) turned out to have higher coefficient values. In addition to soil moisture, other soil properties and radiation also control vegetation distribution. The least meaningful factor was shown to be SWI, emphasizing the irreplaceability of field measurements. There are several positive and negative feedbacks between soil moisture and its controlling factors, which need to be addressed when investigating soil moisture. The results of this study are in line with previous studies concerning both moisture controlling factors and soil moisture as a limiting resource for vegetation. The novelty of this study lies in its approach: bringing various spatiotemporal scales together in order to find factors controlling moisture an Arctic landscape. After all, soil moisture is first and foremost controlled by soil properties, but it is also mediated by various factors at different scales.

Suomen aluerakenteellinen painopiste on muuttunut kaupunkikeskeiseksi. Palvelu- ja tietoyhteiskunta toimii keskittymisetujen mukaisesti jopa enemmän kuin matalamman jalostusasteen teollisuusvaltio. Vanha tasapainoiseen aluerakenteeseen tähdännyt politiikka on väistynyt kaupunkien kehittämisen kautta tapahtuvan yhteiskuntakehityksen tieltä. Perinteinen hyvinvointivaltio on myös väistymässä paremmin globaaliin kilpailuun vastaavan tehokkaamman valtion tieltä. Tässä laajassa kehityskuvassa maaseudun rooli on vähenemässä ja niin tuotannollinen kuin väestöllinen painopiste on siirtynyt yhä suuremmiksi kasvaville kaupunkiseuduille. Yhteiskunta jakaantuu eli polarisoituu. Erityisesti hyvin laajat harvaan asutun maaseudun alueet kärsivät väestökadosta ja jopa pienet maaseutukaupungit ovat vaikeuksissa. Hyvinvointivaltio rakennettiin koko valtion alueelle levittäytyväksi tasapainoiseksi yhteiskunnaksi, jossa palvelut olivat tasapuolisesti kaikkien saatavilla. Tämä kehitys on kuitenkin kääntynyt, palveluita on yksityistetty ja niitä karsitaan niin palvelutasoltaan kuin alueellisesti. Erityisesti maaseutualueet, joilla on vähäinen asukaspohja, kärsivät niukkenevista palveluista. Tämä tutkielma tarkastelee kaupunki- ja maaseutualueiden polarisoituvaa kehitystä Suomessa. Erityistarkasteluun otetaan maaseudun palveluiden säilyttäminen osana alueellista elinvoimaisuutta. Tutkimusmenetelmänä ovat triangulaatioajatuksen mukaisesti alueelliset tilastotarkastelut sekä asiantuntijahaastattelut. Tilastoilla osoitetaan alueellisen kehityksen trendejä ja tulevaisuuden suuntaviivoja. Haastatteluilla pyritään löytämään näkökulmia maaseutualueiden palvelukonseptien kehittämiseksi. Tutkimustuloksina todetaan, että yleisen keskittymiskehityksen mukaisesti myös maaseudun palvelukeskittyminä toimivat kyläkeskukset kasvattavat alueellista rooliaan kuten myös monitoimiset palvelupisteet. Heikkoutena maaseudulla ovat pieni asiakaspohja, pitkät välimatkat sekä näihin suhteutettuna kallis infrastruktuuri. Kasvavina uhkina ovat palveluiden yhä suurempi keskittäminen kuntakeskuksiin erityisesti kuntaliitostilanteissa. Toisaalta pieni asiakaspohja ja maaseudun uudenlainen vetovoima tekevät maaseudusta hyvän kokeiluympäristön uudenlaisille konsepteille, joita ovat erityisesti mobiiliteknologioihin ja paikkatietopalveluihin pohjautuvat palvelut. Nämä palvelut toisaalta vaativat käyttäjiltään yhä suurempaa tietoteknistä osaamista ja oma-aloitteisuutta. Tehokas asiakasryhmien tunnistaminen ja palvelujen optimointi mahdollistavat myös suhteellisen halvan palveluiden järjestämisen. Tasapäistävään aluepolitiikkaan on muuttuvassa hyvinvointivaltiossa tuskin enää paluuta. Maaseutuasuminen tulee saamaan uusia muotoja esimerkiksi monipaikkaisen asumisen muodossa. Palvelut eivät enää tule toimimaan perinteisen kaavan mukaan, vaan ne muuttuvat yhä enemmän pyörien päällä liikkuviksi, sähköisiksi sekä tarpeen mukaisesti räätälöidyiksi. Maaseutuasumiseen on selvästi nähtävissä kasvavaa kiinnostusta. Maaseutu saakin uudenlaisia asukkaita, jotka esimerkiksi pendelöivät kaupunkiin töihin. Maaseutuasumisesta tulee yhä enemmän tietoinen valinta, usein suuren kaupungin vaikutuspiirissä. Näin syrjäisimmät ydinmaaseudun alueet menettävät asukkaita ja myös palveluiden määrä lähes väistämättä vähenee entisestään. Julkisten ja yksityisten palvelutuottajien sekä ammattimaisen ja vapaaehtoisuuteen perustuvan palvelutuotannon välinen raja-aita ovat kaikki murroksessa, mikä tuo tarvetta lisätutkimukselle.

