Browsing by study line "Ympäristömuutos"

Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that ends up in aquatic ecosystems both as atmospheric deposition as well as from the catchment area surrounding the water body. Under the right circumstances, inorganic mercury can be methylated into methylmercury, which accumulates in organisms and food webs and is harmful to humans and animals. Humans are exposed to methylmercury mainly through consumed fish as almost all the total mercury content in fish muscle consist of methylmercury. Mercury content of fish is affected by numerous different factors, such as the food consumed by the fish, the characteristics of the fish species and fish individual, level of lake eutrophication, mercury concentration in water and catchment area. Thesis studies total mercury content and mercury bioaccumulation in cyprinid fish. The species included in the study are roach (Rutilus rutilus), bream (Abramis brama), bleak (Alburnus alburnus), white bream (Blicca bjoerkna), blue bream (Ballerus ballerus), ide (Leuciscus idus), tench (Tinca tinca), rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) and crucian carp (Carassius carassius). Three main research questions were: (1) Can diet of different cyprinid fish explain the mercury content? (2) Is mercury content consistent between fish species in different lake types, or does lake type affect mercury content? (3) Is mercury bioaccumulation consistently similar between fish species between lake types? The fish samples for this study were gathered prior to MSc during July-August in 2020 and 2021 from Kukkia, Hauhonselkä and Pääjärvi, which are classified as mesotrophic lakes, and from eutrophic Vesijärvi, Tuusulanjärvi and Hulausjärvi. Total length, weight, sex, sexual maturity, condition factor (K), fish diet and muscle total mercury content were determined from each fish. The diet of the fish and the differences in the total mercury content were tested with analysis of variance. Mercury bioaccumulation was tested with using linear regression analysis and the slope coefficient obtained from the regression equation was tested for bleak and roach with t-test. From the abundant species of the study the highest length corrected (to length 16.6 cm) mercury contents were measured in bleak and roach, while the contents were lower in white bream and bream. The mercury content differed most clearly in species whose feeding behaviour was very specialized. For example, the differences in mercury contents between bleak, which mainly consumes surface insects and zooplankton, and bream, which prefers benthic food, were clear in every lake studied. Mercury contents were mainly higher in mesotrophic lakes compared to eutrophic lakes, but results varied by species. In addition to fish diet and lake type, fish’s metabolism, growth rate and life cycle length probably influenced the species-specific mercury contents. When comparing the abundant species, the bioaccumulation of mercury was steepest in bleak and roach. Compared to these species’ bioaccumulation was slower in white bream and bream. When comparing mercury bioaccumulation within species between different lake types, the differences were species-specific. For example, the bioaccumulation of bleak was consistently steeper in mesotrophic lakes compared to eutrophic lakes, but the bioaccumulation of white bream was steeper in eutrophic lakes. Based on this study, it can be concluded that mercury content and bioaccumulation in cyprinid fish were influenced by e.g., species-specific characteristics, fish diet and level of the lake productivity. In addition to these factors, mercury content and bioaccumulation of fish may have been affected by the land use of the lake catchment area, as well as the anoxic areas of the lakes, which are propitious places for methylation. This study provided valid information on which factors may be relevant for cyprinid fish when observing their mercury content and bioaccumulation.

