School of Forest Sciences Faculty of Science and Forestry

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1 School of Forest Sciences Faculty of Science and Forestry Report of activities

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3 Report of activities School of Forest Sciences Faculty of Science and Forestry

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5 Preface This report presents the forestry teaching, research and publications of the School of Forest Sciences at the Faculty of Science and Forestry of the University of Eastern Finland (UEF). The research and teaching also involved many graduate students and served as an important part of their education. We would like to thank all members of our School and also the many institutions, companies, foundations and persons that supported these activities. This report describes the major achievements in our forest research subjects and lists associated publications. We would like to encourage readers and potential partners to contact us for further information. The School welcomes comments and response so that we may serve your needs in forestry related knowledge and education. In Joensuu, 23rd August 2013 Timo Tokola Head of the School School of Forest Sciences 3

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7 Contents Preface...3 Three Decades of Forest Sciences in Joensuu...6 Current Education and Research...11 Education...11 Research...13 Research Highlights...16 Dynamics and Management of Boreal Forests...17 Ecology and Biodiversity of Boreal Forests...20 Forestry Applications of Airborne Laser Scanning...23 Forest, Energy and Wood Technology...26 Funding...29 Personnel and Research Collaboration...30 Researcher Mobility...42 Scientific Quality of Research...43 Impact of Research...44 Future Prospects...46 Research Projects...48 Funding Decisions...48 International Research Projects and Partners...50 National Research Projects and Partners...54 Publications...58 Publications in Publications in Publications in School of Forest Sciences 5

8 Three Decades of Forest Sciences in Joensuu The research and education of forest sciences at the University of Eastern Finland celebrated the 30 th anniversary in the fall of However, everything started already in 1969 when the University of Joensuu (Joensuun korkeakoulu in Finnish, no official university status until 1984) was founded. Initially the university concentrated mainly in teacher education but aimed already from the very beginning to multidisciplinarity. Many new openings such as the start of forestry education in the early 1980s enabled to fulfil the aim of multiple areas of science at the university. report of activities 6 To Joensuu or Kuopio? The decision of location had dimensions in regional politics, but primarily it was a university political opening: new encouraging competition arose in the research and education of forest sciences and this was needed to develop the science field. The decision was preceded by a debate in which the science traditions, the politics of labour markets and local ambitions crossed. Besides Joensuu, the Universities of Oulu and Kuopio wanted to house the new unit of forest sciences. Oulu dropped out from the competition early and hence Joensuu and Kuopio remained in the final duel. Both North Karelia and North Savonia regions had strong arguments to get the research and education of forest sciences in Joensuu and Kuopio, respectively. Consequently, the debate left no severe scars and the confrontation was left behind at the latest in the fusion of the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio in the year Simultaneously the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Joensuu was changed into the School of Forest Sciences as a part of the Faculty of Science and Forestry at the University of Eastern Finland.

9 Fig. 1. Seedlings are the start of a new forest: a forest management course getting touch to forest regeneration practises. Photo by Heli Peltola. Competent experts in forestry The first students of forest sciences started in Joensuu in the year Before this a thorough preparation was climaxed in a workshop to finalise a budget in autumn 1980, when the parliament decided the beginning of forest science education at the University of Joensuu. The former rector Heikki Kirkinen and vice rector Jorma Tahvanainen acted as key persons in the preparations and their persistence opened a new line in the development of the University of Joensuu. The general principles of forest science education were based on a working group plan from March According to the plan the education should focus on forest ecology and forest biology, contribute to the highest forest science education and lead to a bachelor degree in agriculture and forestry. Readers familiar with forest education immediately notice that the profile of forest science research and teaching differs from the plan: the weight is now strongly in forestry that is supplemented by forest ecology and forest biology (Fig. 1). There are many reasons for the selected profile, but most of all, the monitoring group that supported the planning strongly encouraged to select the current weights in research and education of forest sciences. The monitoring group kept it clear that the School of Forest Sciences 7

10 graduates of Joensuu should be able to compete for the posts in forest sector equally with the graduates of the other universities. Confidence in success boosted the forest sciences New openings awake strong expectations as well as fears. Many critics thought that the University of Helsinki is superior to Joensuu in attracting competent students. Apparently, the expectations were not actualised since already in the first call 109 applicants sought for the 20 new student positions of forest sciences in Joensuu. Nowadays such an interest towards forest science education is only a dream. The education of forest sciences is multidisciplinary combining biology, economics, technology and social sciences. Thus, cooperation of different fields is essential in the implementation of such a wide entity of education. The resources of the University of Joensuu were limited in this respect and there were fears that the education of forest sciences would be wilted due to the lack of resources. The situation was depicted well by the comment of the planner of university administration centre, Väinö Jääskeläinen, that there would never be more than a professor and a couple of other teachers in the education of forest sciences in Joensuu. Luckily the prophecy of Jääskeläinen was not realised and already in the first year, 1982, forest sciences had five teachers: a professor, two assistant professors, a lector and an assistant. However, the resources were only modest in relation to demand. Despite the inadequate resources the belief in the success of the research report of activities 8

