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

Circular economy (CE) is often offered as a solution to mitigate climate change and more efficient resource use. However, the socio-cultural side of transformation to CE is widely overlooked in the academic literature (Kirchherr et al., 2018) and in the context of CE, consumer-citizens are often framed as “consumers”, “users” and in terms of “acceptance” of new products and modes of provision (Hobson & Lynch, 2016). In fact, taking part in CE can be quite laborious and the notion of consumption work highlights the time, skills and access needed to participate in circular consumption (Hobson et al., 2021). Existing research on CE skills are scarce, outdated and focused on only one practice at a time. The research gap of citizens’ CE skills has been identified by several researchers (e.g. Hobson et al., 2021; Wieser, 2019) and this thesis aims to fulfil the gap by adopting a qualitative approach. The data on which this research is based on, consists of semi-structured interviews with 20 Finnish citizens who have been active in implementing zero waste lifestyles and responsible consumption principles that are relevant for CE. By exploring their everyday practices related to CE, I identify six skill categories that the active citizens utilise to take part in CE. Particularly (1) manual skills were identified by the interviewees as central to performing circular activities. They include skills such as sewing and technical skills that enable repair and repurposing materials. The interviewees possess (2) divergent thinking skills and abilities to think creatively, for example about the ways you can use a certain item. They are also skilful in questioning consumption related social norms. (3) Research and communication skills are central for active citizens as they are trying to figure out the most sustainable options and inspire others with humour and positivity to take part in the circular economy. The interviewees describe often utilising (4) organising and prioritising skills that revolve around time management. They need to make decisions and prioritise certain actions that preferably are quite influential in terms of their carbon footprint. Moreover, when buying products second hand they should start looking for the items early and with rental options, the need should be anticipated and planned. Another identified set of skills are (5) household skills. They include maintenance skills of household goods and clothes, cooking skills to avoid food waste by using creativity and planning as well as recycling skills on sorting different fractions. The respondents also described (6) skills brought by experience. Knowledge on different second hand marketplaces and the skills to recognise good quality on materials and items enable circular practices. One of the main contributions of this thesis is consolidation of various sets of citizen skills relevant for the CE into a single framework. The findings further illustrate that consumer-citizens are doing a multitude of CE activities that require consumption work and certain skills. The findings provide information on how citizens engage and coordinate CE practices on the household level by prioritising and planning, a topic on which research has been lacking (Hobson et al., 2021). The skills of “thinking outside the box” are also a new set of skills that emerged from the interviews and it has a clear connection to the “unlearning” of noncircular consumption practices (Wieser, 2019). The identified skills could be taught more through formal and informal education channels, but it should be considered, how infrastructure, companies and services can ease people’s participation in CE. Findings of the thesis offer insight on the domestic reality of CE and how it could be improved in the Finnish context.

Tropical coral reefs are amongst the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on Earth. In recent decades, coral reefs have suffered an unprecedented decline in habitat-forming hard coral cover due to anthropogenic stressors, with severe impacts on ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. Some of the pressing issues that coral reefs are facing can be mitigated through active reef restoration, such as coral transplantation, which aims to increase the hard coral cover, biodiversity, and structural complexity of a reef site. Studies on the passive benefits that increase the natural recovery potential and resilience of coral reefs following active restoration efforts remain scarce. In collaboration with Indo Ocean Project, this study aimed to compare benthic recruitment patterns between three coral sites located within the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area, Indonesia. The reef sites included a restoration site with gardened Acropora corals, a natural site, and a rubble site that could serve as a restoration site. The experiment was conducted using standardized settlement tiles to measure and observe various response variables as indicators for the natural recovery potential and resilience capacity of the reef. The sites were also surveyed for their benthic reef cover, structural complexity, and fish abundance and community composition. The research objective was to find out how benthic recruitment patterns differ between restoration and natural reef sites, and why. The results confirm that active coral reef restoration efforts induce co-benefits in the benthic environment through enhanced structural complexity, leading to subsequent increases in overall fish abundance and particularly the number of herbivorous fish, and thus to a lower density of turf algae. These are promising findings for the later development of the reef site. The results do not imply that restoration efforts directly translate into enhanced coral recruitment or increases in crustose coralline algae abundance. However, the plentiful supply of spats observed at the restoration site indicates that local coral recruitment can improve over time after the transplanted corals have healed from transplantation stress and become fecund. Finally, the current rubble area can be expected to function as a restoration area in the future, as it appears to be within the reach of coral recruits. This study demonstrates that active coral reef restoration can yield benefits for the whole benthic ecosystem, and thereby aid recovery and strengthen resilience at localized scales. Given the accelerated rate of coral reef degradation, regular monitoring of restoration success is crucial to avoid loss of information regarding the benefits of active coral reef restoration for the fragile benthic ecosystem.

