Browsing by master's degree program "Ympäristömuutoksen ja globaalin kestävyyden maisteriohjelma (ECGS)"

Biodiversity loss is one of the pressing challenges of the 21st century, affecting ecosystems and people around the world. One of the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss are invasive alien species (IAS). Prevention of the arrival and spreading is the most efficient management option for IAS, which requires consistent monitoring, to ensure early detection. Effective surveillance of IAS may be challenging to conduct by authorities and professionals alone, and alternative data sources are needed to gather up-to-date data on species distributions. Novel data gathering tools and research approaches can provide easily available digital data for researchers to use. One of these options is citizen science (CS), where citizens are participating in scientific research. CS provides a cost-effective way to gather species observations in wide geographical and temporal scales. Citizen observations of IAS are seen as a valuable data source to support professional monitoring and they have been increasingly utilized in IAS research in recent years. The aim of my thesis was to study what kind of information have citizens produced on IAS in Finland. I studied the spatial and temporal distributions, as well as the taxonomic component of citizen observations of IAS, in the Finnish Biodiversity Info Facility’s open access database. Spatial distribution of the observations was visualized in choropleth maps and the spatial clustering of the data was studied with Moran's I, kernel density estimations and standard deviational ellipses. Additionally, I studied if there were IAS observations from the Finnish Natura 2000-sites as protected areas have been noted to be vulnerable to invasions. These data were also compared to expert observations (research projects, ecological surveys), to see differences between the datasets. Results showed that citizens had observed over 30 IAS in Finland and the majority of observations (52.77%) were made in recent years (2020–2023). Observations came from all regions of Finland, with high concentrations on the southern part of the country and around highly populated municipalities. Comparisons to expert observations suggested that citizens could provide complementary information on species less observed by experts and geographically in the northern part of the country. IAS monitoring in Finland can therefore benefit from citizen observations to fill in gaps in species distributions. The citizen observations did, however, include certain limitations and biases that need to be taken into account in further research. The methods used in this study can be repeated and used to inform decisions on where to implement management actions for IAS.

The 2022 energy crisis heightened concerns about energy sufficiency. In response, Finland launched a nationwide energy-saving campaign, Astetta alemmas, to encourage Finns to take concrete and effortless energy-saving actions in their daily lives. The aim of this thesis was to analyze which energy-saving behaviors the media emphasize in the campaign and how the campaign messages are framed in the media. The analysis of media response was chosen because there is a lack of this type of study related to energy-saving campaigns. The data consisted of 94 news articles collected from the five national online news media from October 1st to December 31st, 2022. The data was analyzed using frame and content analysis. The analysis was based on a pre-determined theoretical framework consisting of nine energy-saving and general news frames: economic, social, environmental, personal, moral, health, conflict, responsibility, and human-interest frames. In addition, two new frames were recognized from the data. The energy-saving behaviors found were classified as curtailment and efficiency behaviors. The campaign was portrayed as an opportunity to save money through effortless energy-saving measures such as lowering the room temperature. Most of these actions were categorized as curtailment behaviors. The media showed the importance of individuals’ efforts to save energy in a society by emphasizing that saving energy has paid off and that new saving habits have become a routine part of daily life. On the other hand, energy-saving actions led to compromises in living standards, resulting in suffering and high electricity bills. The media portrayed the negative consequences by emphasizing conflicts and showing how far people are willing to go to save energy while risking their health. The impact on the environment was seen as a secondary principle. The crisis was a suitable moment for the media to highlight the importance of energy conservation. The campaign was well justified as a campaign of the whole nation, highlighted by solidarity and shared responsibility to save energy. Nevertheless, some of the tips given were targeted at specific households. The media raised a dichotomy by highlighting individuals as heroes or sufferers through their experiences. This is a novel contribution to previous studies. This dichotomy provides room for further studies that could focus on the people behind the news stories and the long-term effects of post-campaign energy-saving measures. This thesis provides initial insights into the media response to the Astetta alemmas campaign during the first three months and in specific news media, but the results cannot be generalized to the response of all news media during the campaign.

Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations are used as proxies for hygienic quality of ambient waters. The most utilized FIB are Escherichia coli and intestinal Enterococci. The laboratory methods used to reliably determine these concentrations are time-consuming and do not provide immediate information on the hygienic quality of recreational waters. In this thesis I developed regression models for FIB concentrations using physicochemical in situ water quality measurements as explanatory variables. An accurate and reliable model would enable real-time and continuous determination of FIB concentrations, thereby enhancing the monitoring of water hygienic quality. Using a flow-through system, two spatially comprehensive physicochemical datasets were collected from the sea area of Helsinki Metropolitan area in September 2022 and May 2023. Alongside, total of 56 water samples were collected for analyzing concentrations of E. coli and intestinal Enterococci. For these datasets, I fitted multiple linear regression models, other generalized linear models, zero-inflated models, and hurdle models between the measured parameters and FIB concentrations. Among the measured variables, the fluorescent dissolved organic matter proved to be the superior indicator of declining hygienic quality of water. Other significant explanatory variables included concentrations of phycocyanin and CO2, as well as turbidity. Produced models for intestinal Enterococci were generally more accurate compared to those for E. coli. The preferred model for E. coli proved to be negative binomial regression model, whereas zero-inflated negative binomial model was the optimal model for intestinal Enterococci, due to the substantial proportion of zeros in the intestinal Enterococci dataset. Applying the selected models to the entire physicochemical dataset generated elevated FIB concentration estimations in areas that are subject to FIB loading, based on previous FIB monitoring results throughout the study area. However, thorough validation and further development of presented models is essential before engaging them in FIB monitoring practices.

Climate change and biodiversity loss are some of the most serious challenges the humanity is facing today. Current food systems are a major contributor to both global crises with massive negative impacts on climate and biodiversity, and thus, sustainable food system transition is inevitable in slowing down the further progress of climate change and biodiversity loss. One way to tackle the unsustainabilities of the food systems is through policy interventions, which can guide both food production and consumption to a more climate- and biodiversity-friendly direction. The aim of this thesis was to examine the popularity of different policy instruments in terms of reducing food’s climate and biodiversity impact among Finnish young adults. Moreover, this thesis aspired to find out which areas of food production and consumption Finnish young adults think policy interventions should target. Young adults were chosen as a target group, because they are in an important position in sustainability transitions. This research is based on survey data and the method applied was content analysis with characteristics from both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The data was analyzed in Atlas.ti program by using inductive and deductive content analysis methods. The results indicate that the most popular policy instruments for reducing food’s impact on climate and biodiversity among Finnish young adults were market-based, including taxes as the most popular and subsidies as the second most popular individual measure. This is in contrast to previous literature, where taxation and other market-based policies have been reported to be the least favored policies. Furthermore, information-based policies, of which especially raising awareness, regulatory instruments, of which particularly price regulation, as well as public procurement policies like a vegetarian day in public food services were among the most popular policy instruments. Although not directly examining acceptability, these results offer a glimpse on policy acceptability, which is found to be crucial in successful policy implementation. Further research is needed to study the acceptability of these policies comprehensively. Moreover, policy target areas related to food consumption rather than production were more popular among the respondents. Target areas such as favoring domestic food, reducing or ending animal product consumption and production, transitioning to vegetarian diets, making better (e.g. climate-friendly) choices easier, and converting meat into a luxury product were the most suggested. These results could be scaled up in future studies and then utilized in creating sustainable policies for food consumption and production, and that way reduce the climate and biodiversity impact they cause.

Global warming should not rise beyond 1.5°C, which means that all sectors in the economy are needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The need for corporations to account their value chain emissions has sprung a variety of accounting and reporting standards. In response, Greenhouse Gas protocol established the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard. However, the success of the scope 3 emission accounting has been determined to be insufficient. The unsuccess of scope 3 emission accounting and reporting can be explained with the challenges that have been widely identified. Nevertheless, the identified challenges do not provide a deeper understanding of why they hinder the success of scope 3 accounting and reporting. This thesis delves into the challenges of scope 3 accounting by investigating four Finnish food industry corporations. The study for this thesis was conducted as semi-structured interviews of seven experts who work with the scope 3 accounting and reporting of their corporation. The interviews were held in May of 2022 and theory guided thematic analysis was used to analyze the results. The results show that there are challenges concerning measurement and evaluation, knowledge and guidance and communication. The measurement and evaluation challenges include data collection challenges, data quality challenges and data processing challenges. The key finding from this study is that most of these challenges are highly connected. The reporting corporation and suppliers’ resources and guidance play a key role in data collection and how accurate data can be obtained for the GHG inventory. These affect the comparability of gained emission factors and how comparable the emission information of products, production lines and corporations are. The findings of this study share understanding of the complexity of scope 3 accounting challenges.