11 and education of forest sciences remained strong in Joensuu. Currently the School of Forest Sciences employs 25 teachers out of which more than half are professors of different forest science fields. University status enhanced scientific capacity The year 1984 was a turning point in the development of education of forest sciences. The University of Joensuu got an official university status (Finnish name changed from Joensuun korkeakoulu to Joensuun yliopisto) and the Faculty of Forestry was born. The new faculty status provided novel means to develop the profile of forest sciences at the university. The development lines of the faculty were certainly discussed although the modern strategy work was not known at that time. Contemporary research themes were for instance the quality growing of Scots pines, frost hardiness of forest trees, forest entrepreneurship, satellite images in the national forest inventory and many questions in forest planning the themes are still topical. On the other hand also the basic research was a fundamental part of the faculty profile. An example of this is the first dissertation Measurement of fluctuating irradiance in field studies of photosynthesis defended by Heikki Smolander in The work innovatively combined tree growth and structure with radiation physics. During the last years the research has been profiled by e.g. climate change, remote sensing and forest planning. The first Masters of Science in Forestry were graduated in 1986 (Fig. 2) and during the last 30 years the number of graduates has reached almost one thousand. The graduation of the first masters was also a starting point for the systematic education of doctors. Research took hold in the everyday life of the faculty at the latest in the early 1990s when the first doctoral theses of the faculty s own students were inspected. This enhanced the scientific capacity but also made it possible to create real research careers. By the beginning of the 2000s, the annual number of doctoral theses was already Lately the number of dissertations has remained about the same. Since 1995 the Graduate School of Forest Sciences has offered possibility to doctoral education for many graduate students, although the roles of projects and other funding sources have been even more remarkable. Altogether more than 150 dissertations have been defended at the Faculty of Forestry and School of Forest Sciences. Fig. 2. The first Masters of Science in Agriculture and Forestry graduated at the University of Joensuu in the year From left: Pentti Hyttinen, Jyrki Kangas, Taneli Kolström and Yrjö Niskanen. Photo by Varpu Heiskanen. School of Forest Sciences 9

12 High-quality research and the development of education opened doors to internationalisation Another important turning point in the development of the research and education of forest sciences was in 2002 when the international Master of Science education (European Forestry) was started under the funding of the Erasmus Mundus programme. However, forest sciences in Joensuu have been international also earlier because the faculty has participated for instance in research projects funded by European Union since In addition, Environmental Science and Forestry program was established together with biologists to organise international student exchange in Currently ca. 30 % of the Master of Science graduates are international and about 60 exchange students arrive in Joensuu to forest science education every year. On the other hand, the internationally oriented research groups of the unit have attracted many students of the Mundus programme to continue post graduate studies. During the last years, the European Forestry programme has also become an important way to recruit doctoral students of forest sciences. Research is the vital condition of the academic society as stated also by lawmakers: the purpose of universities is to conduct scientific research and teaching based on the research. Achieved scientific information forms a basis also for stakeholder work that the legislation obliges universities to do. Recent assessments of the quality of research indicate that the development of forest sciences has been successful, and forest sciences are ranked among the best at UEF. The quality assessments have also shown that the high-quality research of the School of Forest Sciences has opened doors into a wide internationalisation beyond Finnish borders. This is a good level to continue development towards the next milestones and anniversaries. -From the article of Seppo Kellomäki in Metsänhoitaja 2/2012 translated by Jouni Kilpeläinen report of activities 10

13 Current Education and Research Education The School of Forest Sciences (unit) has an internationally valued reputation as a high level research and education centre. Education in the unit is rooted in scientific research to produce highly competent and responsible professionals for careers in forestry and forest and environmental management. The unit has a wide cooperation network and has also international master programmes. Studies at the unit lead to internationally recognised and valued degrees. The undergraduate degree, Bachelor of Science (Agriculture and Forestry) is 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation system) (3 years). Graduate degrees include Master of Science (Agriculture and Forestry): additional 120 ECTS (2 years), Licentiate of Science (Agriculture and Forestry), Licentiate of Philosophy, Doctor of Science (Agriculture and Forestry) and Doctor of Philosophy. The bachelor s degree consists of common studies intended to all forestry students, a free-choice minor and obligatory trainee periods. After the bachelor s degree students can deepen their expertise in master studies that include one or more specialisation areas: Forest ecology and protection, Forest management and bioenergy (since 2013 combined to Forest management and Forest ecosystems), Forest mensuration and planning, Forest economy and politics, and Forest, energy and wood technology. A master s degree includes obligatory trainee periods and may include minors other than forest sciences. During , in total 151 masters graduated and 56 of them were international (Table 1). The number of graduated bachelors was 102. Forestry students have excellent opportunities to internationalisation in terms of student exchange and training abroad. A student interested in international education can apply to study in international master programs that include studies also abroad. Many forestry courses in Joensuu campus are attended by international students as well. The unit is one of the leading higher educational institutions offering course based master s programmes. All the tuition and study material are in English and at master level around half of our students are international coming from Canada, Brazil, China, Russia, Kenya, Germany, Spain and over 50 other countries. School of Forest Sciences 11