Agriculture is emitting ~6.2 Gt CO2-Eq. annually, which accounts for ~12 % of the total annual net anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. Agriculture emits N2O and CH4, and it is responsible globally for ~79% of N2O emissions and ~40% CH4 emissions. These emissions are vital since N2O and CH4 are 273- and 27-times greater GHG than CO2, respectively. There are many different food production systems developed to reduce these emissions. One of the most promising systems is agroforestry. Agroforestry is a complex system where trees and/or shrubs are interacting with crops and/or animals. Agroforestry is an old practice which can provide plenty of advantages, e.g., increased yields, increased biodiversity, and increased carbon sequestration. Therefore, the interest towards it has been increasing in the last decades. In this master’s thesis the different maize production systems in Zambia were studied. The comparison was conducted between low-input maize monoculture where only external input was maize seed for sowing; high-input maize monoculture where mineral fertilizers and seeds for sowing were used; and maize-Faidherbia albida agroforestry system where only external input was maize seed for sowing. The goal of this master’s thesis was to find out, which production system is having the lowest climate change potential in the Central Province of Zambia. To conduct this study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) -method was used. Two cases were used in LCA, i.e., Case 1 with functional unit (FU) of 1000 kg d.m. maize grain, and Case 2 with FU of 3 ha maize field. Also, four sensitivity analyses were conducted. The result from this study indicates that agroforestry system had the lowest climate change potential in both cases, and in most of the sensitivity analyses. Only exception was found in the sensitivity analysis where above-ground biomass of F. albida was substituting hydropower. In this sensitivity analysis the monoculture without external inputs had the lowest climate change potential. Since the food production in Zambia must increase in the future to reduce the hunger, the high-input system or agroforestry system are more favourable options as they produce higher crop yields. When taking the climate change potential into account, according to the results of this thesis, the agroforestry system provides more benefits. The results of this thesis can provide new knowledge which could be used in the future decision-making processes. Yet, in the future studies, more complex agroforestry systems with more sustainability pillars should be considered to provide improved information for decision-making.

Ympäristökriisi on yksi aikamme suurimmista globaaleista ongelmista. Voimakkaana tekijänä kriisissä ovat ihmisten valinnat niin arjen kuluttamisessa kuin yleisessä käyttäytymisessä luontoa kohtaan. Ympäristömyönteinen käyttäytyminen kumpuaa luontoyhteydestä, jonka nähdään rappeutuneen nyky-yhteiskunnassamme. Tästä johtuen lisäämällä ihmisten luontoyhteyttä voisimme edistää heidän ympäristömyönteistä käyttäytymistään. Tämä tutkielma käsittelee luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen välistä yhteyttä. Tavoitteena on hahmottaa, millä tavoin tämä yhteys muodostuu, jotta voimme lisätä ihmisten ympäristömyönteistä käyttäytymistä syvällä ja perusteellisella tasolla. Tutkielmassa pyritään vastaamaan tähän systemaattisen kirjallisuuskatsauksen keinoin perehtymällä aiempien tutkimusten aihepiireihin ja niiden teoreettiseen pohjaan koskien luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen suhdetta. Katsauksessa löydettiin 38 kappaletta soveltuvia artikkeleita, joita analysoitiin luokittelemalla niitä seuraavin perustein: 1) millaisia yhteyksiä aiempi tutkimus on luonut luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen välille, ja 2) mitä välittäviä muuttujia luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen välillä on havaittu aiemmissa tutkimuksissa. Tutkimuksen mukaan aineistosta voidaan muodostaa kolme kategoriaa, jotka ovat: 1) CTN-PEB, 2) x-CTN-PEB, and 3) CTN-x-PEB. Tutkimuksessa syvennyttiin eniten kategoriaan numero kolme, jossa luontoyhteyden ja ympäristömyönteisen käyttäytymisen suhdetta selvitettiin erilaisten välittävien muuttujien avulla. Jatkotutkimusta kausaalisen yhteyden selvittämiseksi tarvitaan.

This study examines how discussion of environmental sustainability is framed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication of European Green Digital Coalition (EGDC) tech companies. The strategy and vision sections of year 2020 corporate annual reports of 14 EGDC companies were chosen for analysis, and 116 quotes discussing environmental sustainability were collected. Inductive frame analysis was performed on this dataset, following Robert Entman’s four frame functions. Seven frames were identified. Frames (1) and (2) defined problems: environmental sustainability was mostly prominently defined through (1) climate change and (2) reduction of carbon emissions, and other goals. Most frames were prescriptive as in suggesting solutions. (3) Techno-optimism and (4) ICT necessitarianism frames highlighted technological solutions as key answers and as being necessary for solving sustainability issues. The companies also discussed (5) reducing their or their customers’ carbon emissions, and acting in (6) compliance with sustainability standards. The final frame contained wordings implicating (7) sustainability for all people, such as “a better future for all”, filling both prescriptive and evaluating-moral judgment frame functions. Lack of previous research on framing of environmental sustainability in CSR communications and the following inductive frame analysis performed here limited the size of the sample, and this can reduce replicability due differing interpretation. This study was limited to discussion of environmental sustainability, and only within the strategy sections of the reports; omissions were not deeply investigated due to this limitation.

