Keup-Thiel, E., Göttel, H. & Jacob, D. 2006: Regional climate simulations for the Barents Sea region. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 329–339.

The vulnerability of the Barents Sea region to climate change is under investigation in the context of the EU Project BALANCE (http://balance1.uni-muenster.de). Today's climate of the Barents Sea region has been simulated using the regional climate model REMO driven by Analysis (since 1994) and by Reanalysis (1979–1993) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) from 1979 to 2000 with a horizontal resolution of about 55 km. The results have been validated using observations from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU data) for 2-m temperature and precipitation for land areas only. The differences between the REMO simulation results and the CRU data are of the same order of magnitude as the deviations between CRU data and ERA-40 data (Reanalysis data of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). To investigate a possible future climate development a 140-year-long transient simulation from 1961 to 2100 has been carried out using REMO. In this experiment, called the CCC run (Control and Climate Change run), REMO has been driven by ECHAM4/OPYC3 following the IPCC-SRES B2 scenario. The annual mean 2-m temperature of the CCC run shows a clear trend as expected, the 2-m temperature increases by 5 deg.C by the end of the century. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment reports a 1.5 deg.C temperature increase from 1960 to today, which is in good agreement with our results. From 1960 to 2000 the observed annual mean temperature for the Arctic rises exactly in the same way as in the REMO simulation for the Barents Sea only. Three 20-year periods have been defined in order to analyze differences among these time slices. A stronger warming in January than in July is evident for all time slices. As expected, the warming is enhanced for the period 2041–2060 as compared with that for the earlier period (2011–2030). The largest warming occurs along the sea ice edge and over Russia during the winter months.

Lopatin, E., Kolström, T. & Spiecker, H. 2006: Determination of forest growth trends in Komi Republic (northwestern Russia): combination of tree-ring analysis and remote sensing data. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 341–353.

It is very important to detect changes in forest productivity due to the global change on a large scale. In this work, the evolution of the vegetation in the Komi Republic (northwestern Russia) from 1982 to 2001 was analyzed using NOAA AVHRR PAL time series. A statistically significant correlation (adjusted r² = 0.44–0.59) between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data and tree ring width (261 living trees) was identified for the territory of the Komi Republic. The increased site productivity reflected an increase of integrated NDVI values from June to August. This allows NDVI to be used as a proxy for estimation of forest growth trends for the recent decades. A positive and significant trend in NDVI data was identified from 1982 to 2001, coinciding with an increase in site productivity in the study area. The decrease in precipitations coincided with an increase in site productivity (highest r² was 0.71). The increase in productivity reflected in NDVI data is maximal on the sites with increased temperature and decreased precipitations. In the Komi Republic the distribution of the trends in NDVI data changes on the south-west to north-east gradient. NDVI data could be used to increase spatial resolution of tree ring width series. Taking into account the relatively small role of human activity in the Komi Republic compared with Europe, the site productivity during recent decades also increased in relatively untouched forests.

Muukkonen, P. & Mäkipää, R. 2006: Empirical biomass models of understorey vegetation in boreal forests according to stand and site attributes. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 355–369.

In the early phases of succession, the proportion of biomass comprising understorey vegetation may be considerable and, therefore, it plays a significant role in the annual nutrient and carbon cycling of forest ecosystems. The aim of our study was to identify the most significant forest-site attributes affecting the above-ground biomass of understorey vegetation and to develop models that can be used to predict this biomass in the boreal zone using readily available variables. The study was based on vegetation data consisted of percentage coverage observations collected from a network of permanent sample plots established by the National Forest Inventory in Finland. The coverage data were transformed to biomass with previously published models. According to our results, above-ground biomass can be predicted by such forest stand and site attributes as stand age and site nutrient level. In Scots pine, Norway spruce and broad-leaved forests growing on upland soil, the relative RMSE of predicted above-ground biomass of all understorey vegetation was 16.6%, 22.3% and 31.6%, respectively. In hardwood–spruce mires and paludified forests, the relative RMSE predicted above-ground biomass of all understorey vegetation was 12.2%. In pine mires it was 9.9%. The modelled relationship between biomass and forest site attributes can be used in ecosystem and carbon cycle modelling as a rapid non-destructive method to predict the above-ground biomass of understorey vegetation.

Carlsson, R. 2006: Freshwater snail assemblages of semi-isolated brackish water bays on the Åland Islands, SW Finland. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 371–382.

