Browsing by study line "Ympäristömuutos"

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.

Heterobasidion genus fungi are the most significant pathogens in Finland causing root rot. These fungi infect Norway spruce (Picea abies), causing wood deficit in the forest industry. Leucoanthosyanidin reductase enzyme encoding gene, PaLAR3, has been linked in to the resistance of Norway spruce against H.parviporum induced root rot infections. The alleles in this locus can be AA, AB or BB, and the enzyme production and (+)-catechin concentrations have been proven to be higher in inoculation experiments in individuals with B allele present in their PaLAR3 locus. Climate change is predicted to increase disturbances in not only on the hydrological cycles, but also on the weather conditions. The drought is predicted to increase in the Northern hemisphere, increasing the risk of pathogens to spread into new areas. Forest breeding programs aim to make the forests more profitable and productive in the future as well. By studying the genetics of Norway spruce, it is possible to add more resilient individuals into the breeding program, to tackle the climate challenges the future might hold. In this Master’s thesis the spreading of the root rot infection under drought stress was studied. The PaLAR3 alleles were determined, and the area of necrosis caused by the fungal infection was compared against the alleles, watering treatments and the fungal strain used in the inoculations. Regarding the results the alleles in an individual’s PaLAR3 locus did not have any effect on the area of the necrosis. There were no statistically significant differences between the watering treatments. The only statistically significant result was that the different fungal strains’ (Hpa1 and Hpa2) infectiveness varied between different watering treatments. This is probably due to the different routes of pathogenesis. Hpa2 strain seems to be more infective in normal watering conditions. However, considering these results the PaLAR3 gene should not be added into the forest breeding program as itself. In the future, the research should focus more on gene interactions, since also other genes (e.g., PaLAC5) have been linked in the resistance against root rot infections in Norway spruce. By studying these genes together, the solutions for the deteriorating situation of the spreading of the fungal diseases could be discovered.

There is continuously more pharmaceuticals ending up in the environment due to the amount of consumption. Wastewatertreatment plants are the largest point source for the pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment, because most of the pharmaceuticals are meant for humans. Human pharmaceuticals can end up in the ecosystem as they are or as metabolites. Both pharmaceuticals and their metabolites can cause a similar physiological response in the organisms living in the aquatic ecosystem, than in their originally intended target organism, humans. This is the reason why contamination of pharmaceuticals in the environment can be very harmful for the aquatic organisms. Two breast cancer medication were selected for this experiment, which are tamoxifen and letrozole. Both of these medication are very effective in controlling hormonal functions of humans and other organisms. Third pharmaceutical selected for this experiment was diclofenac, which is commonly used NSAID. Active sampling can be very expensive and time consuming, because many samples have to be collected from the same site and they have to be collected at many occasions, so that the time-weighed average of the concentration studied can be found. Passive samplers are devices or sorbents that are able to absorb substances into them. They can be calibrated in the laboratory with known concentrations of studied chemicals and then can be places in a study location in the nature to calculate time-weighed average concentration of the studied chemical in that location. In this study only diclofenac was found in the fieldstudy and only with SDB-RPS-sampler. SDP-RPS samplers absorb mostly chemicals with lower octanol-water partition coefficient and silicone rubber samplers are more suitable for chemicals with higher octanol-water partition coefficient, this was also shown in this study.

