Marking one-summer old whitefish with fluorescent pigment spraying method and results of whitefish stockings in the Gulf of Bothnia

Anadromous whitefish is one of the most important fish species in the Finnish coastal fisheries in the Gulf fo Bothnia. To compensate the lost reproduction due to river damming and to support the fisheries, several million one-summer old whitefish are released yearly into the Gulf of Bothnia. Since there are naturally reproducing whitefish in the Gulf as well, and the wild and stocked fish can not be separated in the catch, stocking impact can only be estimated by marking the stocked fish. Due to the small size and large number of released whitefish, the scattered fishery and large area where the whitefish migrate, most of the traditionally used fish marking methods were either unsuitable (e.g. Carlin-tags) or proved to be too expensive (e.g. coded wire tags). Fluorescent pigment spraying method offers a fast and cost-effective method to mass-mark young fish. However, the results are not always satisfactory due to low long-time retention of the marks in some species. The method has to be tested and proper marking conditions and methods determined for each species. This thesis is based on work that was accomplished while developing the fluorescent pigment spraying method for marking one-summer old whitefish fingerlings, and it draws together the results of mass-marking whitefish fingerlings that were released in the Gulf of Bothnia. Fluorescent pigment spraying method is suitable for one-summer old whitefish larger than 8 cm total length. The water temperature during the marking should not exceed 10o C. Suitable spraying pressure is 6 bars measured in the compressor outlet, and the distance of the spraying gun nozzle should be ca 20 cm from the fish. Under such conditions, the marking results in long-term retention of the mark with low or no mortality. The stress level of the fish (measured as muscle water content) rises during the marking procedure, but if the fish are allowed to recover after marking, the overall stress level remains within the limits observed in normal fish handling during the capture-loading-transport-stocking procedure. The marked whitefish fingerlings are released into the sea at larger size and later in the season than the wild whitefish. However, the stocked individuals migrate to the southern feeding grounds in a similar pattern to the wild ones. The catch produced by whitefish stocking in the Gulf of Bothnia varied between released fingerling groups, but was within the limits reported elsewhere in Finland. The releases in the southern Bothnian Bay resulted in a larger catch than those made in the northern Bothnian Bay. The size of the released fingerlings seemed to have some effect on survival of the fish during the first winter in the sea. However, when the different marking groups were compared, the mean fingerling size was not related to stocking success.

Process Analytical Technology Approach on Fluid Bed Granulation and Drying : Identifying Critical Relationships and Constructing the Design Space

Fluid bed granulation is a key pharmaceutical process which improves many of the powder properties for tablet compression. Dry mixing, wetting and drying phases are included in the fluid bed granulation process. Granules of high quality can be obtained by understanding and controlling the critical process parameters by timely measurements. Physical process measurements and particle size data of a fluid bed granulator that are analysed in an integrated manner are included in process analytical technologies (PAT). Recent regulatory guidelines strongly encourage the pharmaceutical industry to apply scientific and risk management approaches to the development of a product and its manufacturing process. The aim of this study was to utilise PAT tools to increase the process understanding of fluid bed granulation and drying. Inlet air humidity levels and granulation liquid feed affect powder moisture during fluid bed granulation. Moisture influences on many process, granule and tablet qualities. The approach in this thesis was to identify sources of variation that are mainly related to moisture. The aim was to determine correlations and relationships, and utilise the PAT and design space concepts for the fluid bed granulation and drying. Monitoring the material behaviour in a fluidised bed has traditionally relied on the observational ability and experience of an operator. There has been a lack of good criteria for characterising material behaviour during spraying and drying phases, even though the entire performance of a process and end product quality are dependent on it. The granules were produced in an instrumented bench-scale Glatt WSG5 fluid bed granulator. The effect of inlet air humidity and granulation liquid feed on the temperature measurements at different locations of a fluid bed granulator system were determined. This revealed dynamic changes in the measurements and enabled finding the most optimal sites for process control. The moisture originating from the granulation liquid and inlet air affected the temperature of the mass and pressure difference over granules. Moreover, the effects of inlet air humidity and granulation liquid feed rate on granule size were evaluated and compensatory techniques used to optimize particle size. Various end-point indication techniques of drying were compared. The ∆T method, which is based on thermodynamic principles, eliminated the effects of humidity variations and resulted in the most precise estimation of the drying end-point. The influence of fluidisation behaviour on drying end-point detection was determined. The feasibility of the ∆T method and thus the similarities of end-point moisture contents were found to be dependent on the variation in fluidisation between manufacturing batches. A novel parameter that describes behaviour of material in a fluid bed was developed. Flow rate of the process air and turbine fan speed were used to calculate this parameter and it was compared to the fluidisation behaviour and the particle size results. The design space process trajectories for smooth fluidisation based on the fluidisation parameters were determined. With this design space it is possible to avoid excessive fluidisation and improper fluidisation and bed collapse. Furthermore, various process phenomena and failure modes were observed with the in-line particle size analyser. Both rapid increase and a decrease in granule size could be monitored in a timely manner. The fluidisation parameter and the pressure difference over filters were also discovered to express particle size when the granules had been formed. The various physical parameters evaluated in this thesis give valuable information of fluid bed process performance and increase the process understanding.