14 report of activities 12 International master programs at the unit are Master s Degree Programme in European Forestry (MSc EF), Master s Degree Programme in Forestry and Environmental Engineering (CBU-FEE) and Transatlantic Forestry Master (TransFor- M). The unit has also an international student exchange program: An International Study Programme in Environmental Science and Forestry. Master of Science in European Forestry carrying the Erasmus Mundus label is one of the best European master s programmes in forest sciences. MSc European Forestry offers the students a global perspective to European forestry related issues. The programme is a joint effort of seven European universities that provide their fields of expertise in teaching and course development. Internationalisation and sustainable forestry are weighted in the programme. Forestry and Environmental Engineering is a master s programme under Finnish Russian Cross Border University. Partners of the programme coordinated by UEF are University of Helsinki, Petrozavodsk State University and St. Petersburg Forest-Technical University. The CBU-FEE programme provides students with knowledge and skills enabling them to work in research and expert tasks related to forests and bioenergy. Transatlantic Forestry Master (TRANSFOR-M) is a joint programme with seven European and Canadian universities. University of Freiburg (Germany) coordinates the programme and other European partners are UEF, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Bangor University (UK). The students can carry out a year of their studies at UEF and another at the University of Alberta, New Brunswick or British Columbia in Canada. Students are educated in modern sustainable forestry and environmental management approaches that are sensitive to cultural and situational differences. They acquire a global view with multi-cultural perspectives in economic and environmental issues. MSc Bio-economy and Natural Resource Management is a master s degree programme conducted in Ghana. UEF collaborates with the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana to provide UEF curriculum for West-Africans. All the studies take place in Ghana. The aim of the programme is to build capacity for development and to meet the environmental challenges in Africa by educating participants with specialised knowledge in natural resources as well as in management skills. The programme answers to the needs of experienced managers who wish to enhance skills as well as them who continue education after bachelor degree studies. Therefore, the MSc Bio-economy and Natural Resource Management students graduate with a MSc degree certificate from UEF and an emba certificate. In addition to the previous master s programmes, Master s Degree Programme in Wood Material Science is conducted jointly by the School of Forest Sciences and UEF Departments of Chemistry, Biology and Physics. MSc Wood Material Science is a quest to know everything about wood. The programme starting in autumn 2013

15 will train the next generation of professionals to meet the growing demand for experts in the utilisation of renewable natural materials. The programme creates a link between wood as a raw material and the properties of final products such as biobased materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological resources. The unit provides Doctoral education in the field of forest sciences. Our graduates are international experts capable to lead and execute high quality research and expert work in international research institutions, governmental bodies and research and development departments of forest cluster industry. About ten applicants have been selected as doctoral students annually. Part of the graduate students have been members of the Graduate School in Forest Sciences (GSForest). GSForest is organised by a consortium of UEF (coordinator), University of Helsinki, University of Oulu and Finnish Forest Research Institute, Metla. GSForest offers up to four-year-phd positions with salary provided by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and accepts matching-fund PhD student members. However, most of the doctoral students in the unit had other than ministry funding during In total 26 doctoral students graduated in and 15 of them were international (Table 1). Since the beginning of the year 2013 the doctoral education of the unit is arranged in the Doctoral Programme in Forest Science as a part of the Doctoral School of the University of Eastern Finland. The new doctoral programme has also fellowships available although students/supervisors are expected to be active in the applying of funding. Besides the coordination of GSForest that organises also international doctoral courses and seminars the unit participates in the Nordic Forestry, Veterinary and Agricultural University Network (NOVA) that provides courses to PhD students and gives opportunity to teacher cooperation. GSForest runs until 2015 and there are further negotiations with foreign universities to cooperate in doctoral education and research exchange. Table 1. Number of degrees conferred during Number of international persons in parentheses. There were no licentiate degrees obtained during Year 2010 was exceptionally high in number of MSc and BSc degrees due to changes in degree structures Doctors 3 (2) 14 (9) 9 (4) Masters 63 (16) 46 (20) 42 (20) Bachelors Research The main focus of the research in the unit is on the sustainable management and use of forest resources. In this respect, the four core areas of research during were as follows: School of Forest Sciences 13

