ISSN 1239-6095
© Boreal Environment Research 2006

Contents of Volume 11 Number 6

Jurvelius, J., Marjomäki, T. J., Hirvonen, E., Lilja, J. & Riikonen, R. 2006: Vendace (Coregonus albula) stock assessment in winter using a mobile echo-survey under ice. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 415–420.
Abstract
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Karjalainen, A., Pääkkönen, J.-P. J. & Karjalainen, J. 2006: Tissue-specific and whole-fish accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls by juvenile Baltic salmon (Salmo salar L.) after oral gavage exposure. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 421–430.
Abstract
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Lappalainen, A. & Urho, L. 2006: Young-of-the-year fish species composition in small coastal bays in the northern Baltic Sea, surveyed with beach seine and small underwater detonations. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 431–440.
Abstract
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Bjerke, J. W., Tømmervik, H., Finne, T. E., Jensen, H., Lukina, N. & Bakkestuen, V. 2006: Epiphytic lichen distribution and plant leaf heavy metal concentrations in Russian–Norwegian boreal forests influenced by air pollution from nickel-copper smelters. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 441–450.
Abstract
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Lindroos, A.-J., Derome, J., Derome, K. & Lindgren, M. 2006: Trends in sulphate deposition on the forests and forest floor and defoliation degree in 16 intensively studied forest stands in Finland during 1996–2003. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 451–461.
Abstract
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Anttila, P. & Salmi, T. 2006: Characterizing temporal and spatial patterns of urban PM10 using six years of Finnish monitoring data. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 463–479.
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Kownacki, A., Dumnicka, E., Kwandrans, J., Galas, J. & Ollik, M. 2006: Benthic communities in relation to environmental factors in small high mountain ponds threatened by air pollutants. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 481–492.
Abstract
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Metsamaa, L., Kutser, T. & Strömbeck, N. 2006: Recognising cyanobacterial blooms based on their optical signature: a modelling study. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 493–506.
Abstract
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Jurvelius, J., Marjomäki, T. J., Hirvonen, E., Lilja, J. & Riikonen, R. 2006: Vendace (Coregonus albula) stock assessment in winter using a mobile echo-survey under ice. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 415–420.

As a consequence of a local disagreement between commercial fishermen and local fishing-right owners, we estimated the size of a vendace (Coregonus albula) stock in a southern boreal lake in Finland in March 2000. We applied a mobile under-ice echo-survey and catch sampling from winter seining. The sounder with a tape recorder was placed in a shuttle and towed under ice from hole to hole with a rope. The mean fish density was 4270 fish ha–1. Vendace biomass was estimated to be ca. 36 tonnes. Commercial fishing started on a restricted scale after the completion of the assessment. The vendace yield was ca. 6 tonnes in the area during the remainder of the winter-seining season. The total winter seining catch amounted to ca. 40% of the initial vendace stock size in January 2000.
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Karjalainen, A., Pääkkönen, J.-P. J. & Karjalainen, J. 2006: Tissue-specific and whole-fish accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls by juvenile Baltic salmon (Salmo salar L.) after oral gavage exposure. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 421–430.

The bioaccumulation and accumulation efficiencies of four different polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCB-18, PCB-44, PCB-137, PCB-169) were measured in short-term (14-42-d) bioaccumulation tests performed on juvenile Baltic salmon (Salmo salar L.). The PCBs were administered to the fish through oral gavage implantation of gelatine capsules once a week. The given dosages were similar to the concentrations found in the main prey of Baltic salmon in the Gulf of Finland. The accumulation efficiencies of the four PCB congeners occurred in the order: PCB-44 > PCB-18 ~ PCB-137 > PCB-169. All the four PCB congeners accumulated to higher concentrations in lipid-rich intestines as compared with PCB bioaccumulation in liver, muscle sample and carcass remaining after those tissue removals. While the relative accumulation efficiency of the salmon intestine was 21.3% (SD = 10.1%), as much as 74.0% (SD = 12.7%) of the PCBs was assimilated in a salmon carcass. Average total accumulation efficiency of total PCB was 71%.
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Lappalainen, A. & Urho, L. 2006: Young-of-the-year fish species composition in small coastal bays in the northern Baltic Sea, surveyed with beach seine and small underwater detonations. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 431–440.

The young-of-the-year (YOY) fish species composition of 12 small coastal bays in the Tvärminne region, southwestern Finland, was surveyed in late summer 2003 using a beach seine and underwater detonations. The surface area of the bays varied between 1 and 21 ha, and they were located along a clear exposure gradient reaching from an innermost bay system, where the surface water salinity was 1%–3%, to an outer archipelago, where salinity was around 5%–6%. The beach seine data demonstrated a change in dominance from freshwater species in the inner areas to marine species in the more exposed outer areas. Using the beach seine, the average number of YOY fish species in a single bay was 6.2 and the total number of YOY fish species caught was 17, while only four species were caught by detonation. Detonation sampling caught effectively only the YOY of some early spawning freshwater species, such as perch and roach. For these two species, both methods gave quite similar abundance patterns in the study bays. The YOY of some other common species, such as bleak and sticklebacks, were too small (8–22 mm) to be caught with the detonation method. The results demonstrated a rather low sampling precision with both methods even for the most abundant freshwater species, the main reason being that YOY fish are usually highly aggregated leading to a high frequency of zero samples.
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Bjerke, J. W., Tømmervik, H., Finne, T. E., Jensen, H., Lukina, N. & Bakkestuen, V. 2006: Epiphytic lichen distribution and plant leaf heavy metal concentrations in Russian–Norwegian boreal forests influenced by air pollution from nickel-copper smelters. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 441–450.

