Noise sensitivity medical, psychological and genetic aspects

Noise can be defined as unwanted sound. It may adversely affect the health and well-being of individuals. Noise sensitivity is a personality trait covering attitudes towards noise in general and a predictor of noise annoyance. Noise sensitive individuals are more affected by noise than less sensitive individuals. The determinants and characteristics related to noise sensitivity are rather poorly known. The risk of health effects caused by noise can be hypothesized to be higher for noise sensitive individuals compared to those who are not noise sensitive. A cardiovascular disease may be an example of outcomes. The general aim of the present study was to investigate the association of noise sensitivity with specific somatic and psychological factors, including the genetic component of noise sensitivity, and the association of noise sensitivity with mortality. The study was based on the Finnish Twin Cohort of same-sex twin pairs born before 1958. In 1988 a questionnaire was sent to twin pairs discordant for hypertension. 1495 individuals (688 men, 807 women) aged 31 88 years replied, including 573 twin pairs. 218 of the subjects lived in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Self-reported noise sensitivity, lifetime noise exposure and hypertension were obtained from the questionnaire study in 1988 and other somatic and psychological factors from the questionnaire study in 1981 for the same individuals. In addition, noise map information (1988 1992) from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and mortality follow-up 1989 2003 were used. To evaluate the stability and validity of noise sensitivity, a new questionnaire was sent in 2002 to a sample of the subjects who had replied to the 1988 questionnaire. Of all subjects who had answered the question on noise sensitivity, 38 % were noise sensitive. Noise sensitivity was independent of noise exposure levels indicated in noise maps. Subjects with high noise sensitivity reported more transportation noise exposure than subjects with low noise sensitivity. Noise sensitive subjects reported transportation noise exposure outside the environmental noise map areas almost twice as often as non-sensitive subjects. Noise sensitivity was associated with hypertension, emphysema, use of psychotropic drugs, smoking, stress and hostility, even when lifetime noise exposure was adjusted for. Monozygotic twin pairs were more similar with regards noise sensitivity than dizygotic twin pairs, and quantitative genetic modelling indicated significant familiality. The best fitting genetic model provided an estimate of heritability of 36 %. Follow-up of subjects in the case-control study showed that cardiovascular mortality was significantly increased among noise sensitive women, but not among men. For coronary heart mortality the interaction of noise sensitivity and lifetime noise exposure was statistically significant in women. In conclusion, noise sensitivity has both somatic and psychological components. It does aggregate in families and probably has a genetic component. Noise sensitivity may be a risk factor for cardiovascular mortality in women.

Plant species diversity of buffer zones in agricultural landscapes: in search of determinants from the local to regional scale