16 A. Forest management and forest ecosystems The research in the area of Forest management and forest ecosystems focuses on the sustainable management of boreal forest ecosystems, considering forest production (timber, energy biomass), carbon sequestration of forests, maintenance of biodiversity and risk management of forests (forest pests, pathogens, abiotic damages) under changing environmental conditions. In this context, it comprises the biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon and nutrients in forest ecosystems and their role in the productivity and carbon sequestration of forests under different environmental (climate, soil) and management conditions. Furthermore, the effects of availability of nutrients (optimum, deficiency and excess) and water on the growth of forest trees are important research themes, as well as nutrient losses of forests, and increasing risks by forest pests, as a result of biomass harvesting. The research focuses also on the ecological importance of forest biodiversity and scientific principles of biodiversity conservation, and assessment of differences in natural and managed forests in regards to forest structure, ecosystem functioning (incl. natural disturbances such as forest fires) and species diversity. The research has also focused on the adaptive strategies needed in forest management and forestry under the foreseen climate, and the potentials provided by managed boreal forests and forestry to mitigate the climate change. In this research area, the research groups represent multidisciplinary research expertise in ecophysiology of trees, forest ecology, silviculture, forest soil science, biodiversity conservation, forest protection and ecosystem and risk modelling. report of activities 14 B. Forest inventory and forest management planning The research in the area of Forest inventory focuses especially on forest inventory applications based on remote sensing, but also on modelling forest growth and yield. In this respect, main focus in the remote sensing research has been in airborne laser scanning (ALS) and combining it to other information sources with the aid of different statistical methods. Research has included the development of planning based on forest compartments and also issues related to plantations, bioenergy, tree species identification, inventory of coarse woody debris, ecological applications and preliminary measurement of forest stands to be cut. The research focus in the area of Forest planning is both on the wood and non-wood based values of forests. Methods to consider species habitats, carbon sequestration, collectible goods (berries etc.) and wind and fire risks in forest planning have been developed similarly with the improvement of optimising and decision support systems. Spatial optimisation has also been in the research focus. The research has covered both boreal and Mediterranean forests. The research in the sub-area of Forest information systems has, respectively, applied information technology, geoinformatics, computer science and remote sensing in analysing ecological information, collecting and applying planning information and in forest technology. Recent rese-

17 arch has dealt with 3D data mapping, GIS modelling, data mining and developing simulation systems. These are applied to the computational methods of the remote sensing of tree species identification, forestation and erosion, the economy of bioenergy and simulation of forest growth. C. Forest economics and policy The research in the sub-area of Forest economics has focused on analysing the multiple use and ecosystem services of forests, and competitiveness and business know-how of forest companies. In the multiple use of forests, research has done to value ecosystem services as a part of the total economic value of forests, to examine cost efficient conservation of threatened forest species and to assess the importance of forest products in people s everyday life, time allocation and nature tourism. In business economic applications, the research has dealt with the factors affecting the competitiveness of sawmills, the profitability and investment earnings of forest owning and appreciation of forest energy in the heating system choices of private consumers. The research in the sub-area of Forest policy has focused on international forest policy, forest conflicts and in ethical analysis of forest use. Research has dealt with the tenures of forests in the Russian forest policy reforms, the relations of environmental organisations and forest industries in international forest conflicts, and communication processes and information transfer in decision making of European forest policy. D. Forest, energy and wood technology The research focus in the forest technology and energy technology is on the management, decision making and control of wood procurement in the context of statistics, operation analysis and logistics. So called engineer sciences and work analysis are applied to research forest management and timber and energy harvesting practices. It is also studied how the structure and quality of different timber grades affects the raw material chains of timber and energy wood in production plants. The energy research aims to develop raw materials, material mixes and additives in energy pellet production and develop pyrolysis oil and biocoal production and analysis. The research in wood science and technology has focused on how timber drying affects wood material, and how different forest regeneration methods (seed/sprout/ seedling) and site fertility affect wood anatomy and thus the quality (e.g. density) and usage of wood. The colour changes of birch wood have been mapped and reasons for them studied in drying research conducted by warm air and vacuum. Other characteristics important in relation to dry timber quality such as deformation and moisture ratio have also been studied. Wood technology has strong connections to material and structure research and also production technology that is often connected to product quality. Shear mechanism is a traditional research interest. School of Forest Sciences 15

18 report of activities 16 Research Highlights The research groups of the unit had many essential research projects going on during The results of some of them are outlined below.