Strike Hard, Strike Sure - Operation Musketeer : British Military Planning during the Suez Crisis, 1956

This study analyses British military planning and actions during the Suez Crisis in 1956. It seeks to find military reasons for the change of concepts during the planning and compares these reasons with the tactical doctrines of the time. The thesis takes extensive advantage of military documents preserved in the National Archives, London. In order to expand the understanding of the exchange of views during the planning process, the private papers of high ranking military officials have also been consulted. French military documents preserved in the Service Historique de la Defence, Paris, have provided an important point of comparison. The Suez Crisis caught the British armed forces in the middle of a transition phase. The main objective of the armed forces was to establish a credible deterrence against the Soviet Union. However, due to overseas commitments the Middle East playing a paramount role because of its economic importance the armed forces were compelled to also prepare for Limited War and the Cold War. The armed forces were not fully prepared to meet this demand. The Middle Eastern garrison was being re-organised after the withdrawal from the Canal Base and the concept for a strategic reserve was unimplemented. The tactical doctrines of the time were based on experiences from the Second World War. As a result, the British view of amphibious operations and the subsequent campaigns emphasised careful planning, mastery of the sea and the air, sufficient superiority in numbers and firepower, centralised command and extensive administrative preparations. The British military had realized that Nasser could nationalise the Suez Canal and prepared an outline plan to meet this contingency. Although the plan was nothing more than a concept, it was accepted as a basis for further planning when the Canal was nationalised at the end of July. This plan was short-lived. The nominated Task Force Commanders shifted the landing site from Port Said to Alexandria because it enabled faster expansion of the bridgehead. In addition, further operations towards Cairo the hub of Nasser s power would be easier to conduct. The operational concept can be described as being traditional and was in accordance with the amphibious warfare doctrine. This plan was completely changed at the beginning of September. Apparently, General Charles Keightley, the Commander-in-Chief, and the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee developed the idea of prolonged aerial operations. The essence of the concept was to break the Egyptian will to resist by attacking the oil facilities, the transportation system and the armed forces. This victory through air concept would be supported by carefully planned psychological operations. This concept was in accordance with the Royal Air Force doctrine, which promoted a bomber offensive against selected target categories. General Keightley s plan was accepted despite suspicions at every planning level. The Joint Planning Staff and the Task Force Commanders opposed the concept from the beginning to the end because of its unpredictability. There was no information that suggested the bombing would persuade the Egyptians to submit. This problem was worsened by the fact that British intelligence was unable to provide reliable strategic information. The Task Force Commanders, who were responsible for the tactical plans, were not able to change Keightley s mind, but the concept was expanded to include a traditional amphibious assault on Port Said due to their resistance. The bombing campaign was never tested as the Royal Air Force was denied authorisation to destroy the transportation and oil targets. The Chiefs of Staff and General Keightley were too slow to realise that the execution of the plan depended on the determination of the Prime Minister. However, poor health, a lack of American and domestic support and the indecisiveness of the military had ruined Eden s resolve. In the end, a very traditional amphibious assault, which was bound to succeed at the tactical level but fail at the strategic level, was launched against Port Said.

