Johan Kotze, Docent & University Lecturer

johan.kotze(at)helsinki.fi

Department of Environmental Sciences
Niemenkatu 73
FIN-15140, University of Helsinki
Lahti, FINLAND

Tel: +358 (0)9 191 20308,
gsm: +358 (0)50 316 0576

and

Department of Environmental Sciences
PO Box 65 (Biocenter 3, Viikinkaari 1)
FI-00014, University of Helsinki
Helsinki, FINLAND
Fax: +358 (0)9 191 57788

Background | Research | Publications

My Ph.D. thesis was on the distribution patterns of ants, carabid beetles and a landhopper (Talitriator africana) across Afromontane forest-grassland edges in South Africa. I moved to Helsinki in 1998 to do a Post Doc under the supervision of Jari Niemelä on all things urban. In particular, I'm working on the responses of carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) to urban-rural gradients (the Globenet project), and, more recently, on the effects of woodland edges and trampling intensity on urban forest vegetation and carabid beetles (ET project). I'm also interested in the distribution patterns of carabid beetles on islands in the Baltic Sea.

From 2000-2006 I was the coordinator of the Spatial Ecology Programme, funded by the Academy of Finland. My duties included the organisation of international meetings, the invitation of scientists to the Dept. of Biological & Environmental Sciences with the aim of collaboration, and to maintain a website. At present I’m involved in a Multidisciplinary Masters Degree Programme in Urban Environmental Issues (a collaborative programme between Helsinki and Lahti). Furthermore, I am a subject editor for Oikos, associate editor of the journal Annales Zoologici Fennici and I’m also running a web-based journal called Journal of Negative Results – check it out to see what it's all about!

Research | My publications

The main aim of my research in Helsinki is to achieve a holistic understanding of the effects of urbanisation on the flora and fauna of cities, and to further the development of theory of urban environments. To achieve this, I'm involved in the following projects:

• the effects of habitat edges and trampling intensity on the vegetation and invertebrates in urban woodlands in Helsinki,
• edge structure and its effect on urban woodland vegetation,
• the effects of downed logs on carabid beetles in urban environments
• the effects of varying detection probability, unequal sample sizes and clumped distributions in count data.

Currently I'm collaborating with Susanna Lehvävirta, Christopher Stevens, Leena Hamberg, Jari Niemelä and Heikki Setälä

One of my students, Leena Hamberg defended her PhD thesis in April 2009, entitled: The effects of habitat edges and trampling intensity on vegetation in urban forests. I also had a Ph.D. student, Angela Taboada, who studied Carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and sustainable forest management: defining an ecological basis for their application as biological indicators, in Spain (she defended her thesis in 2007).

Currently, I’m supervising two PhD students; Kaisa Hauru, who investigates Recreational experiences in urban woodlands and Norbertas Noreika who studies Bog carabid beetles. Then, in collaboration with Michael Lawes, and our M.Sc. student Laurence Wahlberg, I'm running a project on the role of epigaeic invertebrates in the rate of leaf litter decomposition across an altitudinal gradient in subtropical forests in South Africa. Occasionally, I also study the distribution patterns of carabid beetles on islands in the Åland and Tvärminne archipelagoes. Finally, I'm supervising a number of MSc students in the Master's Degree Programme in Multidisciplinary Studies on Urban Environmental Issues.

Currently, I’m involved in two major projects:

• Urban Nature: the Aesthetic, Recreational and Ecological Aspects of Urban Greenspace Biodiversity, funded by HENVI
  >> Read more
• Enhancing Urban Biodiversity: Habitat Planning and Strategic Management of Urban Green Areas, funded by the Academy of Finland
  >> Read more

>> My publications