Human-induced nutrient enrichment has led to eutrophication, which is globally a severe environmental problem in aquatic ecosystems. Eutrophication has a variety of deteriorating effects on marine ecosystems in the form of e.g., cyanobacterial blooms, bottom water hypoxia and anoxia, as well as increased fish and benthos mortality. The Baltic Sea is especially prone to eutrophication due to the combined effects of restricted water exchange and extensive nutrient loads. Nutrient enrichment reinforces primary production which further enhances organic matter remineralisation in the sediment – water interface, leading to oxygen depletion in the bottom waters. Decreased oxygen concentrations on the seafloor can lead to the release of phosphorus bound to reducible iron oxides. The so-called ‘vicious circle’ of internal loading is formed through the further enhanced nutrient release from the sediments into the water column due to the reduced bottom water conditions resulting from increased supply of organic matter into the system. However, the processes controlling phosphorus transport from land to sea through the ‘coastal filter’ remain poorly understood. In this study, sediments from Paimionlahti estuary were examined for phosphorus content and bulk elemental composition. Sedimentary phosphorus contents were determined through chemical extractions. The extracted fractions of phosphorus (P) include Fe oxide bound P (Fe-P), authigenic apatite P (Ca-P I), detrital apatite P (Ca-P II), and organic P (org-P). The fraction of Fe-P dominated in the upper sediment layers in most sites, whereas more unreactive fractions associated with P burial remained constant through sediment depth. The generally unreactive forms of P illustrated increasing trends towards open sea areas, partly explained by changes in the overall sediment composition as well as by potential differences in environmental conditions among sampling sites. The highest amounts of Fe-P were recorded in sites with the highest sediment accumulation. The results demonstrate that P from rivers is transformed and processed in the coastal zone, delaying its transport to the open sea.

Tekstiiliteollisuudessa käytetään merkittäviä määriä kemikaaleja, joista osa on ympäristölle ja terveydelle haitallisia. Tekstiiliteollisuuskehityksen kasvaessa ja kulutuskäytäntöjen kiihtyessä pois heitettävän tekstiilin määrä lisääntyy. Samalla haitalliset kemikaalit vapautuvat saastuttamaan ihmistä ja ympäristöä. Tämä käy ilmi aiemmasta tutkimuksesta, vaikka poistotekstiilien ympärillä tehty tutkimus on muutoin vähäistä. Tämä tutkimus tehdään yritysyhteistyössä Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto Oy:n kanssa määrittämään poistotekstiilien lajittelutyön yhteydessä ilmeneviä terveysvaikutuksia ja sovellettavia testimenetelmiä yrityksen tarpeisiin. Tutkielman tavoitteena oli ensisijaisesti selvittää kemikaalien, pölyn ja homeen terveysvaikutukset ja ne testimenetelmät, joita tulisi terveysvaikutusten vähentämiseksi tehdä. Muiden tutkimuskysymysten osalta tarkoituksena oli selvittää poistotekstiilien sisältämät merkittävimmät haitalliset kemikaalit ja niiden enimmäisraja-arvot. Näitä tutkittiin tutkimuksen teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin laadullista tutkimussuuntausta ja sen menetelmiä. Aineiston keruumenetelmänä oli asiantuntijahaastattelu, jossa tietoja kerättiin puolistrukturoidun kysymyksenasettelun kautta neljältä asiantuntijataholta: Turun ammattikorkeakoululta, Terveyden- ja hyvinvoinninlaitokselta, Työterveyslaitokselta ja Aalto-yliopistolta. Haastattelut toteutettiin puhelinhaastatteluina. Aineistoa analysoitiin temaattisen sisällönanalyysin avulla, jossa aineisto luokiteltiin tutkimuksen kannalta merkittävimpiin teemoihin. Saatuja tuloksia verrattiin olemassa olevaan tutkimuskirjallisuuteen. Hengitystievälitteinen altistuminen yksistään pölylle nähtiin merkittävimmäksi terveysriskiksi laitosolosuhteissa. Kemikaalien, pölyn ja homeen aiheuttamien terveysvaikutusten vähentämiseksi soveltuvimpina testimenetelminä nähtiin erilaisten keräävien menetelmien käyttö ja biomonitorointi. On selvää, että poistotekstiilit sisältävät ihmisen terveydelle ja ympäristölle haitallisia kemikaaleja, pölyä ja homeita. Testimenetelmiä hyödyntämällä voidaan terveysriskejä paikantaa ja niiden osuutta työperäisessä altistumisessa vähentää. Tutkimustulosten tieteellisen luotettavuuden lisäämiseksi on suositeltavaa, että laitoksella otetaan käyttöön kokeelliset testausmenetelmät.