Estimation of local forest attributes, utilizing two-phase sampling and auxiliary data

This thesis examines the feasibility of a forest inventory method based on two-phase sampling in estimating forest attributes at the stand or substand levels for forest management purposes. The method is based on multi-source forest inventory combining auxiliary data consisting of remote sensing imagery or other geographic information and field measurements. Auxiliary data are utilized as first-phase data for covering all inventory units. Various methods were examined for improving the accuracy of the forest estimates. Pre-processing of auxiliary data in the form of correcting the spectral properties of aerial imagery was examined (I), as was the selection of aerial image features for estimating forest attributes (II). Various spatial units were compared for extracting image features in a remote sensing aided forest inventory utilizing very high resolution imagery (III). A number of data sources were combined and different weighting procedures were tested in estimating forest attributes (IV, V). Correction of the spectral properties of aerial images proved to be a straightforward and advantageous method for improving the correlation between the image features and the measured forest attributes. Testing different image features that can be extracted from aerial photographs (and other very high resolution images) showed that the images contain a wealth of relevant information that can be extracted only by utilizing the spatial organization of the image pixel values. Furthermore, careful selection of image features for the inventory task generally gives better results than inputting all extractable features to the estimation procedure. When the spatial units for extracting very high resolution image features were examined, an approach based on image segmentation generally showed advantages compared with a traditional sample plot-based approach. Combining several data sources resulted in more accurate estimates than any of the individual data sources alone. The best combined estimate can be derived by weighting the estimates produced by the individual data sources by the inverse values of their mean square errors. Despite the fact that the plot-level estimation accuracy in two-phase sampling inventory can be improved in many ways, the accuracy of forest estimates based mainly on single-view satellite and aerial imagery is a relatively poor basis for making stand-level management decisions.

Digitoitujen väri-infrailmakuvien numeerinen monikuvatulkinta metsäninventoinnissa

The use of remote sensing imagery as auxiliary data in forest inventory is based on the correlation between features extracted from the images and the ground truth. The bidirectional reflectance and radial displacement cause variation in image features located in different segments of the image but forest characteristics remaining the same. The variation has so far been diminished by different radiometric corrections. In this study the use of sun azimuth based converted image co-ordinates was examined to supplement auxiliary data extracted from digitised aerial photographs. The method was considered as an alternative for radiometric corrections. Additionally, the usefulness of multi-image interpretation of digitised aerial photographs in regression estimation of forest characteristics was studied. The state owned study area located in Leivonmäki, Central Finland and the study material consisted of five digitised and ortho-rectified colour-infrared (CIR) aerial photographs and field measurements of 388 plots, out of which 194 were relascope (Bitterlich) plots and 194 were concentric circular plots. Both the image data and the field measurements were from the year 1999. When examining the effect of the location of the image point on pixel values and texture features of Finnish forest plots in digitised CIR photographs the clearest differences were found between front-and back-lighted image halves. Inside the image half the differences between different blocks were clearly bigger on the front-lighted half than on the back-lighted half. The strength of the phenomenon varied by forest category. The differences between pixel values extracted from different image blocks were greatest in developed and mature stands and smallest in young stands. The differences between texture features were greatest in developing stands and smallest in young and mature stands. The logarithm of timber volume per hectare and the angular transformation of the proportion of broadleaved trees of the total volume were used as dependent variables in regression models. Five different converted image co-ordinates based trend surfaces were used in models in order to diminish the effect of the bidirectional reflectance. The reference model of total volume, in which the location of the image point had been ignored, resulted in RMSE of 1,268 calculated from test material. The best of the trend surfaces was the complete third order surface, which resulted in RMSE of 1,107. The reference model of the proportion of broadleaved trees resulted in RMSE of 0,4292 and the second order trend surface was the best, resulting in RMSE of 0,4270. The trend surface method is applicable, but it has to be applied by forest category and by variable. The usefulness of multi-image interpretation of digitised aerial photographs was studied by building comparable regression models using either the front-lighted image features, back-lighted image features or both. The two-image model turned out to be slightly better than the one-image models in total volume estimation. The best one-image model resulted in RMSE of 1,098 and the two-image model resulted in RMSE of 1,090. The homologous features did not improve the models of the proportion of broadleaved trees. The overall result gives motivation for further research of multi-image interpretation. The focus may be improving regression estimation and feature selection or examination of stratification used in two-phase sampling inventory techniques. Keywords: forest inventory, digitised aerial photograph, bidirectional reflectance, converted image co­ordinates, regression estimation, multi-image interpretation, pixel value, texture, trend surface