Lichens are sensitive organisms widely used for environmental biomonitoring. Urban environments have been under heavy pollution, especially sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, due to human activity which has led to the disappearance of lichens in city centres. Regulations and technological changes have led to cleaner air and less deposition of pollutants, especially sulphur dioxide on the vegetation in both rural and urban areas. This in turn has led to recolonization of lichens in former lichen deserted areas. In this study epiphytic macrolichens on park maples were surveyed using simple tree-based random sampling in three parks in Helsinki, and in one park in Loviisa, Siuntio and Raasepori each. The sampling and surveying methods were selected based on the SFS standard “Ambient air. Biomonitoring with lichens. Assessing epiphytic lichen diversity”. Species identification took place on site and in Botanical museum (Finnish Museum of Natural History). The results from parks in Helsinki were used to estimate if lichens have recolonized the trees. In addition, the results from the other Uusimaa municipalities were used to assess how different is the lichen species assemblage when comparing the relatively more polluted region of Helsinki to the less polluted regions in Uusimaa. The study found that pollution levels in Helsinki have declined enough to enable recolonization, of which there have been signs already in 1990s and 2000. The study used lichen diversity value of defined functional groups as one of the statistical methods which gave new information about how the species tolerance or sensitivity to pollutants shapes the recolonization. Comparison between the study areas in Uusimaa region revealed that concentrations of nitrogen oxides steer lichen species assemblage in Helsinki. Lichen surveys in Helsinki are scarce. This study brings topical information about the lichen situation in Helsinki, and it uses an as yet relatively unknown method to extract information from lichen assemblage. Regular, comparable lichen surveys are needed to further research the pressure that human activities cause on urban nature. Such time series would help to monitor both the urban nature loss and the impact of climate change on the urban nature.

In Finland and in many other European countries, indoor housing of dairy cattle has been increasing at the expense of grazing. According to Finnish legislation, only dairy cows housed in tie-stalls are obligated to graze for 60 days per year between May and September. Pressure to intensify production leads to increase in herd sizes, regional concentration, lack of suitable pastureland near large barns, and automation of milking. Conversely, grazing is regarded as important for animal welfare, maintenance of biodiversity and cultural landscapes. Farmer perceptions towards grazing have not been studied in Finland comprehensively, which need to be understood better in order to provide adequate support for sustainable management of grazing. The research aims at gaining understanding of the external and internal factors driv- ing the farm-level decision making related to grazing regimes. Concept of good farming ideal is used to examine farmers’ decision-making. The data was collected from 26 cattle farms with a gradient of grazing from zero to maximum. Firstly, an online questionnaire was sent out to farmers and secondly, semi-structured inter- views were conducted with 7 dairy producers, to further explore farmer views about grazing, biodiversity, and animal welfare. The results show farmers who practice grazing to perceive it more positively than the farmers who do not graze. Some of the farmers who grazed seemed to consider it almost as an intrinsic value, whereas farmers with no grazing saw it as an inef- ficient production method, which they were afraid would become an obligation. The most im- portant internal factors driving decision-making about grazing based on the questionnaire and interviews, were animal welfare, decreased workload because of grazing, infrastructure of the farm, economic aspects, and benefits of grazing to biodiversity and landscape values. Exter- nal factors found to affect the decision of grazing were incentives, regulations, and consumer expectations. Animal welfare was found to be a basis for production for many and the most important feature valued for good farming, to which grazing was seen to contribute. The re- sults imply subsidies regarding grazing should be higher for grazing to be considered profita- ble and more enjoyable by farmers.

Permafrost peatlands have the capacity to store significant amounts of carbon, and thus they act as important controllers of the climate. Approximately 14% of the world’s soil organic carbon pool is stored in permafrost peatlands, which are sensitive to climatic fluctuations due to their location in the high latitudes of the subarctic zone. Permafrost peatlands also act as a habitat for a large number of moisture-sensitive organisms, such as bryophytes and testate amoebae, which can be used to study how the hydrology of peatlands has changed and will continue to change throughout time, giving us an opportunity to predict the future of peatlands under a changing climate. In this Master’s Thesis I examined the testate amoebae composition and used these species as indicators to study hydrological fluctuations from three subarctic permafrost peatland cores extracted from Taavavuoma and Abisko in northern Sweden. The species compositions were combined with radiocarbon (14C) and lead (210Pb) dates to reconstruct the past water table levels for the late Holocene, spanning four climatic periods. The reconstructions were then compared to past studies on testate amoebae to understand how permafrost peatlands and their species assemblages respond to changes in the hydrology of the active layer of the peat. Out of the study sites only the Taavavuoma cores spanned the Dark Age Cold Period (DACP) and Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA). Species compositions in both cores indicated fluctuating water tables during the DACP, but during the MCA the results began to contradict with one site showing a wetter, and the other a drier MCA. Two out of three study sites indicated a wetter Little Ice Age and a drier Post-Industrial Warming, supporting past studies indicating similar results, whereas one study site gave opposite results. The results indicated large variability in testate amoebae assemblages throughout time, indicating that the hydrology of peatlands can change very abruptly and vary considerably even on a local scale. Modelling is however complicated by the poorly known ecology of testate amoebae, which is why a multi-proxy approach is essential to reliably predict the future fate of permafrost peatlands.