The circular economy has gained popularity as an alternative to the linear consumption and production practices that have accelerated various urgent environmental issues. Repair businesses are vital for an efficient transition to the circular economy, due to their capacity to keep materials and energy embedded in products in circulation for longer periods. The decreasing number of repair businesses can hinder consumer access to repair services, especially in a sparsely populated country like Finland. Moreover, repair plays a significant role in the circular economy strategies of Finland and the EU. However, there is little knowledge available about the barriers and enablers facing Finnish repair businesses. With this thesis, I aim to contribute to filling this knowledge gap and outline supportive measures for promoting Finnish repair businesses. To achieve this goal, I conducted interviews with eight repair businesses, four unions of repair businesses, one insurance company, and one spare part recycling centre. In addition, I conducted a literature review to understand the state-of-the-art knowledge about various factors affecting repair and repair businesses. The results from the interviews were largely in line with the current literature in terms of many barriers, enabling factors, and policy recommendations. However, the interviews revealed variation between different product categories, as well as in the prevalence and importance of barriers. Furthermore, the interviews highlighted several barriers for repair businesses in Finland that were not apparent in the literature review. To address these barriers, various supportive measures based on the literature and interviews were proposed. Further research should be conducted to assess the viability and effectiveness of these supportive measures.

Entiselle turvetuotantoalueelle rakennetun osittain avovesipintaisen kosteikon metaani- ja nettohiilidioksidinvaihtoa (NEE) mitattiin kahden kasvukauden ajan. Kaasuvoihin vaikuttavia ympäristötekijöitä selvitettiin, ja kaasunvaihto rekonstruoitiin kasvukausien yli. Lämpötila ja vihreän kasvillisuuden määrä selittivät paitsi NEE:n osatekijöitä hengitystä ja yhteytystä, myös metaanipäästöä. Vedenpinnankorkeus selitti yhteytystä. Dronekuvaamalla selvitettiin erilaisten kasvillisuuspintojen pinta-alojen muutokset kasvukausien aikana ja niitä hyödynnettiin kosteikon kaasunvaihdon kokonaisvaikutuksen laskemisessa. Pintatyypin todettiin vaikuttavan kaasunvaihdon tasoon, sillä kasvittuneet pintatyypit (VEG1 ja VEG2) toimivat CO2-nieluina ja avovesipinnat CO2-päästöinä. Suurimmat metaanipäästöt aiheutuivat märältä, kasvittuneelta rantavyöhykkeeltä (VEG2). Kokonaisvaikutukseltaan Pikku Saarisuo oli hiilidioksidin lähde molempina mittauskausina (151,4 g ja 206,1 g CO2 m2 kasvukausi-1). Kosteikon metaanipäästö kasvukausilta 2022 ja 2023 oli kokonaisarviossa 4,9 g ja 4,4 g CH4 m2 kasvukausi-1.

The Baltic Sea is a sensitive brackish waterbody, which is facing several disturbances. These stressors include land-use changes, over-fishing, climate change, pollution, alien species and eutrophication. Eutrophication causes increased primary production of opportunistic macroal-gae. These macroalgal mats cover the seafloor and cause light and oxygen depletion as well as mortality of benthic plants and fauna. Aquatic macrophytes provide important ecosystem ser-vices and food and shelter for macrofauna. The depletion of the benthic community may have large consequences to ecosystem functioning. In this master’s thesis, I studied the recovery of a macrophyte-associated macrofauna community after disturbance in a vegetated aquatic habitat. The disturbance was mimicking drifting algal mats, and it was induced in 2017. My thesis was a part of a larger project conducted at Tvärminne Zoological station in Hanko, Finland, studying the recovery of macrophyte communities of different functional diversity and their associated macrofauna. The samples were taken annually from 2017 to 2021. I examined which factors affected the recovery. In my analyses, I focused on the communities of animal species. Additionally, I assessed if there was an edge-effect in recovery and if opportunistic species were the first to recover, i.e., return to the site. The recovery was studied statistically using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), similarity percentage i.e., SIMPER and analysis of similarities i.e., ANOSIM. Results of the experiment showed that the site recovered in 2020 the latest. There was not a clear edge effect in recovery. A gradual re-introduction of common species happened, not a replacement of species. Some of the most common species possessed opportunistic traits. These results show that the recovery of systems is not linear but complex, and several factors affect their resilience.