Selenium and its effects on growth, yield and tuber quality in potato

Selenium (Se) has been demonstrated to be an essential trace element for maintenance of animal and human health. Although it has not been confirmed to be an essential micronutrient in higher plants, there is increasing evidence that Se functions as an antioxidant in plants. Selenium has been shown to exert a beneficial effect on crop growth and promotes stress tolerance at low concentrations. However, the specific physiological mechanisms that underlie the positive effects of Se in plants have not been clearly elucidated. The aims of this study were to determine the Se concentration in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and the effects of Se on the accumulation of carbohydrates, growth and yield in potato plants. An additional aim was to study the impact of Se on the total glycoalkaloid concentration in immature potato tubers. The distribution of Se in different biochemical Se fractions and the effect of storage on the Se concentration were studied in Se-enriched tubers. Furthermore, the effect of Se on raw darkening and translocation of Se from seed tubers to the next tuber generation was investigated. Due to the established anti-ageing properties of Se, it was of interest to study if Se affects physiological age and growth vigour of seed tubers. The Se concentrations in the upper leaves, roots, stolons and tubers of potato increased with increasing Se supplementation. The highest Se concentration was reached in young upper leaves, roots and stolons, indicating that added selenate was efficiently utilized and taken up at an early stage. During the growing period the Se concentration declined in the aerial parts, roots and stolons of potato plants whereas an intensive accumulation took place in immature and mature tubers. Selenium increased carbohydrate accumulation in the young upper leaves and in stolons, roots and tubers at maturity. This could not be explained by increased production of photoassimilates as net photosynthesis did not differ among Se treatments. The Se treated plants produced higher tuber yields than control plants, and at the highest Se concentration (0.3 mg kg-1) lower numbers of larger tubers were harvested. Increased yield of Se treated plants suggested that Se may enhance the allocation of photoassimilates for tuber growth, acting as a strong sink for both Se and for carbohydrates. Similarly as for other plant species, the positive impact of Se on the yield of potato plants could be related to its antioxidative effect in delaying senescence. The highest Se supplementation (0.9 mg kg-1) slightly decreased the glycoalkaloid concentration of immature tubers. However, at this level the Se concentration in tubers was about 20 µg g-1 DW. A 100 g consumption of potato would provide about 500 mg of Se, which exceeds the upper safe intake level of 400 µg per day for human dietary. The low Se applications (0.0035 and 0.1 mg kg-1) diminished and retarded the degree of raw darkening in tubers stored for one and eight months, which can be attributed to the antioxidative properties of Se. The storage for 1 to 12 months did not affect the Se concentrations of tubers. In the Se enriched tubers Se was allocated to the organic Se fraction, indicating that it was incorporated into organic compounds in tubers. Elevated Se concentration in the next-generation tubers produced by the Se enriched seed tubers indicated that Se could be translocated from the seed tubers to the progeny. In the seed tubers stored for 8 months, at high levels, Se had some positive effects on the growth vigour of sprouts, but Se had no consistent effect on the growth vigour of seed tubers of optimal physiological age. These results indicate that Se is a beneficial trace element in potato plants that exerts a positive effect on yield formation and improves the processing and storage quality of table potato tubers. These positive effects of Se are, however, dependent on the Se concentration and the age of the potato plant and tuber.

Multiangular Spectrometry and Optical Properties of Debris Covered Surfaces

Due to the recent development in CCD technology aerial photography is now slowly changing from film to digital cameras. This new aspect in remote sensing allows and requires also new automated analysis methods. Basic research on reflectance properties of natural targets is needed so that computerized processes could be fully utilized. For this reason an instrument was developed at Finnish Geodetic Institute for measurement of multiangular reflectance of small remote sensing targets e.g. forest understorey or asphalt. Finnish Geodetic Institute Field Goniospectrometer (FiGIFiGo) is a portable device that is operated by 1 or 2 persons. It can be reassembled to a new location in 15 minutes and after that a target's multiangular reflectance can be measured in 10 - 30 minutes (with one illumination angle). FiGIFiGo has effective spectral range approximately from 400 nm to 2000 nm. The measurements can be made either outside with sunlight or in laboratory with 1000 W QTH light source. In this thesis FiGIFiGo is introduced and the theoretical basis of such reflectance measurements are discussed. A new method is introduced for extraction of subcomponent proportions from reflectance of a mixture sample, e.g. for retrieving proportion of lingonberry's reflectance in observation of lingonberry-lichen sample. This method was tested by conducting a series of measurements on reflectance properties of artificial samples. The component separation method yielded sound results and brought up interesting aspects in targets' reflectances. The method and the results still need to be verified with further studies, but the preliminary results imply that this method could be a valuable tool in analysis of such mixture samples.

Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography: Instrumental and Methodological Development

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) offers enhanced separation efficiency, reliability in qualitative and quantitative analysis, capability to detect low quantities, and information on the whole sample and its components. These features are essential in the analysis of complex samples, in which the number of compounds may be large or the analytes of interest are present at trace level. This study involved the development of instrumentation, data analysis programs and methodologies for GC×GC and their application in studies on qualitative and quantitative aspects of GC×GC analysis. Environmental samples were used as model samples. Instrumental development comprised the construction of three versions of a semi-rotating cryogenic modulator in which modulation was based on two-step cryogenic trapping with continuously flowing carbon dioxide as coolant. Two-step trapping was achieved by rotating the nozzle spraying the carbon dioxide with a motor. The fastest rotation and highest modulation frequency were achieved with a permanent magnetic motor, and modulation was most accurate when the motor was controlled with a microcontroller containing a quartz crystal. Heated wire resistors were unnecessary for the desorption step when liquid carbon dioxide was used as coolant. With use of the modulators developed in this study, the narrowest peaks were 75 ms at base. Three data analysis programs were developed allowing basic, comparison and identification operations. Basic operations enabled the visualisation of two-dimensional plots and the determination of retention times, peak heights and volumes. The overlaying feature in the comparison program allowed easy comparison of 2D plots. An automated identification procedure based on mass spectra and retention parameters allowed the qualitative analysis of data obtained by GC×GC and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In the methodological development, sample preparation (extraction and clean-up) and GC×GC methods were developed for the analysis of atmospheric aerosol and sediment samples. Dynamic sonication assisted extraction was well suited for atmospheric aerosols collected on a filter. A clean-up procedure utilising normal phase liquid chromatography with ultra violet detection worked well in the removal of aliphatic hydrocarbons from a sediment extract. GC×GC with flame ionisation detection or quadrupole mass spectrometry provided good reliability in the qualitative analysis of target analytes. However, GC×GC with time-of-flight mass spectrometry was needed in the analysis of unknowns. The automated identification procedure that was developed was efficient in the analysis of large data files, but manual search and analyst knowledge are invaluable as well. Quantitative analysis was examined in terms of calibration procedures and the effect of matrix compounds on GC×GC separation. In addition to calibration in GC×GC with summed peak areas or peak volumes, simplified area calibration based on normal GC signal can be used to quantify compounds in samples analysed by GC×GC so long as certain qualitative and quantitative prerequisites are met. In a study of the effect of matrix compounds on GC×GC separation, it was shown that quality of the separation of PAHs is not significantly disturbed by the amount of matrix and quantitativeness suffers only slightly in the presence of matrix and when the amount of target compounds is low. The benefits of GC×GC in the analysis of complex samples easily overcome some minor drawbacks of the technique. The developed instrumentation and methodologies performed well for environmental samples, but they could also be applied for other complex samples.

Geospatial environmental data modelling applications using remote sensing, GIS and spatial statistics

This thesis presents novel modelling applications for environmental geospatial data using remote sensing, GIS and statistical modelling techniques. The studied themes can be classified into four main themes: (i) to develop advanced geospatial databases. Paper (I) demonstrates the creation of a geospatial database for the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) in the Åland Islands, south-western Finland; (ii) to analyse species diversity and distribution using GIS techniques. Paper (II) presents a diversity and geographical distribution analysis for Scopulini moths at a world-wide scale; (iii) to study spatiotemporal forest cover change. Paper (III) presents a study of exotic and indigenous tree cover change detection in Taita Hills Kenya using airborne imagery and GIS analysis techniques; (iv) to explore predictive modelling techniques using geospatial data. In Paper (IV) human population occurrence and abundance in the Taita Hills highlands was predicted using the generalized additive modelling (GAM) technique. Paper (V) presents techniques to enhance fire prediction and burned area estimation at a regional scale in East Caprivi Namibia. Paper (VI) compares eight state-of-the-art predictive modelling methods to improve fire prediction, burned area estimation and fire risk mapping in East Caprivi Namibia. The results in Paper (I) showed that geospatial data can be managed effectively using advanced relational database management systems. Metapopulation data for Melitaea cinxia butterfly was successfully combined with GPS-delimited habitat patch information and climatic data. Using the geospatial database, spatial analyses were successfully conducted at habitat patch level or at more coarse analysis scales. Moreover, this study showed it appears evident that at a large-scale spatially correlated weather conditions are one of the primary causes of spatially correlated changes in Melitaea cinxia population sizes. In Paper (II) spatiotemporal characteristics of Socupulini moths description, diversity and distribution were analysed at a world-wide scale and for the first time GIS techniques were used for Scopulini moth geographical distribution analysis. This study revealed that Scopulini moths have a cosmopolitan distribution. The majority of the species have been described from the low latitudes, sub-Saharan Africa being the hot spot of species diversity. However, the taxonomical effort has been uneven among biogeographical regions. Paper III showed that forest cover change can be analysed in great detail using modern airborne imagery techniques and historical aerial photographs. However, when spatiotemporal forest cover change is studied care has to be taken in co-registration and image interpretation when historical black and white aerial photography is used. In Paper (IV) human population distribution and abundance could be modelled with fairly good results using geospatial predictors and non-Gaussian predictive modelling techniques. Moreover, land cover layer is not necessary needed as a predictor because first and second-order image texture measurements derived from satellite imagery had more power to explain the variation in dwelling unit occurrence and abundance. Paper V showed that generalized linear model (GLM) is a suitable technique for fire occurrence prediction and for burned area estimation. GLM based burned area estimations were found to be more superior than the existing MODIS burned area product (MCD45A1). However, spatial autocorrelation of fires has to be taken into account when using the GLM technique for fire occurrence prediction. Paper VI showed that novel statistical predictive modelling techniques can be used to improve fire prediction, burned area estimation and fire risk mapping at a regional scale. However, some noticeable variation between different predictive modelling techniques for fire occurrence prediction and burned area estimation existed.