This study aimed to identify conservation landscapes with potential to be mutually beneficial for people and African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) in South Africa through spatial conservation planning analyses that integrate ecological and socioeconomic data. The research questions were: (i) what are the most ecologically suitable areas for the reintroduction of elephants, and (ii) which of these areas provide the best opportunities for also sustaining socioeconomic development of local people. The first question was answered with an ecological model that predicts habitat suitability for elephants, developed by a combination of literature review, expert opinion, and GIS-based methods. The second question was answered by combining the ecological model with socioeconomic criteria in Zonation spatial conservation planning software. The results show that the central part of South Africa holds most potential for elephant conservation as it has the largest uniform area of high-quality habitat, while the area also meets the socioeconomic criteria. The priority areas for the conservation of elephants were classified into top priority classes of 1%, 2%, 5%, 10% and 20%. The identified areas hold an unrealized opportunity in the wildlife and ecotourism sectors, and the reintroduction of elephants to those areas could provide the foundation for long-term economic activity of local communities e.g. in the form of elephant-based ecotourism, while contributing to the conservation of elephants. Conserving just the top 5% priority areas would grow South African protected area estate by approximately three million hectares and increase the current elephant range by approximately 75%. Ideally, the results of this study could be used to inform the on-going decision-making process on where to allocate resources for elephant conservation in South Africa.

Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitettiin, millaisia kehyksiä ilmastoahdistus saa kahdeksassa, vuonna 2021 julkaistussa suomalaisessa podcast-jaksossa. Näin pyritään lisäämään ymmärrystä ilmastoahdistuksen ilmiöstä, sekä siitä, millaisia kehystyksiä aihe mediassa saa. Tutkimus on tehty laadullisella kehysanalyysilla, joka perustuu Erwin Goffmanin (1974) kehittämään kehysteoriaan ja sen myöhempiin sovellutuksiin. Lyhyesti sanottuna, tutkimus pohjaa siihen olettamukseen, jossa median tavat kehystää ja esittää jokin aihe tai asia ohjaavat sitä, millä tavalla asiat meille esitetään ja millaisina me asiat näemme. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin suoratoistopalvelu Spotifysta, Yle Areenasta ja Suplasta. Kehyksien muodostamisessa hyödynnettiin Robert Entmanin (1993) median kehysanalyysin periaatetta, jossa kehyksillä on neljä tarkoitusta: Ongelmien määritteleminen, ongelman aiheuttavien tekijöiden tunnistaminen, moraalisten arvioiden tekeminen sekä ratkaisujen ehdottaminen. Tutkimuksen tuloksena syntyi kolme kehystä, jotka nimettiin luonnollisen ilmastoahdistuksen, ilmastoahdistus sukupolvikysymyksenä sekä ilmastoahdistus tarvitsee vertaistukea, käsittelyä ja toimintaa kehyksiksi. Jokainen kehys kuvaa omalla tavallaan sitä, millaisena ilmastoahdistus nähdään viime aikaisissa podcast-keskusteluissa. Luonnollisen ilmastoahdistuksen kehyksessä korostuvat näkemykset siitä, kuinka ilmastoahdistus voidaan nähdä luonnollisena ja normaalina, sekä hyvänä reaktiona motivoivan vaikutuksensa kautta. Kaiken kaikkiaan kehys kuvaa ilmasto- ja ympäristöahdistuksen ilmiön monitahoisuutta ja yksilöllisyyttä, sekä pyrkii vahvistamaan näkemyksiä siitä, mitä ilmastoahdistus on ja mitä se ei ole. Lisäksi ilmastoahdistuksen sisältämä ahdistus sana kyseenalaistetaan. Ilmastoahdistus sukupolvikysymyksenä - kehys avaa puolestaan näkemyksiä nuorten ilmastoahdistuksen syihin ja korostumiseen, sekä ottaa kantaa aikaisempaan ilmastoahdistuskeskusteluun, joka joidenkin keskustelijoiden mielestä näyttäytyi ilmiötä vähättelevänä. Kokonaisuudessaan kehyksessä