This thesis is motivated by the need for more knowledge about the factors which influence the plant species richness and biomass in subarctic and alpine environments. It is known that the effects of climate warming will be most severe in arctic, subarctic and alpine regions. A warmer climate will change the vegetation composition and biomass production in these environments. In this thesis I investigate the effects of six nutrients (Ca, Na, Mg, Fe, K and P), hydrological conditions early in the growing season and geomorphology on plant species richness and biomass in the northernmost part of Finland, Kilpisjärvi. The conditions in the study site are subarctic-alpine. In subarctic and alpine regions the varying topography in macro and micro scales leads to a wide variety of habitats even within small spatial dimensions. Materials in this study include field observations about the plant species richness and biomass, geomorphological processes and hydrological conditions; chemical analysis of soil samples; and topography variables derived from a digital elevation model. Methods used are generalized linear models and variation partitioning, which are both more and more used in ecological and geomorphological studies. The results suggest that the most influential of the environmental variables on the plant species richness and biomass is geomorphology. It is the most influential explanatory variable on total, vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen species richness as well as on total, bryophyte and lichen biomass. The amount geomorphology explains varies between 9 - 41 %. The variation in vascular plant species richness is best explained by hydrological conditions (14 %). The variables chosen for this study are able to explain over 50% of the species richness response variables. For total, bryophyte and lichen biomass the amount explained is about 20 - 47 %, and even 77 % of total biomass is explained by the variables. Geomorphology, hydrology and nutrients are able to explain better the variation in biomass than in species richness. These findings support earlier studies in the same field.

Gathering information on forest structure is vital in estimating forest biodiversity, carbon stocks and temporal changes in standing forests. Currently the only viable method of collecting such information in vast areas is remote sensing (RS). Two commonly used RS methods for acquiring high resolution three dimensional information on forest structure are airborne laser scanning (ALS) and digital aerial photogrammetry (DAP). In quantifying forest structure, the distributions of tree basal areas have been used because the variation in tree sizes is closely linked to the whole concept of forest structure. Retrieving information on these distributions can be done by modelling the relationship of in situ measured distribution indices and the remotely sensed elevation information. One of these distribution indices is the Gini coefficient which has been shown to be a prominent index in describing the forest structure from ALS data. In this study, DAP data was gathered with an unmanned aerial system (UAS) from the vicinity of the Lammi research station with the intention of investigating its suitability on modelling forest structure by using Gini coefficient (GC). Airborne laser scanning data retrieved from the National land survey was used as a comparison dataset. The in situ measured field data consisted of tree circumference measurements from 50 circular plots (r = 5m). From these measurements, the tree basal areas were calculated and the plot level Gini coefficients determined. A comprehensive set of plot level point cloud variables were also calculated from both ALS and DAP point clouds. The most important predictor variables were chosen from the point cloud variables with an automatic exhaustive variable selection function. Then, beta regression modelling was applied to both sets of predictor variables and the best GC models determined. Finally, the models were generalized to the whole study area and GC maps were produced. The resulting GC models for both datasets performed in a mediocre way. The best DAP model had a cross-validated RRMSE of 29.8% and the best ALS model had RRMSE of 27.2%. The coefficient of determination (R2) was also better in the ALS model (0.49) than in the DAP model (0.39). The performance of the ALS model was slightly worse than in previous studies using ALS to predict GC. Part of this might be a repercussion of the non-optimal acquisition time of the ALS dataset. For DAP, there were no previous studies. The results of this study suggest that ALS is a more prominent method in mapping forest structure with GC. The DAP proved to be an inexpensive and flexible method of gathering three dimensional information on forests but it had poor canopy penetration abilities which affected the modelling performance negatively.