Characterization of hydrophobin proteins at interfaces and in solutions using x rays

Hydrophobins are a group of particularly surface active proteins. The surface activity is demonstrated in the ready adsorption of hydrophobins to hydrophobic/hydrophilic interfaces such as the air/water interface. Adsorbed hydrophobins self-assemble into ordered films, lower the surface tension of water, and stabilize air bubbles and foams. Hydrophobin proteins originate from filamentous fungi. In the fungi the adsorbed hydrophobin films enable the growth of fungal aerial structures, form protective coatings and mediate the attachment of fungi to solid surfaces. This thesis focuses on hydrophobins HFBI, HFBII, and HFBIII from a rot fungus Trichoderma reesei. The self-assembled hydrophobin films were studied both at the air/water interface and on a solid substrate. In particular, using grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction and reflectivity, it was possible to characterize the hydrophobin films directly at the air/water interface. The in situ experiments yielded information on the arrangement of the protein molecules in the films. All the T. reesei hydrophobins were shown to self-assemble into highly crystalline, hexagonally ordered rafts. The thicknesses of these two-dimensional protein crystals were below 30 Å. Similar films were also obtained on silicon substrates. The adsorption of the proteins is likely to be driven by the hydrophobic effect, but the self-assembly into ordered films involves also specific protein-protein interactions. The protein-protein interactions lead to differences in the arrangement of the molecules in the HFBI, HFBII, and HFBIII protein films, as seen in the grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction data. The protein-protein interactions were further probed in solution using small-angle x-ray scattering. Both HFBI and HFBII were shown to form mainly tetramers in aqueous solution. By modifying the solution conditions and thereby the interactions, it was shown that the association was due to the hydrophobic effect. The stable tetrameric assemblies could tolerate heating and changes in pH. The stability of the structure facilitates the persistence of these secreted proteins in the soil.

Hila- ja kuviotason laskennan vaikutus kuvion kokonaistilavuuteen, tallennustilaan ja laskentaaikaan teoreettista läpimittajakaumaa ja runkolukusarjaa käyttämällä