kuitenkin korostuu näkemys siitä, että ilmastoahdistus ei ole vain nuoria koskettava asia, vaikka se tällä hetkellä korostuu ja ilmenee eniten nuoremmissa sukupolvissa. Kehys ilmastoahdistus tarvitsee vertaistukea, käsittelyä ja toimintaa, tuo esiin keskustelijoiden näkemyksiä ja kokemuksia liittyen ilmastoahdistuksen käsittelyyn ja lievittämiseen, sekä osallistuu keskusteluun koskien ilmastotekojen merkityksellisyyttä. Tutkimuksen tulosten perusteella voidaan sanoa, että ilmastoahdistus saa vuonna 2021 julkaistuissa, suomalaisissa podcastkeskusteluissa monia eri sävyjä ja ilmastoahdistusta käsitellään niissä laajasti. Ja vaikka keskustelijoiden näkemykset ovat pitkälti linjassa ilmastoahdistusta käsittelevien julkaisujen kanssa, muutamia kiinnostavia ja tutkimattomiakin näkökulmia ja kehystyksiä ilmenee. Osaltaan tutkimuksen tulokset täydentävät kuvaa siitä, miten valtavirtamediaa hitaammat lajityypit – kuten podcastit – mukautuvat muualla esitettyihin määritelmiin ja kehystyksiin, mutta myös täydentävät niitä. Tällöin podcast-keskustelujen voidaan nähdä tarjoavan vaihtoehtoisia kehyksiä, jotka osittain haastavat ja täydentävät julkisuudessa hallitsevia kehyksiä.

High Nature Value (HNV) farming systems hold significant natural values but have decreased drastically during the process of agricultural modernization. Biodiversity in Europe is dependent on these extensively farmed areas because they maintain habitats for many endangered species; e.g. 30% of Europe's butterfly species have declining populations and most live in natural and semi-natural habitats. European common agricultural policy (CAP) favour conventional agriculture, leading HNV agriculture in a foul position. HNV areas are often abandoned or replaced with intensive farming practices. Participatory agricultural innovation processes offer solutions to the distress of HNV farmlands. In these processes different actors – such as farmers, entrepreneurs, advisors, NGO and municipality representatives – are brought together to find localized solutions to the challenges of the area. HNV-Link project was active during years 2016-2019 identifying, developing and improving innovations in ten European HNV farming areas. In this thesis I examine the success of innovations in seven Learning Areas (LA) in terms of socio-economic viability, environmental conservation and cultural region. The data in this thesis is both quantitative and qualitative. I use mixed methods- approach where the statistical analysis and qualitative content analysis support each other. I carried out a survey for the LA coordinators where they responded how was the impact of the innovations to social, economic and environmental wellbeing. I complement the survey with data gathered by the project in 2016-2017. I conduct a qualitative content analysis to innovation fiches using Atlas.ti programme and a statistical analysis with IMB SPSS statistics programme with non-parametric tests. I compare the relation of socio-economic and environmental impact of the innovations, explicit aim of HNV conservation, recognition of environmental topics in the fiches and cultural region. Innovations were successful both socio-economically and environmentally. There was a possible synergy between economic and environmental impacts, which indicates economic viability of the LA’s improving HNV conservation. Innovations with explicit HNV conservation objective had more positive environmental impact than the ones without. Innovations with high recognition of environmental themes in fiches had slightly more positive environmental impact, but the difference was so weak that they fail to express the environmental outcomes reported in the survey. Congruent patterns didn’t occur inside cultural regions which might be due to the similarities of the areas or small sample size. The results display the inherent unpredictability of innovation processes, and the importance of holistic understanding and long-term monitoring of them.

