In this paper, I examine the discussions around the concept of carbon sinks. From those discussion of Finnish forestry, I identify frames based on a media material of 108 news articles combining the methodologies of frame analysis and content analysis. I aim to contextualize the carbon sink discussions of the latter half of 2010s and examine how the natural science-based term is used to support varying policy agendas. Building from background literature on the media as a societal actor and a context around Finnish forest discussions and mismatches between science and forest policy, I reflect on the ways that Finnish media frames and contextualizes carbon sink-related forest discussions. Eventually, I identify three dominant and eight secondary frames that describe the ways of using and the transforming of carbon sink as a term in detail. The dominant frames divide the discussion into two clashing ways to communicate carbon sink issues and a third middle ground way of understanding and using the term. The middle ground frame identifies the conflict between the clashing frames and suggests reaching to an understanding as a priority goal in terms of optimal climate change policy. I discuss the results in terms of the frames' policy implications. In addition, I ask how they signal potential developments in forest and climate policy and discourse. The analysis shows that the clearest disagreements in the carbon sink conflicts raise from how forestry restricting policies are seen to affect carbon sink levels and how prominent a role should forest industry have in meeting national and international climate policy targets. The study confirms that carbon sink as a term transforms into altering forms to support distinct, even controversial policy goals because of both definitional and calculative uncertainties.

We have not succeeded to halt biodiversity loss despite international agreements. Conserving ecological connectivity is crucial when conserving biodiversity in the long run. This thesis studies policy instruments that promote ecological connectivity and conserve ecological processes. The aim of this study is to find out how Finnish environmental policy should be developed in order to promote ecological connectivity and biodiversity conservation. The research questions are: 1) How current nature conservation policy instruments promote ecological connectivity? 2) How policy instruments could promote ecological connectivity better? 3) Could green infrastructure approach help to conserve biodiversity? Ecological connectivity affects the biodiversity especially trough species dispersal. The environment is governed by different policy instruments, which have various effects on ecological connectivity. The green infrastructure is a new policy approach that underlines holistic planning. The green infrastructure is ecologically connected network of green and blue spaces that produces ecosystem services. The data comes from a SCALES project survey on Securing the Conservation of Biodiversity Across Administrative Levels and Spatial, Ecological and Temporal Scales. A link to the web-based questionnaire was sent to 214 Finnish experts of ecological connectivity and 47 persons answered to the questions. The data was analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The main analysis methods were repeated measures ANOVA and cluster analysis. Content analysis was done from qualitative data. The experts thought that ecological connectivity is more important than the current consideration shows. The policy instruments that promote ecological connectivity in the best way are the instruments, which have a wide spatial cover and urban and small-scale instruments are considered worse. The potential of policy instruments to promote ecological connectivity is higher than the current implementation demonstrates. The integration of biodiversity conservation to the other sector policies is considered important. Nature conservation was thought to be more important aspect than ecosystem services in implementation of green infrastructure. The respondent believed that green infrastructure has could have potential of enhancing nature conservation.

In this Master’s thesis, I investigated the number of microplastics (< 5 mm) in three different groups of benthic invertebrates found in the Baltic Sea: the clam Limecola balthica, the polychaete Marenzelleria spp. and the bloodworm Chironomus spp. larvae. I also investigated the number of microplastics in the soft sediments that are the natural habitats of these animals. I collected the samples along the coast of the Gulf of Finland, between Hanko, Helsinki, and Kotka. To extract the microplastics from the samples I used density separation, hydrogen peroxide and enzymes. I analyzed the samples by focal plane array µFTIR and the spectra were automatically compared to a reference library by MPHunter software. According to this study, the benthic invertebrates are exposed to high quantities of microplastics in their natural habitat, and the animals end up ingesting microplastics. The number of microplastics in the sediment samples were high (between 0–10 145 kg-1 and 1 847–93 973 kg-1 DW sediment), and 90% of them were <300 µm sized particles that the animals used in this study normally ingest, and 54 % were <100 µm sized particles that the animals prefer the most. On average, all the animals had ingested the smaller microplastics that were available in sediments. Despite the high concentration of microplastics in the sediments, the animals had ingested only low numbers of microplastics per individual on average (L. balthica 0,11 ± 0,05 pcs., Marenzelleria spp. 0,46 ± 0,63 pcs., and Chironomus spp. 0,27 ± 0,19 pcs.). No relationship was found between the three different animal groups and the presence of ingested plastic particles, so the animal groups seem to be equally exposed to microplastics. No relationship was either found between the animal groups and the sizes of ingested microplastics. The plastic materials found in the animals and sediments (PA, PP, PE, PET, PMMA and PVC) are commonly used plastic materials. Most of these materials are used in disposable packaging and fishing gear that are the most common sources of microplastics found in marine environments. Although the number of ingested microplastics in benthic invertebrates in the Gulf of Finland seems to be low, the exposure to the microplastics can still be high during their lifetime. The results of this study depict the presence of microplastics in animals during a certain time. The low number of ingested microplastics may present the fact that microplastics do not accumulate in the animals, but rather pass through the digestive system in a short time (2–4 h). The ingested microplastics pose a risk to benthic invertebrates causing them physical and chemical harm. Oxidizing and bioturbating the sediments and as nutrition to other animals the benthic invertebrates have an important role in the Baltic Sea ecosystem, and therefore the consequences of the microplastic in benthic invertebrate community might be far-reaching. It is important to investigate the long term impact of microplastics on benthic invertebrates in order to estimate the real consequences to the marine ecosystems.