Introduction: High anthropogenic pressure exercised on the Baltic Sea causes a decline in valuable reproduction areas of coastal fish, such as the northern pike (Esox lucius L.). Hence, the conservation and restoration of the reproduction areas of pike are increasingly of importance. The Kvarken Archipelago, located in the Gulf of Bothnia, presents valuable reproduction habitats for fish. The pre-flads, flads, glo-flads and glo-lakes provide warm and sheltered areas that are preferred by spring-spawning fish, such as pike. However, the precise environmental factors influencing pike reproduction in the region have not yet been identified. In this study, different environmental factors influencing pike reproduction in the Kvarken Archipelago were assessed. Furthermore, as technology advances, there is a need to evaluate the use of new techniques alongside the generally time consuming and expensive traditional research methods applied for surveying the pike reproductive areas. Henceforth, the present study assessed the suitability of the high-resolution aerial photography for identifying potential reproduction areas of northern pike. Methods: The data of pike fry density, the vegetation, the abiotic and biotic environmental factors, as well as the aerial images of the 45 sampling sites were collected by Natural Resources Institute Finland and Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland as part of the Kvarken Flada -project. Pike fry were sampled with a flat dipnet amongst vegetation along a 100 m sampling line during spring. Concurrently, the vegetation, the occurrence of sticklebacks (Gasterosteidae) and the abiotic factors affecting water quality, including salinity, pH, oxygen content and turbidity were determined. The temperature was recorded with temperature loggers from early spring until late summer. The temperature sum for June showed the greatest effect on pike fry densities and was thus used in the analyses. The archipelago zones, which are based on previously modelled temperature sums, were defined for the sampling sites in the geographic information system (QGIS). Additionally, factors describing the morphology, the vegetation and bottom substrate coverage of the sampling sites were utilized in the analyses. The presence of pike fry was analysed with binary logistic regression. The pike fry densities were studied using non-parametric analyses due to the high number of zero observations in the data. The aerial images were taken in late summer of 2017 and 2018, when the vegetation was fully developed. The vegetation types, i.e. reed, fallen reed, wetland grasses, submerged vegetation and filamentous algae, identified in the images were compared to the vegetation data gathered during field survey in QGIS. The performance of the aerial images was assessed by calculating the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity for the different vegetation classes, first for the whole dataset and then for the sampling points with pike fry observations. Results and conclusions: This study determines two key factors defining suitable reproduction areas of pike, the temperature sum for June and the morphology of the sampling site. The results indicate that pike prefer warm and sheltered areas with suitable vegetation, such as reed and wetland grasses. In particular, glo-lakes provide favorable conditions for pike and the temperature sum for June was significantly higher in the glo-lakes compared to the pre-flads. The temperatures of the glo-lakes were constant throughout the archipelago, providing suitable conditions for pike reproduction also in the outermost archipelago. In all of the glo-lakes pike fry were observed and generally the highest pike fry densities were found in glo-lakes. However, the year class strength of pike can be affected by the possibility of the juvenile pike to emigrate from the enclosed glo-lakes back to the sea. Salinity reflects the connectivity of the site to the surrounding sea and had a significant negative effect on pike fry density. Additionally, the presence of sticklebacks affected negatively the presence of pike fry, which might be traced back to the different use of the archipelago zones and site morphologies of these species. Increasing pH negatively influenced the pike fry density. However, pike fry were observed also in the highest pH conditions and therefore pH alone is not sufficient to explain the presence and density of pike fry. Due to the small sample size of the dataset, it can be assumed that not all of the factors influencing pike reproduction were identified and thus the use of a larger dataset is recommendable in future studies. This study provides new methodological information on reproduction area surveying of pike with high-resolution aerial photography. The different vegetation classes were successfully identified from the aerial images. The seasonal differences were noticeable in the results, as in the aerial photographs taken in late summer, the vegetation was fully developed compared to the field study in early spring. Nevertheless, aerial photography proved to be an effective method for identifying reproduction areas of pike based on the vegetation. Furthermore, reproduction areas in need of restoration could be assessed with aerial photography.