19 Dynamics and Management of Boreal Forests Heli Peltola & Seppo Kellomäki The main research focus in was on the dynamics and sustainable management of boreal forest ecosystems under changing climatic conditions, with implications on the production of forest biomass, carbon sequestration, and risk management of forests (wind/snow extremes, drought). We have also studied what kind of adaptive management strategies are needed in boreal forests and forestry under the changing climate and the potentials of managed forests and forestry offered to mitigate the climate change. The research has employed the well-validated forest ecosystem models (e.g. SIMA, FinnFor) and mechanistic wind/ snow damage risk model (HWIND), and life cycle assessment (LCA) tool developed by the research group (Peltola et al. 2010, Kilpeläinen et al. 2011, Ge et al. 2013). The integrated use of forest ecosystem model (SIMA) and LCA tool has provided innovative ways to study the sustainability of whole forest production chain in regard to the production of timber and energy biomass and its use in energy production. In this work, it has been considered the carbon sequestration and CO 2 emissions over the whole forest production chain, and carbon neutrality of forest-based energy. We found that it is possible to increase the production of timber and energy biomass and carbon sequestration (and stocks) in forest ecosystems by maintaining higher stocking over rotation than currently recommended in Finland. In this respect, intensive management such as nitrogen fertilisation and use of high-productive genotypes seem an attractive option for management. This allows also to reduce the CO 2 emissions per unit of energy and to substitute fossil fuels such as coal in energy industry (Pyörälä et al. 2012). Overall, it seems that we should modify the current forest management practices in the future to adapt to the foreseen climate change. In general, forest productivity and carbon sequestration of forests are expected to increase throughout Finland under the moderate increase in temperature and atmospheric CO 2 (Ge et al. 2013). However, if climate warming will be more drastic, the situation will be opposite in southern Finland, where especially Nor- School of Forest Sciences 17

20 Fig. 3. Percentage change of the average annual gross primary production (GPP), net primary production (NPP) and net carbon sequestration (NEE) under changing climate for southern (a) and northern (b) Finland compared to the current climate as a function of the change of the temperature sum (d.d.) of 2099 compared with The map also shows the change in average annual net carbon sequestration (NEE) over the 100-year simulation period under changing climate from that under the current climate throughout Finland. Climate change scenario used was IPCC A2, with annual mean temperature increase of 4 6 C, precipitation increase of 10 15% in south and 15 25% in north, compared to current climate (atmospheric CO 2 changed from 350 to 840 ppm). Figure modified from Ge et al report of activities 18 way spruce (Picea abies) with shallow rooting will suffer drought extremes (Fig. 3). Under the changing climate, the risks by wind (and snow) are also expected to increase especially in southern Finland, due to decrease of frozen soil period from late autumn to early spring, in the windiest season of year (Peltola et al. 2010). In order to define proper adaptive measures, we should consider both the uncertainties related to the foreseen climate change and the time span and region as well. We have also studied the eco-physiological performance and production potential of the boreal energy crop, reed canary grass (RCG, Phalaris arundinacea), based on datasets measured in a greenhouse experiment with elevation of temperature and CO 2 (Ge et al. 2012). These measurements have provided a solid basis for modeling the growth and the carbon sink/source dynamics in energy crop cultivations

21 established on cutaway peatlands used previously in peat extraction. The management model utilises the new mire ecosystem model, where the uptake and emissions of CO 2, and the emissions of NH 4 and N 2 O, are controlled by climatic factors and hydrology. This enables to study the flow of water in and out of mire ecosystems, as well as the leaching of carbon in outflow waters (Gong et al. 2012) as affected by climate change. Model-based analyses show that the increase of ground water level will increase the photosynthesis and growth of RCG crop as do the simultaneously elevated atmospheric CO 2 and temperature, unlike the elevation of temperature alone due to earlier senescence and accelerated ontogenetic cycle. References Ge Z.-M., Kellomäki, S., Peltola, H., Zhou, X., Väisänen & H., Strandman, H Impacts of climate change on primary production and carbon sequestration of boreal Norway spruce forests: Finland as a model. Climatic Change 118: Published online: 12 October Ge Z.-M., Kellomäki, S., Zhou, X., Peltola, H., Wang, K.-Y. & Martikainen, P.J Seasonal physiological responses and biomass growth in a bioenergy crop (Phalaris arundinacea L.) under elevated temperature and CO 2, subjected to different water regimes in boreal conditions. Bioenergy Research 5(3): Gong, J., Wang, K., Kellomäki, S., Zhang, C., Martikainen, P. & Shurpali, N Modeling water table changes in boreal peatlands of Finland under changing climate conditions. Ecological Modelling 244: Kilpeläinen, A., Alam, A., Strandman, H. & Kellomäki, S Life cycle assessment tool for estimating net CO 2 exchange of forest production. Global Change Biology Bioenergy 3(2): Peltola, H., Ikonen V.-P., Gregow, H., Strandman, H., Kilpeläinen, A., Venäläinen, A. & Kellomäki, S Impacts of climate change on timber production and regional risks of windinduced damage to forests in Finland. Forest Ecology and Management 260(5): Pyörälä, P., Kellomäki, S. & Peltola, H Effects of management on biomass production in Norway spruce stands and carbon balance of bioenergy use. Forest Ecology and Management 275: School of Forest Sciences 19