Opinnäytetyössä tutkittiin olosuhteiden muutosten vaikutusta torjunta-ainepitosuuksiin pilot-mittakaavan sedimenttipylväissä ja suodatinpylväissä. Pilot-mittakaavan pylväissä verrattiin ilmastuksen ja veden virtauksen muutosten vaikutusta pitoisuuksiin. Suodatinpylväissä tarkasteltavina tekijöinä oli orgaanisen aineen ja nollaraudan vaikutus torjunta-ainepitoisuuksiin. Tutkittavina torjunta-aineina olivat atratsiini, simatsiini, heksatsinoni ja diklobeniili, sekä hajoamistuotteet DIA, DEA, DEDIA ja BAM. Kyseisiä torjunta-aineita esiintyy pohjavesissä useissa eri Euroopan maissa mukaan lukien Suomi, vaikka niiden käyttö on lopetettu ja kielletty EU:n alueella useita vuosia sitten. Pylväistä analysoidut ulostulovedet valmisteltiin kaasukromatografia-massaspektrometria (GC-MS) mittausta varten kiinteäfaasiuutolla. Suodatinpylväiden torjunta-aineiden puhdistuskapasiteetti vaihteli testikertojen välillä ja yhdisteet käyttäytyivät eri tavalla suhteessa toisiinsa. Ensimmäisen kuukauden jälkeen talousveden raja-arvo 0,10 µg/l ylittyi heksatsinonin osalta. Toisen kuukauden jälkeen heksatsinonin pitoisuus ylitti jälleen talousveden raja-arvon, niin kuin myös BAM:n. Sitten viimeisellä testikerralla kohonneita yli 0,1 µg/l pitoisuuksia oli atratsiinilla ja heksatsinonilla. BAM:n ja heksatsinonin kulkeutuminen oli odotettavissa yhdisteiden ominaisuuksien perusteella ja niiden hajoaminen on hidasta verrattuna muihin yhdisteisiin. Puolestaan atratsiinin kohonneet pitoisuudet voidaan selittää maaperän kiintoaineksen liikkumisella suodatinpylväästä torjunta-aineiden kanssa. Pelkän hiekan vaikutus suodatinpylväissä aliarvioitiin, mikä vaikutti erityisesti BAM:n ja heksatsinonin pitoisuuksiin.

The change in land use creates pressure for the remediation of polluted land areas. In Finland, the most common remediation method is soil replacement, which is a reliable, but expensive and emission-rich method. Alternative, more environmentally friendly methods are constantly being developed. In this thesis, the effect of a fractional mixture of organic matter on the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons (> C10-C40) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil was studied in pilot-scale experiments. Petroleum hydrocarbons and PAHs are common pollutants, and they are released into the environment as continuous emissions and from accidents. Due to their low volatility and high hydrophobicity, these pollutants degrade slowly in the environment and can be harmful to organisms. Soil organic matter has been found to promote the microbiological and chemical transformation of the pollutants in question, despite its ability to also prevent transformation by retaining the compounds by sorption. The effect of a fractional mixture of organic matter called OrgRemed® on the degradation of hydrocarbons and PAHs was studied for 6 months with two different mixture concentrations (1.25 % and 2.5 %) and the results were compared to natural attenuation and biostimulation with inorganic nutrients. The mixture enhanced the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons, with a 2.5 % concentration resulting in the fastest degradation. With the fractional mixture, the total petroleum hydrocarbon concentration decreased 67-73 % in 4 months, while in biostimulation and natural attenuation 73 % and 37 % decrease was observed in 6 months, respectively. Petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations did not decrease further after 4 months with fractional mixture. The concentrations of PAHs in soil were low (11±4,9 mg/kg) and no degradation was detected. The results of petroleum hydrocarbon study are promising, but further research of residual concentrations, existing microbiota, and the effects of the mixture on PAHs degradation is needed.