The Norwegian–Russian border area is exposed to air pollution from Russian nickel-copper smelters at Kola Peninsula. An attempt was made to relate distribution and abundance of epiphytic lichens to concentrations of sulphur, nickel and copper in birch and bilberry foliage and soil. Lichen cover showed significant correlation with Ni and Cu concentrations. However, since the deposition patterns of airborne heavy metals and sulphur dioxide (SO2) around the smelters differ, some plots experience low lichen cover, despite low heavy metal concentrations. These plots are affected by relatively high SO2 emissions. Climatic variability within the study area may also play a role in explaining variation in lichen cover. For areas with uniform climate and physiognomy nearer than ca. 20 km from the smelters, Ni concentrations in birch leaves may prove useful for estimating the likelihood for recolonization to take place. The area closest to the smelters presently is much too polluted for lichen recolonization to occur.
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Lindroos, A.-J., Derome, J., Derome, K. & Lindgren, M. 2006: Trends in sulphate deposition on the forests and forest floor and defoliation degree in 16 intensively studied forest stands in Finland during 1996–2003. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 451–461.

Deposition samples (bulk deposition, stand throughfall) were collected in 8 Norway spruce and 8 Scots pine stands throughout the year in Finland during the period 1996–2003. Defoliation was also estimated annually in the same stands. Sulphate deposition in Finland during the period 1996–2003 decreased, the decrease being most evident at the beginning of the period. Sulphate deposition in the northern part of the country has been considerably lower than that in the southern part of the country, and therefore the decrease during the period 1996–2003 in the northern part of the country has been relatively insignificant. In the eastern part of Finland, which receives a considerable proportion of the sulphate deposition from the St. Petersburg area and the shale-oil power stations in NE Estonia, there were no clear decreasing trends in sulphate deposition. The decrease in sulphate deposition elsewhere in the country was mainly due to the decrease in the sulphate concentrations since the amount of precipitation did not decrease during the monitoring period.There was a clear decreasing gradient running from southern to northern Finland in the net-throughfall of sulphate from the tree canopies in both the spruce and pine stands. No clear decrease was observed in defoliation on any of the plots during the study period, although sulphate deposition decreased significantly during 1996–2003. Sulphate deposition alone is not, at current levels in Finland, likely to cause changes in forest health in terms of defoliation in the short term at least.
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Anttila, P. & Salmi, T. 2006: Characterizing temporal and spatial patterns of urban PM10 using six years of Finnish monitoring data. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 463–479.

Data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute's Air Quality Monitoring Data Management System (ILSE) for 1998–2003 were used to examine the temporal and spatial patterns of urban PM10 in Finland. Long term means of PM10 at 24 Finnish urban stations vary between 11 and 24 ug m–3. The seasonal variation of PM10 at all stations was dominated by the spring maximum. A strong influence of traffic on the urban PM10 concentrations is shown. However the highly synchronized day-to-day variation at a variety of sites across the country highlights the role of large scale weather patterns also in the formation of spring episodes. Every year, most often in August, September and October, there were also 1–5 irregular regional PM10 episodes, lasting from one day to six days and most likely caused by long-range transported particles. During these regional events, the PM10 concentrations may well reach the typical spring peak concentration levels.
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Kownacki, A., Dumnicka, E., Kwandrans, J., Galas, J. & Ollik, M. 2006: Benthic communities in relation to environmental factors in small high mountain ponds threatened by air pollutants. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 481–492.

Hydrobiological investigations of ponds situated above the timber line in the Tatra Mountains (Poland) were carried out. These water bodies are fed mainly by rainfall and melting snow. Some of them are temporary while others are permanent and show seasonal variations in chemical properties (e.g. pH 4.6–5.0 to 6.8–7.7). The structure of the algal communities differed in particular ponds, depending on the water pH and its seasonal changes. Moreover, there are differences in the composition of the macro-invertebrate communities between particular ponds, but they were not affected by the water acidification occurring mainly during the snow-melting period. The present investigations show that the impact of acid precipitation on biocenoses living in high mountain water bodies (Tatra Mts) is not clearly evident.
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Metsamaa, L., Kutser, T. & Strömbeck, N. 2006: Recognising cyanobacterial blooms based on their optical signature: a modelling study. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 493–506.

Mass populations of cyanobacteria are increasingly attracting the attention of environment agencies, water authorities, and human and animal health organizations, since they can present a range of water quality and treatment problems as well as hazards to human and animal health. The problem is especially severe in the Baltic Sea where cyanobacterial blooms occur every summer covering areas of more than 100000 km2. We studied optical properties of several phytoplankton species (including cyanobacteria) present in the Baltic Sea region. The measurements results were used in a bio-optical model together with optical properties of other phytoplankton species from literature. Our results show that cyanobacteria have a characteristic double feature (peak at 650 nm and phycocyanin absorption feature near 630 nm) in their reflectance spectra which can be detected by remote sensing instruments. Our estimation for the open Baltic Sea waters shows that concentration of chlorophyll has to be 8–10 mg m–3 before the double feature becomes detectable by remote sensing instruments which spectral resolution is 10 nm and signal-to-noise-ratio is 1000:1. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that remote sensing can be used for early warning of emerging potentially harmful blooms as chlorophyll concentrations higher than 4 mg m–3 qualify as blooms here.
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