Tiivistelmä * Referat * Abstract Brownification is a serious environmental problem, which means a substantial increase in water color. Suggested reasons for brownification are soil recovery from acidification, land-use change, especially ditching, climate change. Brownification changes the light conditions in the lakes, increases thermal stratification, and sedimentation. Despite the considerable effects of brownification on lake ecosystem, currently in the EU Water Framework Directive, there is no sufficient biological indicator for lake browning. Biological indicators of the Water Framework Directive are mainly targeted to eutrophication, and thus are not sufficient for measuring the effects of brownification. Macrophyte chlorophyll a:b ratio has been shown to decrease with decreasing light conditions, thus making it a potential indicator for browning. The seasonal variation of macrophyte chlorophyll content is not well studied. This master’s thesis aims to find out, how the chlorophyll content of yellow water lily (Nuphar lutea) changes during the growing season in lakes with variable water quality. N. lutea was chosen as a study species, as it is very common in different lakes in Finland. It is important to study the seasonal variation of the macrophyte chlorophyll content, because if the chlorophyll content reacts rapidly for example changes in the weather, it might be too sensitive to be used as a long-term indicator for lake browning. It is also needed to study, if the seasonal variation is different in lakes with variable water quality, so that in the future, the possible sampling can be timed right in different lakes. The study lakes were clear water lakes, humic and eutrophic lake, and their water quality and the chlorophyll content of N. lutea were examined with two weeks intervals from June to September. The concentration of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b were measured from the floating leaf and from the petiole at 10 cm intervals. Based on these, the total chlorophyll concentration (CHL a+b) and CHL a:b ratio was calculated. In addition to macrophyte samples, water samples were taken from each lake from both epilimnion and hypolimnion. From the water samples, dissolved organic carbon, water color, iron concentration and specific ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm were measured. In addition, water temperature, light intensity, oxygen concentration and water turbidity were measured at each sampling time. The results of this thesis showed, that the CHL a:b ratio, and total CHL concentration (a+b) were significantly lower in the humic than in the clear water lake. In the eutrophic lake, CHL a:b ratio and CHL a+b concentration was higher than in the humic lake but lower than in the clear water lake. In each lake, the CHL a:b ratio increased during the growing season, together with the increasing water clarity. The change in the CHL a:b ratio was detected best in the 10-30 cm petiole depth. In the floating leaf, CHL a:b ratio and CHL a+b concentration varied a lot, meaning that the floating leaf is not a sufficient indicator for brownification. The change in CHL a:b ratio took approximately 5 to 7 weeks, and the seasonal variation was similar in each lake. Based on the results of this thesis, the CHL a:b ratio of the N. lutea petiole seems to be a very promising long-term indicator for lake browning. In the future, it would be, however, important to study, how the carbon sequestration changes as a result of brownification, if the macrophyte chlorophyll concentration decreases, since this might have considerable effects on lake carbon sequestration. Also, the eutrophic study lake of this thesis had a water color over 100 mg Pt l-1, so it would be important to study, what is the macrophyte chlorophyll content in clear, but eutrophic lakes.