Cyanobacteria are an important part of the phytoplankton community and aquatic ecosystems. Cyanobacteria can form large mass occurrences, i.e. blooms, which can be toxic or cause other harm. Research and monitoring of cyanobacteria has been based on microscopy analysis. However, molecular-based methods, such as 16S rRNA sequencing are replacing microscopy analyses in the near future. The Finnish Environment Institute has stated that molecular methods are part of environmental monitoring before 2030. In this Master’s thesis the aim was to determine whether conventional microscopy analyses and 16S rRNA sequencing differ when comparing nano- and micro-sized cyanobacteria. The material was collected from a laboratory experiment of the Finnish Environment Institute’s (SYKE) MiDAS project, which was conducted in the summer of 2020. The results of the microscopy and 16S rRNA analyses differed from each other. The relative abundances of the cyanobacteria genera differed between sample types. Microscopy analyses estimated that the alpha diversity was higher compared to the results of the sequencing analyses. The main reason for the difference between the types of analyses was due to the differences in cyanobacteria belonging to the order of Synechococcales. Some of the Synechococcales species were observed only by the sequencing analyses, e.g. Snowella and some of the Synechococcales species were only observed by the microscopy analyses, e.g. Romeria and Woronichinia. It was observed that both methods are prone to identification errors. The differences between the 16S rRNA sequencing and the microscopy analyses are vastly different. It may affect on the review of long-term data of the phytoplankton community. Therefore, it is important to examine the differences between the types of analyses. Studying the dissimilarities between the types of analyses should be focused on the research of the small cell-sized colonial cyanobacteria, i.e. the species of Chroococcales and Synechococcales.