22 Ecology and Biodiversity of Boreal Forests Jari Kouki Research in forest ecology and biodiversity maintained its strong experimental approach and expanded the modeling and multi-disciplinary approaches during Studies were expanded also to arctic areas. In 2000, a large-scale and unique experimental facility was established, to reveal several aspects related to ecosystem disturbance, resilience and biodiversity patterns. During , this facility was used for longterm (up to 10 years so far) monitoring of key ecosystem processes. The experimental facility located in about 100 km northeast from Joensuu campus includes 24 forest stands where two major treatments fire and harvest intensity are implemented in a fully factorial experimental design. The experiment is unique in Europe. The basic experimental design and an example of treatment area are shown in Fig. 4. This facility was an important asset in a collaborative global analysis on the effects that forest management have on biodiversity, published in BioScience and Conservation Letters (Gustafsson et al. 2012; Lindenmayer et al. 2012). A new concept of retention forestry was introduced, and showed to be a key element in developing novel multifunctional forestry methods for future. report of activities 20 Fig. 4. The design of the large-scale and long-term experimental facility that focuses on the effects of disturbances and their intensities on ecosystem properties and biodiversity. The facility has been maintained since year 2000, and it is uniquely large and long-term in whole Europe. Photo insert shows an aerial view of one of the 24 experimental sites (photo: Metsähallitus 2007).

23 Research focused also on large-scale regional issues in the maintenance of biodiversity, an approach that is highly topical for forest ecologists worldwide. Another large-scale but this time nationwide experimental approach was adopted, in collaboration with Metsähallitus, to reveal regional patterns in forest and biodiversity restoration attempts. For the first time, it was possible to show experimentally that landscape context has a major influence on restoring lost biodiversity patterns in boreal Fennoscandia (Fig. 5). Since forest restoration is expected to take place in millions of hectares worldwide, this study published in Diversity and Distributions (Kouki et al. 2012) is truly topical. Biodiversity research group expanded also the modeling approaches when analysing both ecological and economical aspects of biodiversity maintenance. A collaborative multidisciplinary group (including scientists also from the University of Jyväskylä and Finnish Forest Research Institute) was able to show, for example, that avoiding thinnings in selected cases is beneficial for biodiversity and it is likely also to increase carbon sequestration in an economically efficient way (Tikkanen et al. 2012). A definite research highlight came from the study that focused on the warming of arctic areas, a collaboration including scientists also from the University of Lapland and University of Oxford. Analysis of Arctic willows showed a remarkable greening of arctic areas that was related to climate, and also a significant observation that novel wooded ecosystems may develop in these regions. The study was published in Nature Climate Change (Macias-Fauria et al. 2012). Fig. 5. Results from a nationwide experiment show that restoring biodiversity depends strongly on landscape context. Same restoration measure (fire) has quite different effect on red-listed species in eastern and western parts of the country. Black dots show the restored forests. Most likely explanation is the land-use history: in the east, forest management began later, and these areas still maintain small populations of rare and redlisted species that are able to colonise restored sites (from Kouki et al. 2012). School of Forest Sciences 21

24 References Gustafsson, L., Baker, S. C., Bauhus, J., Beese, W. J., Brodie, A., Kouki, J., Lindenmayer, D. B., Lohmus, A., Pastur, G. M., Messier, C., Neyland, M., Palik, B., Sverdrup-Thygeson, A., Volney, W. J. A., Wayne, A. & Franklin, J. F. 2012: Retention Forestry to Maintain Multifunctional Forests: A World Perspective. BioScience 62: Kouki, J., Hyvärinen, E., Lappalainen, H., Martikainen, P. & Similä, M. 2012: Landscape context affects the success of habitat restoration: large-scale colonization patterns of saproxylic and fire-associated species in boreal forests. Diversity and Distributions 18: Lindenmayer, D. B., Franklin, J. F., Lõhmus, A., Baker, S. C., Bauhus, J., Beese, W., Brodie, A., Kiehl, B., Kouki, J., Pastur, G. M., Messier, C., Neyland, M., Palik, B., Sverdrup-Thygeson, A., Volney, J., Wayne, A. & Gustafsson, L. 2012: A major shift to the retention approach for forestry can help resolve some global forest sustainability issues. Conservation Letters 5: Macias-Fauria, M., Forbes, B. C., Zetterberg, P. & Kumpula, T. 2012: Eurasian Arctic greening reveals teleconnections and the potential for structurally novel ecosystems. Nature Climate Change 2: Tikkanen, O. P., Matero, J., Mönkkönen, M., Juutinen, A. & Kouki, J. 2012: To thin or not to thin: bio-economic analysis of two alternative practices to increase amount of coarse woody debris in managed forests. European Journal of Forest Research 131: report of activities 22