Buffer zones are vegetated strip-edges of agricultural fields along watercourses. As linear habitats in agricultural ecosystems, buffer strips dominate and play a leading ecological role in many areas. This thesis focuses on the plant species diversity of the buffer zones in a Finnish agricultural landscape. The main objective of the present study is to identify the determinants of floral species diversity in arable buffer zones from local to regional levels. This study was conducted in a watershed area of a farmland landscape of southern Finland. The study area, Lepsämänjoki, is situated in the Nurmijärvi commune 30 km to the north of Helsinki, Finland. The biotope mosaics were mapped in GIS. A total of 59 buffer zones were surveyed, of which 29 buffer strips surveyed were also sampled by plot. Firstly, two diversity components (species richness and evenness) were investigated to determine whether the relationship between the two is equal and predictable. I found no correlation between species richness and evenness. The relationship between richness and evenness is unpredictable in a small-scale human-shaped ecosystem. Ordination and correlation analyses show that richness and evenness may result from different ecological processes, and thus should be considered separately. Species richness correlated negatively with phosphorus content, and species evenness correlated negatively with the ratio of organic carbon to total nitrogen in soil. The lack of a consistent pattern in the relationship between these two components may be due to site-specific variation in resource utilization by plant species. Within-habitat configuration (width, length, and area) were investigated to determine which is more effective for predicting species richness. More species per unit area increment could be obtained from widening the buffer strip than from lengthening it. The width of the strips is an effective determinant of plant species richness. The increase in species diversity with an increase in the width of buffer strips may be due to cross-sectional habitat gradients within the linear patches. This result can serve as a reference for policy makers, and has application value in agricultural management. In the framework of metacommunity theory, I found that both mass effect(connectivity) and species sorting (resource heterogeneity) were likely to explain species composition and diversity on a local and regional scale. The local and regional processes were interactively dominated by the degree to which dispersal perturbs local communities. In the lowly and intermediately connected regions, species sorting was of primary importance to explain species diversity, while the mass effect surpassed species sorting in the highly connected region. Increasing connectivity in communities containing high habitat heterogeneity can lead to the homogenization of local communities, and consequently, to lower regional diversity, while local species richness was unrelated to the habitat connectivity. Of all species found, Anthriscus sylvestris, Phalaris arundinacea, and Phleum pretense significantly responded to connectivity, and showed high abundance in the highly connected region. We suggest that these species may play a role in switching the force from local resources to regional connectivity shaping the community structure. On the landscape context level, the different responses of local species richness and evenness to landscape context were investigated. Seven landscape structural parameters served to indicate landscape context on five scales. On all scales but the smallest scales, the Shannon-Wiener diversity of land covers (H') correlated positively with the local richness. The factor (H') showed the highest correlation coefficients in species richness on the second largest scale. The edge density of arable field was the only predictor that correlated with species evenness on all scales, which showed the highest predictive power on the second smallest scale. The different predictive power of the factors on different scales showed a scaledependent relationship between the landscape context and local plant species diversity, and indicated that different ecological processes determine species richness and evenness. The local richness of species depends on a regional process on large scales, which may relate to the regional species pool, while species evenness depends on a fine- or coarse-grained farming system, which may relate to the patch quality of the habitats of field edges near the buffer strips. My results suggested some guidelines of species diversity conservation in the agricultural ecosystem. To maintain a high level of species diversity in the strips, a high level of phosphorus in strip soil should be avoided. Widening the strips is the most effective mean to improve species richness. Habitat connectivity is not always favorable to species diversity because increasing connectivity in communities containing high habitat heterogeneity can lead to the homogenization of local communities (beta diversity) and, consequently, to lower regional diversity. Overall, a synthesis of local and regional factors emerged as the model that best explain variations in plant species diversity. The studies also suggest that the effects of determinants on species diversity have a complex relationship with scale.

Ode to a Skylark: Agricultural intensification and farmland birds in the Baltic region

Intensification of agricultural land-use has been was shown to be the key reason behind declines in wildlife species associated with farmland. Accession to the European Union is regarded as a potential threat to the farmland biota of its new member states. In my thesis I looked at scenarios of agricultural development across the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and the ways they are seen to affect farmed environments as a habitat of farmland bird species. I looked at the effects of major farmed habitats across the region, and assessed the role of spatial organisation of farmed habitats. I also evaluated the direction and magnitude of changes in bird communities following progression of farmland land-use from a relatively less intensive to the most intensive type within each country. Different aspects of the structural complexity of farmland were critical for supporting farmland birds. There was a clear indication that the more intensively farmed areas across the region provided habitat for fewer bird species and individuals, and intensification of field management was reflected in a tangible decrease in farmland bird abundance. The second part of the thesis, based on interviews in Estonia and Finland, is devoted to farmers interest in and knowledge of farmland wildlife, their understanding of the concept of biodiversity, and awareness of causes behind species declines. I examined the relationship between farmers interest and their willingness to undertake practices favouring farmland wildlife. Many farmers viewed biodiversity from a narrow perspective. In Finland farmers expressed higher concern about the decline in common farmland species than in Estonia. In both countries farmers rated intensification of agriculture as the major driving force behind declines. The expressed interest in wildlife positively correlated with willingness to undertake wildlife-friendly measures. Only farmers with agri-environment contracts targeted specifically at biodiversity were more knowledgeable about practical on-farm activities favouring wildlife, and were more willing to employ them that the rest. The results suggest that, by contributing to simplification of the farmland structure, homogenisation of crops, and increase in intensity of field use, EU agricultural policies will have a detrimental effect on farmland bird populations in Eastern Europe. Farmers are on the whole positive to the idea of supporting wildlife on their farms, and are concerned about declines, but they require payments to offset their income loss and extra work. I propose ways of further improving and better targeting of the agri-environment schemes in the region. I argue that with a foreseen tripling of cereal yields across the region, the EU Council s target of halting biodiversity decline in the EU by 2010 may not be realistic unless considerable improvements are made in conservation safeguards within the EU agricultural policy for the region.