This thesis introduces material culture studies and encourages creative education. The focus is on commodity geographies that include commodity chain stories, trade justice debates, radical pedagogies and culture activism. The study has been done in response to wider academic calls and it is directed to multiple audiences working in academia, education and ethical world trade. Academics have called for studying materiality and trade but also for revitalising human geography. They have argued that it is important to develop education that connects universities, schools and NGOs. This thesis examines how people in the often separate spheres of academia, education development, NGOs and cultural activism have collaborated on trade justice education in England and Finland. The thesis examines what this kind of education is like for students, teachers and researchers in the network and what kinds of new, useful and creative collaboration work can be undertaken. The research involved fieldwork in England, where commodity and young people's geographies have been extensively developed. The idea was to learn from the research and teaching practise, participate in collaborative projects, bring the knowledge to Finland and share the thesis' findings in public. The thesis is organised in four chapters. Chapter 1 sets the context by reviewing the development of material culture studies, critical economic geographies and the 'Follow The Thing' genre of trade justice scholar activism. Chapter 2 examines how the separate spheres of academia and activism are interlinked. This includes developing trade justice education by joining up creative culture jamming, scholar activism and NGOs' global education projects. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on teaching practise, learning experiences and new collaborations. Chapter 3 outlines the methods of the research and examines three case studies, curriculum change and radical pedagogies. A university geography course and two educational projects were studied by interviewing students and educationalists. In chapter 4, the 'Classroom project' tells about collaboration with educationalists and new geography teachers. The creative ideas and classroom experiences of the teachers were studied and new teaching materials were co-created for public sharing after having a workshop at the Geographical Association conference in 2013. The research also included collaboration with www.followthethings.com, a database of geographical trade justice and culture jamming studies, and creating the first bilingual study about a Finnish commodity. Chapter 4 and Conclusion also examine how this public research and teaching materials enabled networking with Finnish educationalists and the use of the thesis' findings in NGOs' new innovative education projects. The methods and writing style of the research are autoethnographic. Besides conventional research, the thesis describes personal experiences and research of the writer. The writing style stems from doing fieldwork within a network, in which collaboration and enthusiasm are notable. The thesis is a piece of public geographies - a co-created report that works through the networks and making the teaching materials publicly available in both countries. A written documentary of the research practise is important: much collaboration stays unreported, uninspiring or unknown in Finland. The case studies of this thesis reveal important experiences of collaboration, creative teaching and students' powerful learning on trade justice education. The interview data shows how border-crossing projects and scholar activism have linked commodity research, culture jamming, young people's geographies and radical pedagogies usefully together. Collaboration with new teachers gave valuable information about practical classroom experiences and students' course work, which are now shared online and used in a Finnish NGO project. The critical research knowledge and enthusiasm of the thesis aims to encourage creative education and give important advice for new educational projects.