The Baltic Sea is undergoing changes due to climate change, including an increase in its temperature. This may in turn lead to changes in the traits of the species that inhabit it, including non-endemic, invasive species. Palaemon elegans is a species native to the Atlantic Ocean that has been present in the Baltic Sea since the beginning of this century. Abilities such as high thermal tolerance make it successful in colonising new ecosystems like the brackish waters of this sea. However, less is known about the behavioural traits’ adaptions to these changes. This study aims then to find out how climate change may affect the behaviour of this species. To do so, five behaviours expressed by this species were observed and analysed to see how temperature change, seabed composition and body size influence their expression. The behaviours analysed were aggressiveness, movement frequency, reaction to food stimulus, number of feeding interactions and shelter-seeking. Analyses were conducted using ten-minute videos with ten specimens of P. elegans placed in water tanks and interacting in ecosystems representations with elements typical of the seabed where this species lives, both vegetation and rocks. Student's t-tests in R were then performed to test the significance of possible differences between the behaviours studied and the three parameters that may influence their expression. The results obtained show that the increase in water temperature might indeed lead to an increase in the frequency of the five behaviours studied except in aggressiveness. On the other hand, it was found that the composition of the ecosystem does not have a significant influence overall, while body size has a major influence on feeding related behaviours. Therefore,knowing more about changes in the behavior of species susceptible to climate change can be helpful to understand how biodiversity and its distribution will vary in the not so distant and changing future and what consequences it may generate at the ecosystem level.

Climate change is one of the biggest global threats. Food production is one of the most significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. It has been estimated that food systems account for 19 – 29 % of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Many studies have shown that products of animal origin cause more environmentally harmful emissions than plant-based products. In order to reach the 1,5 degree target, diets need to become more sustainable and more plant-based. The life cycle of food is being studied more today to identify their climate and environmental impact. The purpose of this study was to determine life cycle assessment of a plant-based protein product. The life cycle assessment started with the initial production and ended with the finished product in the factory. The study did not take into account the transport of products to stores and consumer activities. The study examined six different scenarios, which were e.g. dealing with the conversion of mixed electricity to wind power and the impact of the new alternative packaging on the results. The study was made by openLCA and the databases used Ecoinvent 3 and AGRIBYLASE 3.0. Life cycle assessment was examined using the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H). The impact categories were global warming, land use, water consumption and freshwater eutrophication. According to this study, converting mixed electricity to wind power can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 49 – 50 %. Converting electricity to wind also significantly reduces land use, water consumption and freshwater eutrophication. Greenhouse gas emissions and phosphorous emissions of plant-based protein are lower than animal origin products. Packaging materials accounted for 7 to 13 % of greenhouse gas emissions. Based on this study, it is recommended to change the primary electric source to wind power.