25 Forestry Applications of Airborne Laser Scanning Matti Maltamo During the reporting period the research group had several research projects including Spearhead project of UEF and published numerous peer-reviewed research articles. The research topics were concentrating on different forest inventory and forest ecological applications related to the use of airborne laser scanning (ALS). One of the highlights was five conducted doctoral theses. These theses are summarised in the following. Fig 6. An example of the computational geometry of a point cloud representing single tree. The ALS point cloud (left) is triangulated (middle) and the assumed main crown component is extracted applying the alpha shapes technique (right). Field-measured crown base height is illustrated using a dashed, horizontal line and ground hits using grey circles. School of Forest Sciences 23

26 report of activities 24 The thesis by Jari Vauhkonen examined reconstruction of tree crowns by means of computational geometry of the ALS point data and techniques for turning the obtained crown shape and structure information into improved estimates of tree attributes (Fig. 6). Specifically, the developed methods use so called alpha shape techniques for producing the three-dimensional crown models and different classification and modeling techniques for predicting the attributes of interest. The developed alpha shape metrics were found to have potential for describing species-specific allometric differences in the trees. The methods presented in the study also essentially produce information on tree crown size and structure. Lauri Korhonen examined the different methods to estimate forest canopy cover (CC) which is an important ecological variable and the basis for the international definition of forest. The traditional measurements of CC are very laborious and the aim of the thesis was to compare different quicker-to-apply CC estimation techniques. Different alternatives included cameras and spherical densiometers, a new field instrument called the crown relascope, statistical models and ALS data. ALS point data can be used to estimate CC from the proportion of pulses that hit the canopy above a predefined height limit. The laser method was found to have a high precision but resulted in a small overestimation of CC. Annukka Pesonen compared different field inventory methods and use of airborne laser scanning for assessing coarse woody debris (CWD). Dead wood (CWD) has been recognised as one of the main indicators of biodiversity in boreal forests. The thesis included both modeling of CWD amounts by applying ALS metrics and sampling based CWD estimation. It was also studied how much the use of auxiliary information derived from ALS data or other sources could improve the sampling efficiency, i.e. reduce the standard error of the mean given the same inventory costs. ALS data proved useful for predicting CWD volumes in natural forests. Correspondingly, the use of auxiliary information notably improved the efficiency of the CWD inventory. Mikko Vehmas studied ALS based identification and interpretation on ecologically important old-growth forest habitats in Koli National Park. The longevity of aspen stands was studied based on multi-source data. ALS was capable of distinguishing herb-rich forests from less fertile site types with an accuracy of 88.9%. This was mainly based on the vertical vegetation profiles that characterise forests on high fertility sites. The best overall classification accuracy achieved for all the forest site types was 58.0%. Canopy gaps were also located using ALS data and it was found out that there were differences between the canopy gaps of natural forests and managed forests. Finally, Jussi Peuhkurinen estimated tree size distributions and timber assortment recoveries for wood procurement planning using ALS. Harvester-collected stem

27 data bank information was also utilised. The estimation methods included different approaches to utilise ALS data, namely single tree detection (ITD) and area based approach (ABA). The performance of ITD in estimating tree size distributions and theoretical timber assortment classes was found to be better. In the aggregate, the different ALS methods were comparable when estimating volume and basal area. The thesis also showed that it is possible to obtain accurate saw log recoveries by using ABA. The harvester data from final cuttings was found to be suitable material for validating the diameter distributions and theoretical saw log recoveries estimated from ALS data. School of Forest Sciences 25

28 Forest, Energy and Wood Technology Teijo Palander, Petri P. Kärenlampi, Katri Luostarinen & Jukka Malinen report of activities 26 The Domain Technology of Forest and Forest Products is concerned with complex technology which forms the basis for present and potential capacity to provide renewable resources for human needs as well as environmental services. The TFP Domain has the mission to promote research along the whole forest products value chain by providing knowledge for the effective coordination of educational activities with relevance to this value chain including the whole forest sector from forest stand to pulp & paper. Forestry related bioenergy technology is an important aspect of this domain. Wood Technology research aims at an increase of knowledge necessary for an enhanced and broader use of wood as a sustainable, energy efficient and renewable resource in existing (buildings, constructions etc.) and new applications. With the objective to enhance the competitiveness of wood, TFP s research activities focused on the knowledge of wood properties, the performance of timber and its indoor and outdoor usability. Pulp and Paper research contributes to increased knowledge of the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the pulps and the resulting products. High priority is placed on optimising the level of utilisation of the resources and to improve both the sustainability of pulp and paper making and the competitiveness of paper products in particular in new applications. The research enables the development of intelligent and efficient replicator systems for evolution of wood species. Forest Technology and Bioenergy from forests research enhances our knowledge about how to use biomass from forests to meet the energy needs of future generations sustainably and without damaging the forest s ability to meet other needs. Combined forest technology and biorefinery research develops the potential for the forest-based sector to extract higher value innovative products for changing markets needs. The following examples illustrate overlapping aspects of research in this Domain. The scope of the Domain is not, however, restricted only to these activities.