Metsäsuunnittelussa tarvittavan metsävaratiedon keräämisessä ollaan Suomessa siirtymässä kuvioittaisesta arvioinnista laserkeilaus- ja ilmakuvapohjaiseen kaukokartoitukseen. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus oli selvittää kuvion kokonaistilavuuden ja läpimittajakauman ennustamisen tarkkuus koealan metsikkö- ja puustotunnuksista MSN-, PRM-, ML- ja FMM-menetelmiä sekä Weibull-jakaumaa hyödyntäen seuraavilla tavoilla: 1. PRM-menetelmällä hilatasolla, 2. PRMmenetelmällä kuviotasolla, 3. ML-menetelmällä hilatasolla ja 4. ML-menetelmällä kuviotasolla. Lisäksi kuvion kokonaistilavuuden ennustamisen tarkkuus selvitettiin hyödyntäen kuviolle tuotettua runkolukusarjaa. Tulokset laskettiin puulajikohtaisesti männylle, kuuselle, koivulle ja muille puulajeille. Puulajien tulokset laskettiin kuviotasolla yhteen. Lisäksi selvitettiin menetelmien laskenta-ajan ja tallennustilan tarve. Tutkimuksen aineistona käytettiin Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulun Evon toimipisteen metsistä mitattuja kiinteäsäteisiä ympyräkoealoja, joita oli 249 kappaletta. Hakkuukoneella mitattiin 12kuvion, joiden pinta-alat vaihtelivat välillä 0,2 – 1,94 hehtaaria, puustotiedot. Aluepohjaisen laserkeilausaineiston pulssin tiheys oli 1,8/m2 ja ilmakuvien pikselikoko 0,5 metriä. Kuvion kokonaistilavuus ennustettiin tai estimoitiin laserkeilaus- ja ilmakuva-aineiston piirteiden avulla koealojen puustotunnuksista. Tulokset laskettiin erikseen kaikille kuvioille ja kuvioille, joiden pinta-ala oli yli 0,5 hehtaaria. Yli 0,5 hehtaarin kuvioita oli 8 kappaletta. Kuvion hilojen naapureina käytettiin 1 - 10 koealaa. Menetelmästä ja naapurien määrästä riippuen kokonaistilavuuden suhteellinen RMSE ja harha vaihtelivat välillä 20,76 – 52,86 prosenttia ja -12,04 – 46,54 prosenttia. Vastaavat luvut yli 0,5 hehtaarin kuvioilla olivat 6,74 – 59,41 prosenttia ja -8,04 – 49,59 prosenttia. Laskenta-aika vaihteli menetelmien ja käytettyjen naapurien määrän mukaan voimakkaasti. Kehittyneemmällä ohjelmoinnilla ja ohjelmistolla laskenta-ajat voivat laskea merkittävästi. Tallennustila ei testatuilla menetelmillä ole rajoittava tekijä laajassakaan mittakaavassa. Läpimittajakauman perusteella PRM-menetelmä ennustaa puulajille erittäin kapean läpimittajakauman, jos koeala koostuu vain muutamasta lähes samankokoisesta puusta. Tämä vaikutti tuloksiin erityisesti menetelmällä PRM2.

Plant communities of field margins : the effects of management and environmental factors on species composition and diversity

Agri-environmental schemes have so far resulted in only minor positive implications for the biodiversity of agricultural environments, in contrast to what has been expected. Land-use intensification has decreased landscape heterogeneity and the amount of semi-natural habitats. Field margins are uncultivated areas of permanent vegetation located adjacent to fields. Since the number of these habitats is high, investing in their quality may result in more diverse agricultural landscapes. Field margins can be considered as multifunctional habitats providing agronomic, environmental and wildlife services. This thesis aimed at examining the plant communities of different types of field margin habitats and the factors affecting their species diversity and composition. The importance of edaphic, spatial and management factors was studied on regional, landscape and habitat scales. Vegetation surveys were conducted on regional and landscape scales and a field experiment on cutting management was conducted on a habitat scale. In field margin plant communities, species appeared to be indicators of high or intermediate soil fertility and moist soil conditions. The plant species diversity found was rather low, compared with most species-rich agricultural habitats in Finland, such as dry meadows. Among regions, land-use history, main production line, natural species and human induced distribution, climate and edaphic factors were elements inducing differences in species composition. The lowest regional species diversity of field margins was related to intensive and long-term cereal production. Management by cutting and removal or grazing had a positive effect on plant species diversity. The positive effect of cutting and removal on species richness was also dependent on the adjacent source of colonizing species. Therefore, in species-poor habitats and landscapes, establishment of margins with diverse seed mixtures can be recommended for enhancing the development of species richness. However, seed mixtures should include only native species preferably local origin. Management by cutting once a year for 5 years did not result in a decline in dominance of a harmful weed species, Elymus repens, showing that E. repens probably needs cutting more frequently than once per year. Agri-environmental schemes should include long-term contracts with farmers for the establishment, and management by cutting and removal or grazing, of field margins that are several metres wide. In such schemes, the timing and frequency of management should be planned so as not to harm other taxa, such as the insects and birds that are dependent on these habitats. All accidental herbicide drifts to field margins should be avoided when spraying the cultivated area to minimize the negative effects of sprayings on vegetation. The harmful effects of herbicides can be avoided by organic farming methods.