Tämä opinnäytetyö käsittelee uuden ympäristöseurantamenetelmän kehitystyötä. Hauruja (Fucus spp.) on seurattu Suomen rannikolla jo pitkään, mutta nykyisiin kartoitus- ja seurantamenetelmiin liittyy haasteita ja epätarkkuutta. Hauruvaltaiset elinympäristöt ovat uudessa uhanalaisuusarvioinnissa määritelty erittäin uhanalaisiksi. Tarvetta uusille seurantamenetelmille siis on. Drone-teknologia on kehittynyt ja halventunut viime vuosina, mikä on avannut uusia mahdollisuuksia hyödyntää kaukokartoitusta. Edulliset valokuvaamiseen tarkoitetut dronet mahdollistavat sekä ajallisesti että paikallisesti erittäin tarkkojen ilmakuvien tuottamisen. Näitä on maailmalla käytetty menestyksellisesti myös rannikon kartoituksessa ja seurannassa. Suomessa drone-kuvia ei kirjallisuuden perusteella ole käytetty makrolevien kartoitukseen tai seurantaan. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus on selvittää, sopivatko tällaiset drone-kuvat hauruyhteisöjen kartoitukseen ja monitorointiin itäisellä Suomenlahdella sekä tuottaa tietoa menetelmän jatkokehitystä ajatellen. Kuvasin 22 merenranta-alueen reunaympäristön alkukesällä 2020. Kuvatuista alueista valitsin kahdeksan jatkotutkimuksiin, jotka kuvattiin uudelleen syksyllä 2020. Tällöin niiden alueelta kerättiin kuvatulkinnan tueksi 263 tukipistettä, joilta mitattiin veden syvyys ja arvioitiin haurujen esiintyvyys Drop-kuvausmenetelmällä. Rajasin ilmakuvilta näkyvät haurualueet ja vertasin niitä tukipisteaineistoon. Havaitsin, että 80 % havainnoista tieto luokittui oikein. Cohenin kappa -testin perusteella kohteiden välillä sekä eri syvyyksillä olevilla kasvustoilla oli suuria eroja havaintojen luotettavuudessa. Syvemmällä kuin 2,5 metrissä olevien haurukasvustojen erottaminen onnistui huomattavasti huonommin. Myös matalimman kasvuston (0 – 0,5 m) erottaminen oli hankalaa. Tulokset ovat lupaavat, mutta niiden perusteella menetelmää ei kuitenkaan vielä voi todeta toimivaksi, vaan lisätutkimuksia tarvitaan. Tämän tutkimuksen perusteella kehitystyötä kannattaa jatkaa käyttämällä tarkkaa paikkatietoa ilmakuvien ja tukipisteaineiston tuottamiseen sekä uusia kuvantamismenetelmiä, jotka kykenevät tuottamaan tavanomaista RGB-kameraa paremman erottelukyvyn. Drone- ja meritöiden turvallisuuden parantamiseksi tehtiin riskienhallintaprosessi, jossa tunnistin, analysoin sekä raportoin töihin liittyvät merkittävimmät riskit.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges our planet and humanity are experiencing. The time window for finding ways to miti-gate carbon emissions is getting smaller and there is an urgent need to find solutions that aim not only to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but to address the complex problems of land use change, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and inequality. REDD+ is a multi-objective initiative under UNFCCC designed to reduce GHG emissions through deforestation and forest degradation togeth-er with non-carbon co-benefits of livelihoods, poverty, biodiversity, and local peoples and indigenous peoples rights. By applying a Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) this thesis compares 12 various REDD+ countries national political contexts and particularly REDD+ policies and measures over time in order to identify conditions that enable or hinder the countries from achieving results in reversing forest cover trajectories. All the countries analyzed here are tropical, developing, or emerging countries with a political commitment to REDD+ with characteristics that hinder carbon-effective, cost-efficient, and equitable (3E) implementation of REDD+. The thesis builds on three previous REDD+ qualitative comparative analyses of various REDD+ countries' progress in developing and implementing national REDD+ policies and measures. The analysis follows an underlining theoretical assumption that both insti-tutions and agencies affect the REDD+ policy outcome. The longitudinal data used in the analysis is based on expert assessments conducted in three various data collection rounds in 2012, 2014, and 2016. The results show a set of enabling conditions under which countries can achieve a positive outcome. The findings from the previous studies have highlighted the importance of already initiated policy change and effective forest legislation from the institutional context, and from the actor-centered policy arena, the presence of powerful coalitions and the availability of performance-based payments. Here, two enabling remote conditions are identified (1) pressure from the forest resources and (2) the presence of effective forest legislation. The pressure from the forest resources leads to a positive outcome together with (3) strong national ownership and politi-cal will combined with (4) performance-based payments or (5) REDD+ policies and measures. The effective forest legislation.leads away from business-as-usual practices towards a broader transformational change when combined with (6) powerful transformation-al coalitions and (7) inclusive policy processes. Policy relevance: Well over a decade has passed since REDD+ was launched in 2007 but the progress has been much slower than it was initially expected. The evidence on what works and what does not is essential to achieve the GHG reductions needed to keep the global warming below 2C. The findings from this study can guide towards more effective, efficient, and equitable REDD+ policy design formulation and implementation.

Salt-induced flocculation is a process in which dissolved salts in seawater modify dissolved organic matter (DOM) surface charges and enable its transformation into larger fractions. These larger particles can settle to the benthos removing organic matter from the water column. Flocs formed in the flocculation process are often referred to as suspended particulate material (SPM). SPM is an important part of the biogeochemical cycles. SPM is a vector for pollutants, a food source for organisms and a habitat for microbes. Flocculation is part of the estuarine “coastal filter” -system controlling the material fluxes from land to sea. Climate change is causing water temperatures to increase in both inland and coastal waters affecting the biogeochemistry of aquatic ecosystems. Flocculation is a physicochemical process potentially impacted by temperature but the effects of temperature on flocculation are not well known. In my master’s thesis, I studied the effects of water temperature on the salt-induced flocculation of humic-rich river water. The flocculation experiments were conducted in spring 2023 using humic-rich water sampled from Vantaanjoki, Helsinki, Finland. The effects of temperature were studied in two separate experiments at temperatures ranging from 3 ºC to 20 ºC. The studied variables included quantitative suspended particulate matter as well as the optical properties of DOM including colored DOM and fluorescent DOM. Results of the experiments show that temperature did not have a significant effect on the salt-induced flocculation of DOM in humic-rich river water. However, the optical properties of DOM shifted with increasing temperatures and changing flocculation dynamics. Results show that molecular size increased as temperature increased but also when temperature was lower than 3 ºC. Explanation for the observed trends is discussed but more research is needed for more firm conclusions. DOM concentrations are expected to increase in the Arctic and sub-Arctic rivers transporting more organic matter to estuaries. Results of this thesis suggest that rising temperatures will not increase the amount of particulate matter through salt-induced flocculation meaning that a larger portion of the transported material remains in dissolved fraction. Increases in DOM concentrations may shift marine food webs by changing the food and light availability as well as biogeochemistry in estuaries.

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.