Phosphorus in agricultural soils of Finland - characterization of reserves and retention in mineral soil profiles

An overwhelming majority of all the research on soil phosphorus (P) has been carried out with soil samples taken from the surface soils only, and our understanding of the forms and the reactions of P at a soil profile scale is based on few observations. In Finland, the interest in studying the P in complete soil profiles has been particularly small because of the lack of tradition in studying soil genesis, morphology, or classification. In this thesis, the P reserves and the retention of orthophosphate phosphorus (PO4-P) were examined in four cultivated mineral soil profiles in Finland (three Inceptisols and one Spodosol). The soils were classified according to the U.S. Soil Taxonomy and soil samples were taken from the genetic horizons in the profiles. The samples were analyzed for total P concentration, Chang and Jackson P fractions, P sorption properties, concentrations of water-extractable P, and for concentrations of oxalate-extractable Al and Fe. Theoretical P sorption capacities and degrees of P saturation were calculated with the data from the oxalate-extractions and the P fractionations. The studied profiles can be divided into sections with clearly differing P characteristics by their master horizons Ap, B and C. The C (or transitional BC) horizons below an approximate depth of 70 cm were dominated by, assumingly apatitic, H2SO4-soluble P. The concentration of total P in the C horizons ranged from 729 to 810 mg kg-1. In the B horizons between the depths of 30 and 70 cm, a significant part of the primary acid-soluble P has been weathered and transformed to secondary P forms. A mean weathering rate of the primary P in the soils was estimated to vary between 230 and 290 g ha-1 year-1. The degrees of P saturation in the B and C horizons were smaller than 7%, and the solubility of PO4-P was negligible. The P conditions in the Ap horizons differed drastically from those in the subsurface horizons. The high concentrations of total P (689-1870 mg kg-1) in the Ap horizons are most likely attributable to long-term cultivation with positive P balances. A significant proportion of the P in the Ap horizons occurred in the NH4F- and NaOH-extractable forms and as organic P. These three P pools, together with the concentrations of oxalate-extractable Al and Fe, seem to control the dynamics of PO4-P in the soils. The degrees of P saturation in the Ap horizons were greater (8-36%) than in the subsurface horizons. This was also reflected in the sorption experiments: Only the Ap horizons were able to maintain elevated PO4-P concentrations in the solution phase − all the subsoil horizons acted as sinks for PO4-P. Most of the available sorption capacity in the soils is located in the B horizons. The results suggest that this capacity could be utilized in reducing the losses of soluble P from excessively fertilized soils by mixing highly sorptive material from the B horizons with the P-enriched surface soil. The drastic differences in the P characteristics observed between adjoining horizons have to be taken into consideration when conducting soil sampling. Sampling of subsoils has to be made according to the genetic horizons or at small depth increments. Otherwise, contrasting materials are likely to be mixed in the same sample; and the results of such samples are not representative of any material present in the studied profile. Air-drying of soil samples was found to alter the results of the sorption experiments and the water extractions. This indicates that the studies on the most labile P forms in soil should be carried out with moist samples.

Land leasing, land degradation and agricultural productivity in Finland

This study analysed whether the land tenure insecurity problem has led to a decline in long-term land improvements (liming and phosphorus fertilization) under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Nordic production conditions in European Union (EU) countries such as Finland. The results suggests that under traditional cash lease contracts, which are encouraged by the existing land leasing regulations and agricultural subsidy programs, the land tenure insecurity problem on leased land reduces land improvements that have a long pay-back period. In particular, soil pH was found to be significantly lower on land cultivated under a lease contract compared to land owned by the farmers themselves. The results also indicate that land improvements could not be reversed by land markets, because land owners would otherwise have carried out land improvements even if not farming by themselves. To reveal the causality between land tenure and land improvements, the dynamic optimisation problem was solved by a stochastic dynamic programming routine with known parameters for one-period returns and transition equations. The model parameters represented Finnish soil quality and production conditions. The decision rules were solved for alternative likelihood scenarios over the continuation of the fixed-term lease contract. The results suggest that as the probability of non-renewal of the lease contract increases, farmers quickly reduce investments in irreversible land improvements and, thereafter, yields gradually decline. The simulations highlighted the observed trends of a decline in land improvements on land parcels that are cultivated under lease contracts. Land tenure has resulted in the neglect of land improvement in Finland. This study aimed to analyze whether these challenges could be resolved by a tax policy that encourages land sales. Using Finnish data, real estate tax and a temporal relaxation on the taxation of capital gains showed some potential for the restructuring of land ownership. Potential sellers who could not be revealed by traditional logit models were identified with the latent class approach. Those landowners with an intention to sell even without a policy change were sensitive to temporal relaxation in the taxation of capital gains. In the long term, productivity and especially productivity growth are necessary conditions for the survival of farms and the food industry in Finland. Technical progress was found to drive the increase in productivity. The scale had only a moderate effect and for the whole study period (1976–2006) the effect was close to zero. Total factor productivity (TFP) increased, depending on the model, by 0.6–1.7% per year. The results demonstrated that the increase in productivity was hindered by the policy changes introduced in 1995. It is also evidenced that the increase in land leasing is connected to these policy changes. Land institutions and land tenure questions are essential in agricultural and rural policies on all levels, from local to international. Land ownership and land titles are commonly tied to fundamental political, economic and social questions. A fair resolution calls for innovative and new solutions both on national and international levels. However, this seems to be a problem when considering the application of EU regulations to member states inheriting divergent landownership structures and farming cultures. The contribution of this study is in describing the consequences of fitting EU agricultural policy to Finnish agricultural land tenure conditions and heritage.

