Skip to main content
Login | Suomeksi | På svenska | In English

Accumulation of nitrogen in the snowpack of urban parks and its connection to dog activities.

Show simple item record

dc.date.accessioned 2020-09-30T10:11:28Z
dc.date.available 2020-09-30T10:11:28Z
dc.date.issued 2020-09-30
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/31526
dc.title Accumulation of nitrogen in the snowpack of urban parks and its connection to dog activities. en
ethesis.discipline.URI none
ethesis.faculty Bio- ja ympäristötieteellinen tiedekunta fi
ethesis.faculty Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences en
ethesis.faculty Bio- och miljövetenskapliga fakulteten sv
ethesis.faculty.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/4d959249-d6aa-44fa-93ff-807dbf9ffaae
ethesis.university.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/50ae46d8-7ba9-4821-877c-c994c78b0d97
ethesis.university Helsingin yliopisto fi
ethesis.university University of Helsinki en
ethesis.university Helsingfors universitet sv
dct.creator Azam, Gausul
dct.issued 2020
dct.language.ISO639-2 eng
dct.abstract Dog activities (urination and defecation) can be a source of nitrogen accumulation in the snowpack of urban parks. Urban parks are commonly visited by urban residents and excessive buildup of nitrogen in snowpack can be a health concern. This accumulation of nitrogen in snowpack may wash away during spring with the runoff of melting snow, which can cause the eutrophication and deterioration of lake ecosystems. In this study, I investigated the concentration of some nitrogen-related compounds along with a few physical parameters in the snowpack of urban parks and compared these between areas with high dog activities and areas with no dog activities. I hypothesized that, nitrogen concentrations will be higher in areas with high dog activities, like snowpack beside paths than in areas with no dog activities. The study was performed in 10 parks of two cities in Finland; Helsinki and Lahti. In these parks, samples were collected from snowpack immediately next to walking paths (path edge), and in control areas 8 m away from these paths, where dogs were unlikely to visit. Samples were collected from February to April of 2019. The concentration nitrogen from snow samples of both parts of parks were compared. The study showed that, the concentration of most nitrogen species, e.g. Total Nitrogen (TN), ammonium (NH4+), Total Organic Nitrogen (TON), and electrical conductivity followed a similar pattern of having higher values in snow from path edges where dog activities were the highest. However, the concentration of NO3 – and pH values were both slightly lower in the path edge samples compared to control areas undisturbed by dogs, but differences were not statistically significant. Information from this study can be useful for understanding the connection between dog activities and nitrogen build up in snowpack of urban parks, and can also be helpful for designing urban parks by considering environmental and health effects of nitrogen accumulation in the snow from dog activities. My findings can also be useful to urban waterbody related studies, e.g. eutrophication, and the accumulation of nutrients in lakes. en
dct.subject Nitrogen en
dct.subject Urban Park en
dct.subject snowpack en
dct.subject dogs en
dct.language en
ethesis.language.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/languages/eng
ethesis.language englanti fi
ethesis.language English en
ethesis.language engelska sv
ethesis.supervisor Kotze, Johan
ethesis.supervisor Allen, John
ethesis.thesistype pro gradu -tutkielmat fi
ethesis.thesistype master's thesis en
ethesis.thesistype pro gradu-avhandlingar sv
ethesis.thesistype.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/thesistypes/mastersthesis
dct.identifier.ethesis E-thesisID:b354ddae-147e-4f48-be27-a6716cb94149
ethesis-internal.timestamp.reviewStep 2020-07-31 12:56:04:013
ethesis.principalprofessor Kotze, Johan
dct.identifier.urn URN:NBN:fi:hulib-202009304153
dc.type.dcmitype Text
ethesis.facultystudyline Ympäristömuutos fi
ethesis.facultystudyline Environmental Change en
ethesis.facultystudyline Miljöförändring sv
ethesis.facultystudyline.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/SH57_111
ethesis.mastersdegreeprogram Ympäristömuutoksen ja globaalin kestävyyden maisteriohjelma fi
ethesis.mastersdegreeprogram Master's Programme in Environmental Change and Global Sustainability en
ethesis.mastersdegreeprogram Magisterprogrammet i miljöförändringar och global hållbarhet sv
ethesis.mastersdegreeprogram.URI http://data.hulib.helsinki.fi/id/MH57_005

Files in this item

Files Size Format View
Gausul_Azam.pdf 2.409Mb PDF

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record