Social networks for volunteered geographic information - A case study of OpenStreetMap

The world of mapping has changed. Earlier, only professional experts were responsible for map production, but today ordinary people without any training or experience can become map-makers. The number of online mapping sites, and the number of volunteer mappers has increased significantly. The development of the technology, such as satellite navigation systems, Web 2.0, broadband Internet connections, and smartphones, have had one of the key roles in enabling the rise of volunteered geographic information (VGI). As opening governmental data to public is a current topic in many countries, the opening of high quality geographical data has a central role in this study. The aim of this study is to investigate how is the quality of spatial data produced by volunteers by comparing it with the map data produced by public authorities, to follow what occurs when spatial data are opened for users, and to get acquainted with the user profile of these volunteer mappers. A central part of this study is OpenStreetMap project (OSM), which aim is to create a map of the entire world by volunteers. Anyone can become an OpenStreetMap contributor, and the data created by the volunteers are free to use for anyone without restricting copyrights or license charges. In this study OpenStreetMap is investigated from two viewpoints. In the first part of the study, the aim was to investigate the quality of volunteered geographic information. A pilot project was implemented by following what occurs when a high-resolution aerial imagery is released freely to the OpenStreetMap contributors. The quality of VGI was investigated by comparing the OSM datasets with the map data of The National Land Survey of Finland (NLS). The quality of OpenStreetMap data was investigated by inspecting the positional accuracy and the completeness of the road datasets, as well as the differences in the attribute datasets between the studied datasets. Also the OSM community was under analysis and the development of the map data of OpenStreetMap was investigated by visual analysis. The aim of the second part of the study was to analyse the user profile of OpenStreetMap contributors, and to investigate how the contributors act when collecting data and editing OpenStreetMap. The aim was also to investigate what motivates users to map and how is the quality of volunteered geographic information envisaged. The second part of the study was implemented by conducting a web inquiry to the OpenStreetMap contributors. The results of the study show that the quality of OpenStreetMap data compared with the data of National Land Survey of Finland can be defined as good. OpenStreetMap differs from the map of National Land Survey especially because of the amount of uncertainty, for example because of the completeness and uniformity of the map are not known. The results of the study reveal that opening spatial data increased notably the amount of the data in the study area, and both the positional accuracy and completeness improved significantly. The study confirms the earlier arguments that only few contributors have created the majority of the data in OpenStreetMap. The inquiry made for the OpenStreetMap users revealed that the data are most often collected by foot or by bicycle using GPS device, or by editing the map with the help of aerial imageries. According to the responses, the users take part to the OpenStreetMap project because they want to make maps better, and want to produce maps, which have information that is up-to-date and cannot be found from any other maps. Almost all of the users exploit the maps by themselves, most popular methods being downloading the map into a navigator or into a mobile device. The users regard the quality of OpenStreetMap as good, especially because of the up-to-dateness and the accuracy of the map.

Monitoring Indigenous Tropical Montane Forests in the Taita Hills Using Airborne Digital Camera Imagery

The loss and degradation of forest cover is currently a globally recognised problem. The fragmentation of forests is further affecting the biodiversity and well-being of the ecosystems also in Kenya. This study focuses on two indigenous tropical montane forests in the Taita Hills in southeastern Kenya. The study is a part of the TAITA-project within the Department of Geography in the University of Helsinki. The study forests, Ngangao and Chawia, are studied by remote sensing and GIS methods. The main data includes black and white aerial photography from 1955 and true colour digital camera data from 2004. This data is used to produce aerial mosaics from the study areas. The land cover of these study areas is studied by visual interpretation, pixel-based supervised classification and object-oriented supervised classification. The change of the forest cover is studied with GIS methods using the visual interpretations from 1955 and 2004. Furthermore, the present state of the study forests is assessed with leaf area index and canopy closure parameters retrieved from hemispherical photographs as well as with additional, previously collected forest health monitoring data. The canopy parameters are also compared with textural parameters from digital aerial mosaics. This study concludes that the classification of forest areas by using true colour data is not an easy task although the digital aerial mosaics are proved to be very accurate. The best classifications are still achieved with visual interpretation methods as the accuracies of the pixel-based and object-oriented supervised classification methods are not satisfying. According to the change detection of the land cover in the study areas, the area of indigenous woodland in both forests has decreased in 1955 2004. However in Ngangao, the overall woodland area has grown mainly because of plantations of exotic species. In general, the land cover of both study areas is more fragmented in 2004 than in 1955. Although the forest area has decreased, forests seem to have a more optimistic future than before. This is due to the increasing appreciation of the forest areas.