Effects of management and landscape structure on biodiversity in boreal agricultural farmland

Intensified agricultural practises introduced after the Second World War are identified as a major cause of global biodiversity declines. In several European countries agri-environment support schemes have been introduced to counteract the ongoing biodiversity declines. Farmers participating in agri-environment schemes are financially compensated for decreasing the intensity of farming practises leading to smaller yields and lower income. The Finnish agri-environment support scheme is composed of a set of measures, such as widened field margins along main ditches (obligatory measure), management of features increasing landscape diversity, management of semi-natural grasslands, and organic farming (special agreement measures). The magnitude of the benefits for biodiversity depends on landscape context and the properties of individual schemes. In this thesis I studied whether one agri-environment scheme, organic farming, is beneficial for species diversity and abundance of diurnal lepidopterans, bumblebees, carabid beetles and arable weeds. I found that organic farming did not enhance species richness of selected insect taxa, although bumblebee species richness tended to be higher in organic farms. Abundance of lepidopterans and bumblebees was not enhanced by organic farming, but carabid beetle abundance was higher in mixed farms with both cereal crop production and animal husbandry. Both species richness and abundance of arable weeds were higher in organic farms. My second objective was to study how landscape structure shapes farmland butterfly communities. I found that the percentage of habitat specialists and species with poor dispersal abilities in butterfly assemblages decreased with increasing arable field cover, leading to a dramatic decrease in butterfly beta diversity. In field boundaries local species richness of butterflies was linearly related to landscape species richness in geographic regions with high arable field cover, indicating that butterfly species richness in field boundaries is more limited by landscape factors than local habitat factors. In study landscapes containing semi-natural grasslands the relationship decelerated at high landscape species richness, suggesting that local species richness of butterflies in field boundaries is limited by habitat factors (demanding habitat specialists that occurred in semi-natural grasslands were absent in field margins). My results suggest that management options in field margins will affect mainly generalists, and species with good dispersal abilities, in landscapes with high arable field cover. Habitat specialists and species with poor dispersal abilities may benefit of management options if these are applied in the vicinity of source populations.

Farmland birds and habitat heterogeneity in intensively cultivated boreal agricultural landscapes

The biodiversity of farmland ecosystems has decreased remarkably during the latter half of the 20th century, and this development is due to intensive farming with its various environmental effects. In the countries of the EU the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the main determinant affecting farmland biodiversity, since the agricultural policy defines guidelines of agricultural practices. In addition to policies promoting intensive farming, CAP also includes national agri-environment schemes (AES), in which a part of subsidies paid to farmers is directed to acts that are presumed to promote environmental protection and biodiversity. In order to shape AES into relevant and powerful tools for biodiversity protection, detailed studies on the effects of agriculture on species and species assemblages are needed. In my thesis I investigated the importance of habitat heterogeneity and effects of different habitat and landscape characteristics on farmland bird abundance and diversity in typical cereal cultivation-dominated southern Finnish agricultural environments. The extensive data used were collected by territory mapping. My two main study species were the drastically declined ortolan bunting (Emberiza hortulana) and the phenomenally increased tree sparrow (Passer montanus); in addition I studied assemblages of 20 species breeding in open arable and edge/bush habitats. In light of my results I discuss whether the Finnish AES take into account the habitat needs of farmland birds, and I provide suggestions for improvement of the future AES. My results show that heterogeneity of both uncultivated and cultivated habitats increases abundance and species richness among farmland birds, but in this respect the amount and diversity of uncultivated habitats are essential. Ditches in particular are a keystone structure for farmland birds in boreal landscapes. Ditches lined by trees or bushes increased ortolan bunting abundance. Loss of that kind of ditches (and clearance of forest and bush patches), reduced breeding ortolan buntings, mainly by decreasing availability of song-posts that are important for the breeding groups of the species. Heterogeneity of uncultivated habitats, most importantly open ditches and the habitat patch richness, increased densities and species richnesses of species assemblages of open arable and edge/bush habitats. Human impact (winter-feeding, nest-boxes) affected favourably the tree sparrow s rapid range expansion in southern Finland, but any habitat types had no significant effects. At the moment the Finnish agri-environmental policy does not conserve farmland ditches as a habitat type. Instead, sub-surface drainage is financially promoted. This is a fatal mistake as far as farmland biodiversity is concerned. In addition to the maintenance of ditches, at least the following aspects should be included more than is done previously in the measures of the future AES: 1) promotion of diverse crop rotation (especially by promoting animal husbandry), 2) maintenance of tree and bush vegetation in islets and along ditches, 3) promotion of organic farming.