Maailmanlaajuisesti kiihtyvä luonnon monimuotoisuuden vähentyminen uhkaa ekosysteemien toimin-taa, ja toimia luontokadon pysäyttämiseksi tarivitaan nyt. Elinympäristöjen häviäminen on yksi luonto-kadon pääasiallisista aiheuttajista. Suomessa niityt kuuluvat monimuotoisimpiin elinympäristöihin, mutta niiden määrä on vähentynyt ja erityisesti perinneniityt ovat uhanalaistuneet 1800-luvun lopulta nykypäivään. Niittyjen muutoshistoriaa on tarkasteltu lähinnä perinnebiotooppien näkökulmasta, vaikka niiden ohella niittylajeja esiintyy myös muunlaisilla niityillä, kuten ilman ihmisen myötävaikutusta syntyneillä alkuniityillä sekä erilaisissa uuselinympäristöissä. Tässä työssä niityt määritellään laajasti, sillä pyrkimyksenä on tarkentaa käsitystä niiden kokonaistilasta sekä niissä tapahtuneista muutoksista, ja tunnistaa uusia mahdollisuuksia niittyjen ja biodiversiteetin suojelemiseksi. Viime vuosina kaupun-geissa onkin herätty niittyjen ja biodiversiteetin suojeluun, ja myös Helsingissä on laadittu niittyjen sel-vitys ja kehittämissuunnitelma. Tässä työssä tarkastellaan pääkaupunkiseudun niittyjen muutoshistoriaa vuosien 1870–1907 ja 2022 vä-lillä paikkatiedon menetelmin. Historiallisten niittyjen määrän arvioimiseen käytettiin niin kutsuttujen Senaatin kartastojen pohjalta tuotettua paikkatietoaineistoa, kun taas nykypäivän niittyalan arvioiden perustana on Syken ja Scalgon tuottama maanpeiteaineisto. Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää niittyjen pin-ta-alan ja levinneisyyden muutoksia pinta-aloista laskettujen tilastojen sekä Overlap- ja Optimized hot spot -analyysien avulla, vertailla niitä Helsingin niittyverkoston paikkatietoaineistoon ja lopuksi pohtia, voisivatko työn tulokset tarjota uutta näkökulmaa niittyjen ja luonnon monimuotoisuuden suojeluun Helsingissä sekä laajemmin. Niittyjen tarkastelu laajemman määritelmän kautta paljasti, että vaikka niittyjen määrä on vähentynyt pääkaupunkiseudulla vuosista 1870–1907 nykypäivään, vähentyminen on ollut aikaisempiin arvioihin verrattuna maltillista ja niittyjä on edelleen runsaasti. Niittylaikkujen keskimääräinen koko oli kuitenkin pienentynyt, ja valtaosa niityistä sijaitsi nykyään eri alueilla kuin vuosina 1870–1907. Kuitenkin löydet-tiin joitain alueita, joilla niittyjä esiintyi molempina ajankohtina. Suurten ja vanhojen niittyjen säilyt-täminen olisi biodiversiteetin suojelun kannalta ensiarvoisen tärkeää, ja ne tulisi huomioida paremmin myös Helsingin niittyverkostostrategiassa. Elinympäristön pinta-alan ohella sen biodiversiteettiin vai-kuttavat keskeisesti kytkeytyneisyys ja laatu, ja lisää tutkimusta tarvittaisiin niiden muutoksista ja ny-kytilasta pääkaupunkiseudun niityillä. Huomattiin myös, että niittyjen määrittelyllä on valtava merkitys niiden tilan arvioinnissa, ja käsitteitä olisikin tarpeen yhdenmukaistaa.

The particulate phosphorus flux consists of organic and inorganic matter as well as iron-phosphorus compounds, and often forms a significant portion of the total phosphorus flux in hypolimnetic waters. Phosphorus accumulated in hypolimnion can be removed by pumping phosphorus-rich water from areas where total phosphorus concentrations are high. The highest concentrations are typically measured in the hypolimnetic water of eutrophic and stratifying lakes particularly during the summer when anoxia occurs. Phosphorus bound to sediment iron oxides can be released due to changes in redox potential, pH, or resuspension. In hypolimnetic withdrawal, the importance of iron-bound phosphorus is emphasized, as it is essentially labile phosphorus. Therefore, the hypolimnetic withdrawal is not only limited to the removal of soluble phosphorus alone. The mobility of particles in the water column and their interaction with the sediment significantly affect the availability of phosphorus and its ecological impacts. By removing particulate phosphorus, the amount of phosphorus released in a potentially soluble form can be reduced. In this study, the flow of particulate phosphorus, i.e. the gross sedimentation of phosphorus, was investigated using sediment traps, in which the sinking particulate matter, including phosphorus accumulates. The study aimed to 1) examine how particulate phosphorus concentrations varied across three different depth zones (6 m, 9 m, 30 m) and the role of full circulation in the observed differences, 2) understand how iron-bound phosphorus moved between depth zones and the significance of its distribution, and 3) determine the magnitude of particulate phosphorus flow relative to soluble phosphorus flow. It was found that particulate phosphorus flow varied significantly during the full circulations and stratification period across different depth zones and times. The highest phosphorus flows were measured from the thermally stratified deep-water zone, particularly after the onset of spring and autumn full circulations. A similar trend was observed in the middle and shallow depth zones. The mixing during full circulations significantly increased both the rates of gross sedimentation of phosphorus and resuspension of phosphorus in the hypolimnion. Most of the particulate phosphorus in the water column of Lake Enonselkä was in the form of iron-bound phosphorus, although its proportion of the total particulate phosphorus flow did not differ between full circulation and stratification periods across the depth zones. Iron-bound phosphorus moved during full circulations in the water column of Enonselkä. The physical activity of the water body and peak in primary production in the spring after full circulation, supporting the conclusion that full circulations are a significant factor in the spread and release of phosphorus and iron-bound phosphorus, in the water column. Recognizing the proportion of particulate phosphorus is crucial for depleting the hypolimnetic phosphorus reserves, as the study found that particulate phosphorus accounted for over 90% of the total phosphorus flux both during the stratification season and after the onset of full circulations. The high proportions of particulate and iron-bound phosphorus in the total phosphorus flux are possible indicators that there is a connection between shallow and deep areas in terms of nutrient cycling. Additionally, the findings emphasize that considering particulate phosphorus is essential in assessing the theoretical potential of hypolimnetic water removal, especially during stratification and full circulation periods.