29 Evolution of a system of species is investigated in terms of random replicators. It is found that evolving random replicator systems with speciation do become large and complex, depending on speciation parameters. Antisymmetric interactions result as large systems, whereas systems with symmetric interactions remain small. A co-dominating feature is within-species interaction pressure: large within-species interaction increases species diversity. Average fitness evolves in all systems, however symmetry and connectivity evolve in small systems only. Newcomers get extinct almost immediately in symmetric systems. The distribution in species lifetimes is determined for antisymmetric systems. The replicator systems investigated do not show any sign of self-organised criticality. The generalised Lotka-Volterra - system is shown to be a tedious way of implementing the replicator system. In the field of wood science e.g. larch wood properties (as a species) have been studied. Knowledge concerning wood properties of cultivated Siberian larches in Finland is needed as they reach the logging size in the near future. The properties affect in all usages of wood, most important of them being structural ones in this species. Particularly properties having impact in drying and the quality of wood after drying have been studied, but also shear strength, fibre properties and arabinogalactan concentration have been measured. Shear strength increased from the pith to the outer heartwood, and it was higher at the butt than at the other studied heights correlating well with density and slightly with arabinogalactan concentration in heartwood but not in sapwood. According to fibre dimensions, the wood was the most homogenous at the butt. In connection with conventional drying the effects of schedule, radial and axial location of wood in the trunk, wood density and annual growth of trees as well as orientation of growth rings in sawn timber were studied on wood colour, final moisture content, moisture gradient, cracks, deformations and casehardening. Most of the properties were best after drying at the highest of the tested temperatures. Moisture content and gradient, and twisting were the most problematic wood properties in drying. The effect of radial origin of timber on wood moisture was mainly caused by the differences in the basic density and differing ring orientation between different radial origins. Sorting Siberian larch timber according to density and ring orientation would improve the properties of dried timber by ensuring sufficient drying time, as economically as possible, for each timber piece. Due to the differences in the raw material properties and the structure of roundwood market, the measurement and pricing mechanisms have developed independently in European countries, and roundwood is traded in various manners. In the most complicated practices, each log is given a value depending on the species, top end diameter, log length and quality features, whilst the most simple practises value standing timber per area, volume or timber assortment. Pricing mechanisms and volume calculations also steer the goals of timber growing and wood procurement in the value chain from forest to production. At the stand level, the competitive ability School of Forest Sciences 27

30 of buying bids is hardly dependent on the used pricing mechanisms, but the expected value and customer relationships are the key factors. Using game theoretic modelling including several different timber buyers and roundwood pricing mechanisms, different timber sellers and a variety of timber qualities, it is possible to analyse the effects of pricing mechanisms on the timber flows, the benefits of quality based pricing and the break-down of value between timber buyers and sellers. Innovative logistics research also considers a potential Finnish solution to sustainable energy production to satisfy the European Union s forest-related energy policies related to climate change. Conventional energy production includes a number of fossil fuel, peat, and renewable fuel procurement chains that supply a combined heat and power (CHP) plant during different periods of the year. In Finland, peat is commonly used as fuel by energy plants. However, it is not environmentally friendly because it is considered a non-renewable fuel that increases CO 2 emissions and promotes climate change. A management planning method for more sustainable energy production was developed and tested using the Finnish government s tax policy decisions and the available wood harvesting capacity to increase use of renewable forest fuels. The methodology used data from a geographically decentralised wood procurement organisation to calculate resource availability and costs. The resulting databases were then used for adaptive optimisation in a manner relevant to a decentralised organisation. This approach was combined with the CHP plant s electricity procurement and energy production objectives to describe the complexity of forest-energy flows. Using the developed management planning system, it is justified that meeting the peat tax and forest technology targets may not meet Finland s targets for sustainable energy production. However, forest biomass has potential rural, technical, and bio-economical capabilities for decentralised energy production by Finnish CHP plants. report of activities 28

31 Funding Table 2. Funding sources and the money spent at the unit during Source Total funding Basic government funding Total external fundinga Strategic funding of the UEFb National competitive research funding Academy of Finland National Technology Agency of Finland National enterprise funding International competitive research funding EU research funding Other international research funding a Total external funding includes external competitive research funding, funding from European Structural Fund Programmes, funding from the public (ministries) and private sectors. b The amount of money the UEF has allocated in its budget as strategic funding. The main sources of external competitive research funding in the unit during were Academy of Finland (1.06 M ), EU research funding (0.86 M ), National enterprises (0.23 M ) and National Technology Agency (Tekes, 0.19 M Tekes EAKR funding excluded here but included in total funding) (Table 2). During that time, national and international competitive funding comprised 8% and 5% (together 13%) of the total funding, respectively. The proportion of non-competitive funding from European Structural Fund Programmes, public (ministries) and private sectors was 28% of the total funding during The share of external funding (7.74 M ) out of the total funding (19.10 M ) was 41% during the period. School of Forest Sciences 29