Ecological consequences of genetic modifications - an invasion analysis approach

Biological invasions are considered as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, as they may lead to disruption and homogenization of natural communities, and in the worst case, to native species extinctions. The introduction of gene modified organisms (GMOs) to agricultural, fisheries and forestry practices brings them into contact with natural populations. GMOs may appear as new invasive species if they are able to (1) invade into natural habitats or (2) hybridize with their wild relatives. The benefits of GMOs, such as increased yield or decreased use of insecticides or herbicides in cultivation, may thus be reduced due the potential risks they may cause. A careful ecological risk analysis therefore has to precede any responsible GMO introduction. In this thesis I study ecological invasion in relation to GMOs, and what kind of consequences invasion may have in natural populations. A set of theoretical models that combine life-history evolution, population dynamics, and population genetics were developed for the hazard identification part of ecological risks assessment of GMOs. In addition, the potential benefits of GMOs in management of an invasive pest were analyzed. In the first study I showed that a population that is fluctuating due to scramble-type density dependence (due to, e.g., nutrient competition in plants) may be invaded by a population that is relatively more limited by a resource (e.g., light in plants) that is a cause of contest-type density dependence. This result emphasises the higher risk of invasion in unstable environments. The next two studies focused on escape of a growth hormone (GH) transgenic fish into a natural population. The results showed that previous models may have given too pessimistic a view of the so called Trojan gene -effect, where the invading genotype is harmful for the population as a whole. The previously suggested population extinctions did not occur in my studies, since the changes in mating preferences caused by the GH-fish were be ameliorated by decreased level of competition. The GH-invaders may also have to exceed a threshold density before invasion can be successful. I also showed that the prevalence of mature parr (aka. sneaker) strategy among GH-fish may have clear effect on invasion outcome. The fourth study assessed the risks and developed methods against the invasion of the Colorado Potato Beetle (CPB, Leptinotarsa decemlineata). I showed that the eradication of CPB is most important for the prevention of their establishment, but the cultivation of transgenic Bt-potato could also be effective. In general, my results emphasise that invasion of transgenic species or genotypes to be possible under certain realistic conditions and resulting in competitive exclusion, population decline through outbreeding depression and genotypic displacement of native species. Ecological risk assessment should regard the decline and displacement of the wild genotype by an introduced one as a consequence that is as serious as the population extinction. It will also be crucial to take into account different kinds of behavioural differences among species when assessing the possible hazards that GMOs may cause if escaped. The benefits found of GMO crops effectiveness in pest management may also be too optimistic since CPB may evolve resistance to Bt-toxin. The models in this thesis could be further applied in case specific risk assessment of GMOs by supplementing them with detailed data of the species biology, the effect of the transgene introduced to the species, and also the characteristics of the populations or the environments in the risk of being invaded.

How Can Sustainable Agricultural Systems Promote Food Security in a Changing Climate?

A theoretical framework of the link between climate change, rural development, sustainable agriculture, poverty, and food security is presented. Some options to respond to climate change are described. Current knowledge and potential effects on agricultural productivity is discussed. Necessary conditions for successful adaptation includes secured property rights to land, institutions that make market access possible and credit possibilities. The options of mitigation and enhanced adaptive capacity and the requirements for their implementation are discussed.