The aim of the study was to relate the distribution of freshwater snails in 21 semi-isolated bays (within a salinity range of 0.7–7.4 practical salinity units, PSU) to environmental variables of the Åland Islands, SW Finland. Altogether 16 species of freshwater snails were found when the bays were investigated by hand-picking and a rod sieve. Of these, six or seven species may be regarded as almost ubiquitous. The salinity limiting most freshwater snails is approximately 4–5 PSU. The marine snail Hydrobia ventrosa was found in only two of the bays. The highest number of snail species occurred in bays with large catchment areas, especially where there were freshwater lakes in the local area. The number of species increased with decreasing salinity (Spearman's [rho] = –0.513). The maximum number of species was found in a bay with almost freshwater-like conditions, inferring that tolerance to higher salinities in some species is restricted.

Roos, M. & Åström, M. 2006: Gulf of Bothnia receives high concentrations of potentially toxic metals from acid sulphate soils. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 383–388.

An estimated 460000 ha of acid sulphate soil (AS soil) occur within the river catchments bordering the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland and Sweden. This soil type exists because extensive areas of sulphide-bearing Holocene sediments have been drained for agricultural purposes, resulting in oxidation of metal sulphides to sulphuric acid and the concomitant formation of these acidic, environmentally-unfriendly soils. The aim of this study was to compare median values of metal concentrations in rivers discharging into the Gulf of Bothnia and obtain a uniform picture of to what extent these rivers are affected by AS-soil leaching. Dissolved element concentrations for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) were determined in 47 rivers (catchment size > 500 km²) discharging into Gulf of Bothnia (a few into Gulf of Finland) along the coastline of Finland and Sweden. Water chemistry data was obtained from the Environmental Information System (HERTTA) database at the Finnish Environment Institute, the publicly available online database at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Environmental Assessment, and from a previous study of the authors. One area in central-western Finland proved to have highly elevated concentrations of Cd, Ni and Zn, and they all occurred with a similar spatial pattern and had the highest concentrations in rivers Teuvanjoki and Maalahdenjoki. This is caused by AS-soil leaching. The metalloid As and the metals Cr, Fe, Pb did not display this pattern and are, therefore, in line with previous studies, not leached abundantly from the AS soils, although they overall occur at somewhat higher concentrations in the Finnish as compared with those in the Swedish rivers. Thorough planning of land-use operations (e.g land reclamation through ditching, dredging of rivers and estuaries, etc.) in AS-soil landscapes should be necessary, which is currently not the case, to reduce the high concentrations of Cd, Ni and Zn in rivers.

Katko, T. S., Juuti, P. S. & Pietila, P. E. 2006: Key long-term strategic decisions in water and sanitation services management in Finland, 1860–2003. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 389–400.

This paper describes the key long-term strategic decisions related to the evolution of water and sanitation services in Finland from the 1860s to 2003. The study was conducted in two phases: the first one based on a literature survey identified 40 key decisions while the second ranked those decisions by 13 senior national experts. According to the experts, the most important decisions concerned legislation, particularly water pollution control. There is a wide variety of options for organising services in relation to the size and scope of the systems. Although future options may seem abundant, the development paths are largely restricted by historical strategic decisions. Such path dependencies may be positive or negative.

Grönroos, J., Seppälä, J., Silvenius, F. & Mäkinen, T. 2006: Life cycle assessment of Finnish cultivated rainbow trout. Boreal Env. Res. 11: 401–414.

Rainbow trout is economically the most important cultivated fish in Finland. In this study, new knowledge on the energy consumption, emissions and environmental impacts caused by the production of rainbow trout in Finland was generated. Methodologically the work was based on life cycle assessment (LCA) beginning from the extraction of raw materials and ending with the delivery of gutted fish to the retailers or for further processing. The environmental performances of production methods with different feeds, feed coefficients and technical emission reduction measures were assessed. The environmental impact assessment revealed that atmospheric emissions — originating mainly from the feed raw material production, feed manufacturing and transportation — make only a minor contribution to the total environmental impacts caused by the production of rainbow trout in Finland. Phosphorus and nitrogen emissions from fish farms to waters are the most significant emissions from the point of view of the total environmental impacts. By using new, environmentally friendly feeds with increased feed efficiency it is possible to decrease the nitrogen and phosphorus loads significantly. Technical measures to decrease nutrient emissions to the waters reduce the phosphorus load but have only a minor effect on nitrogen. Energy consumption and the use of renewable energy sources proved to be one of the key indicators for developing more sustainable aquacultural practices in Finland, although the major share of energy consumption associated with the production of rainbow trout takes place outside Finland.