Päivittäistavarakaupat ovat saavuttaneet ruokajärjestelmässä aseman, jossa kaupan myymälä on lähes välttämätön läpikulkupiste alkutuotannosta kulutukseen. Ruoan kulkiessa pellolta pöytään pääasiassa päivittäistavarakaupan kautta, ei kaupan risteysasemaa tuotannon ja kulutuksen välissä voida ohittaa. Päivittäistavarakaupan vallitsevan aseman ja toiminnan lähtökohtien merkitystä, mahdollisuuksia ja mahdollista vastuuta ruokavalion kestävyysmuutoksessa on otettu vasta hiljattain tutkimuskohteeksi ja aiheen kohdalla vallitsee tutkimusaukko. Aiheen tutkiminen on tärkeää, sillä päivittäistavarakauppojen saavuttama asema sekä toiminnan lähtökohdat vaikuttavat siihen mitä ruokaa tuotetaan, mitä tuotteita tarjotaan kuluttajille sekä minkälaisia valintoja kuluttajat myymälässä tekevät. Päivittäistavarakaupat ovat kiinnostuneita edistämään ruokavalion kestävyysmuutosta omien lähtökohtiensa ja tavoitteidensa mukaisesti, mutta yhteinen näkemys roolista, toimintamallista tai mahdollisesta vastuusta puuttuu. Tässä tutkielmassa pyrin tuottamaan tietoa vallitsevaan tutkimusaukkoon, päivittäistavarakaupan asemasta, lähtökohdista sekä keinoista ruokavalion kestävyysmuutoksessa toimimiseksi. EAT-Lancet komission planetaarisen ruokavalion mukaisen muutoksen tavoitteena on kasvisten kulutuksen lisääminen, lihan kulutuksen vähentäminen sekä eläinperäisen proteiinin osittainen korvaaminen kasvisperäisillä vaihtoehdolla. Suomalainen S-ryhmä on ottanut planetaarisen ruokavalion edistämisen osaksi uutta yhteiskuntavastuuohjelmansa ruoan kestävän kuluttamisen edistämisen teemaa, jota tarkastelen tapaustutkimuksena käytännön esimerkkinä päivittäistavarakaupan pyrkimyksistä kestävyysmuutokseen. S-ryhmää koskevan tapaustutkimuksen tutkimusajankohtana ilmenevien tulosten perusteella on mahdollista tulkita, että vaikka S-ryhmällä on halua edistää ruoan kestävän kuluttamisen sekä planetaarisen ruokavalion mukaista kestävyysmuutosta, keinot muutoksen edistämiseksi ovat vielä puutteelliset. S-ryhmän sekä alueosuuskauppojen tulkinta ja tekeminen planetaarisen ruokavalion edistämisestä ei ole suoraan tulkittavissa EAT-Lancet komission mukaiseksi. Tuotevalikoiman kautta tapahtuvan kestävyysmuutoksen avainrooli ja vastuu on jätetty kuluttajalle. Kestävyyttä edistetään ensisijaisesti valikoimaa kasvattamalla, joka voi vaikeuttaa kuluttajien kestävien käytänteiden kehittymistä ja toteutumista. Tulosten perusteella jää epäselväksi pystyykö taloudellisiin näkökulmiin sekä kuluttajalähtöisyyteen pohjaava toiminta edistämään yksilön ruokavalion ohjaamiseen liittyvää tavoitetta.