Ilmastonmuutos lisää sään ääri-ilmiöitä kuten mittavia rankkasateita, jolloin myös hulevedet, eli rakennettujen alueiden pinnoille kertyvät sade- ja sulamisvedet, muuttuvat yhä akuutimmaksi ongelmaksi. Yksi tiivistyvien kaupunkien haasteista on hulevesien hallinta. Hulevesiä hallitaan pääasiassa niin kutsutuin perinteisin menetelmin, eli pääasiassa viemäröiden, mutta sen rinnalle on nousemassa niin kutsuttu luonnonmukainen hulevesien hallinta. Luonnonmukaiset menetelmät hyödyntävät luonnon omia prosesseja, ja ne voivat parantaa hulevesien laatua, pienentää virtaamahuippuja, edistää luonnon monimuotoisuutta ja tarjota virkistyshyötyjä. Hulevesien hallinnan ja luontoarvojen huomioiminen kaupunkisuunnittelussa ei ole yksinkertaista - suunnittelussa on huomioitava monenlaisia tavoitteita, joiden yhteensovittamisessa kohdataan ristiriitoja. Ristiriidat voivat paljastaa tavoitteiden taustalla olevia arvoja, ja siten kertoa, minkälaista kaupunkia todellisuudessa toteutamme. Tutkielma toteutettiin osana HELSUS Co-Creation Labia ja yhteistyökumppanina toimi Helsingin kaupunki. Tutkielman tavoitteena oli luontoarvojen ja hulevesien hallinnan huomioimisen selvittäminen ja kaupunkisuunnittelijoiden agentuurin kartoittaminen Helsingin maankäytön suunnittelussa. Tutkielmassa pyrittiin vastaamaan seuraaviin tutkimuskysymyksiin: 1) Millaisia asioita asemakaavoitusvaiheessa mukana olleet Helsingin kaupungin työntekijät mielsivät kuuluvan luontoarvojen pariin? 2) Miten luontoarvot ja hulevesien hallinta huomioitiin projekteissa? 3) Mitä asioita suunnittelijat kokivat keskeisinä luontoarvojen ja luonnonmukaisen hallinnan huomioimiseksi suunnitteluprosessissa yksilön osalta? 4) Mitkä asiat vaikeuttivat luontoarvojen huomioimista tai suojelua ja luonnonmukaisen hallinnan toteuttamista? Tutkielma tehtiin käyttäen eksploratiivisen ja välineellisen tapaustutkimuksen menetelmiä. Aineistona toimi pääasiassa seitsemän Helsingin kaupunkisuunnittelijan haastattelut, joille tehtiin temaattinen analyysi. Tutkielman kohteena oli Helsingin kaupungin hulevesien hallintaa koskeva suunnittelu/päätöksenteko asemakaavoitusprosessissa. Yksittäiset tapaukset olivat asemakaavaprojekteja Helsingin Kaarelan, Laajasalon ja Lauttasaaren kaupunginosista. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä tutkielmassa hyödynnettiin pääasiassa arvojen, sääntöjen ja tiedon muodostamaa viitekehystä päätöksentekokontekstissa. Aineiston perusteella luontoarvojen ja luonnonmukaisen hulevesien hallinnan huomioimisen kanssa kilpailevia arvoja ja intressejä olivat tekninen toimivuus ja käytännöllisyys, ihmisten turvallisuus, esteettisyys, taloudellinen kestävyys, asuntotuotanto, rakentamisen tehokkuus, tietämättömyys/osaamattomuus, harrastusmahdollisuudet sekä liikenneratkaisut. Yleisesti kaiken kiteyttävänä haasteena oli tilan puute. Vaikka päätavoitteet ja lopulliset päätökset arvoineen tulevat poliittisilta toimijoilta, niin voidaan kuitenkin sanoa, että suunnittelijoilla on mahdollisuuksia toteuttaa omia arvojaan työssään ja säännöissä on jonkin verran niin sanotusti pelivaraa. Suunnittelussa on suunnittelijakohtaisia eroja esimerkiksi siinä, kuinka aktiivisesti ja minkälaisella asenteella kukin huomioi ja edistää luontoarvoja ja hulevesien hallintaa suunnitteluprosessissa. Hulevesien hallinta vaikuttaa Helsingissä olevan murrosvaiheessa kohti vihreämpään infrastruktuuriin nojaavaa suunnittelua. Sitä vauhdittaakseen kaupungin kannattanee lisätä pilottiprojekteja, suunnitella pilottikirjastoa, lisätä työvoimaa ja kuntien välistä yhteistyötä sekä varmistaa, että suunnittelijoilla on tarpeelliset tiedot ja työkalut, joita myös osataan hyödyntää. Tarve jatkotutkimusten tekemiselle löytyy kaupunkisuunnittelussa kilpailevien arvojen ja intressien selvittämisestä ja niiden tunnistamisesta suunnitteluprosessissa ja päätöksenteossa.