Maritime transport is highly important, especially in Finland where most of the foreign trade transports are maritime. HaminaKotka is a general port which was made up of two ports, and it is one of the biggest ports in Finland. Its development towards regionalisation makes it an interesting subject of study. This thesis explains the maritime transport in the sea area of the port of HaminaKotka. The main objective of this study is to present the reasons behind the maritime transport in the study area and to answer the study questions: 1) How have the transports in HaminaKotka developed since the founding of the port 2011? 2) What are the most important factors affecting maritime transport in HaminaKotka? 3) How are the transport routes laid out in the area of HaminaKotka port? and 4) What kind of future can be expected for the ports transport? The research material consists of maritime transport statistics and previous studies and reports, and as a combination they create a picture of maritime transport in the parts of the port of HaminaKotka. The main materials are the transport statistics of HaminaKotka from the ports existence. The thesis was executed as a combination of statistical analysis and literature review. The statistic material was first studied analysed and then the results were evaluated with literature and previous studies. According to the statistics, total traffic volumes in HaminaKotka were reduced each year in 2011–2014. The biggest drop in volumes was between 2011 and 2012. The drop in traffic volumes was mainly caused by the bad economic situation during that time, because maritime transport is highly dependent on economic development in Finland as well as Russia and the rest of the world. Based on the research materials, it can be stated that the biggest transport flows went to those parts of the port which handled most of the transports and most of the biggest product groups. The biggest product groups by volume are paper, unitized cargo and chemicals, which remained the biggest groups during the study period. Hinterland connections are more and more important for maritime transport, because they improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the transport chains. The ports ability to act as a part of a broader transport network is also vital for its competitiveness in the future. Governance and political decisions have an important impact on funding and regulating the transportations, as public administration puts in a lot of capital in transport infrastructure; though private investments have a role as well. Different environmental laws and regulations can also have an effect on the competitiveness of maritime transport and on the competitiveness of a port in the future. A part of a transportation network, such as a port, has been formed into a particular environment, and its development and possible expansion can cause issues for the surrounding environment. Maritime transport will continue to follow the economic situation and its development. The future development of HaminaKotka will be dependent on the ports possible specialisation on the handling of certain cargos, on the investments in the port and the port's hinterland connections as well as regional policy issues.

Species composition of a local habitat is a sample of regional species pool. Stress and disturbance define the environmental conditions and control the vegetation on the local scale. The variation of stress and disturbance inside a region control fluctuations in species richness and species composition. This thesis examines the effect of local stress and disturbance on the relationship between local and regional vascular plant species pools in arctic-alpine environment. The relationship is studied through beta-diversity, which measures the ratio of local and regional species richness. It tells how many times larger the regional species pool is compared to the local species pool. If stress, disturbance and biotic competition didn't limit the species dispersal at the local scale, there would be the same species composition in every habitat and no variance in beta-diversity. Stress level is studied through soil temperature, moisture and pH. Stress variables determine the resource shortage, which limits the primary production and species richness. Earth surface processes (ESP) are a major disturbance in a low-productive environment. ESPs modify physical conditions of a habitat, destroy vegetation and change the availability of resources. Stress and disturbance are distributed by local topography, which is measured with a mesotopographical index. The research was carried out by analyzing an environmental data, which was sampled in Finnish Lapland in 2011–2013. The data consists of 21 research grids that hold together 3360 research plots. A research grid is considered a region for which regional species richness was computed based on its plots' species pools. Beta-diversity was computed to every research plot as a ratio of regional and local species richness. The effect of environment on beta-diversity was studied through Spearman correlation coefficient and statistical modeling. Generalized linear models (GLM) were used to find out the best combination of stress variables in explaining the variation of beta-diversity and the change in explained variation after bringing ESPs in the model. The relational shares of stress and disturbance variables in explaining beta-diversity were studied with generalized boosted regression models (GBM). Beta-diversity is strongly distributed spatially by mesotopography. Local species richness increases and beta-diversity decreases when moving from a ridge through a slope to a valley. Mesotopography controls habitats' stress level and ESPs distribution, which is why it has such a strong impact on vegetation. Other noteworthy controllers of beta-diversity are soil moisture, wind driven erosion, known as deflation and fluvial disturbance. Deflation and fluvial disturbance are more effective in controlling beta-diversity than stress variables. It was found that stress and disturbance affect beta-diversity both in positive and negative ways. Mesotopograhy divides the environment in different parts, where there are different controllers of local habitat and vegetation. In the valley there is fluvial disturbance which is related to productive habitat and low values in beta-diversity. Fluvial disturbance lowers stress level and competition which removes the species dispersal obstacles. A large share of regional species pool has dispersed in valleys. Deflation operates on the ridge where it erodes soil and raises stress level. This prevents many species from dispersing to ridges and in doing so raises the beta-diversity. There are no strong ESPs in the slope, for which beta-diversity is controlled by variable snow cover driven soil moisture. Moist habitats have higher species richness and lower beta-diversity than dry habitats. The absence of ESPs may increase competition between plant species. This research shows that the variance of beta-diversity is driven by the descending local species richness along mesotopographical index. Beta-diversity is controlled by ESPs which also are distributed by mesotopography. Stress is a minor driver of beta-diversity.