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Urban artificial hard surfaces (e.g., pavements, curbs, walls) are dominant elements of city landscapes. Increasing evidence suggests that cracks, joints and ledges on these substrates can support diverse spontaneous plant communities, yet they remain poorly studied and rarely considered in urban biodiversity and management. In this MSc project, you will survey spontaneous vegetation on different hard-surface types across the Helsinki metropolitan area and, where possible, include natural rocky outcrops as a reference. You will identify vascular plant species, record simple site features (e.g., crack width, depth of accumulated material, shade, and maintenance level), and analyse how community composition, spatial patterns and basic plant traits vary among surface types. The project will provide a comparative baseline of “hard-surface flora” in Helsinki and help clarify the role of these overlooked habitats in urban biodiversity.
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Research from our group and others has shown that domestic dogs are a significant source of nitrogen in urban greenspaces. Not only does this input degrade the aesthetics of city parks, it also results in increased fluxes of nitrogenous gases from the impacted soils and may contribute to pollution of ground and surface waters. Biochar has been shown to significantly reduce the leaching of nutrients from soils and could help to mitigate these impacts.
In a previous
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Beetle diversity differs significantly between habitat types. For instance, for carabid beetles, open habitats have very different community composition compared to forested habitat. The question, however, is whether urbanization affects communities in different habitat types differently. In this MSc thesis, the student will investigate carabid beetle communities in both open and forest habitat in an urbanized and rural environment to ask whether the impact of urbanization is greater in open or forested environments across this gradient. The student will sample, identify and analyze the beetles collected, and write a thesis with the help of their supervisors. This thesis forms part of the MSc course ECGS-901 Field course in Urban Environmental Ecology. Preference will be given to a student attending the field course, but this project is open to any interested student.
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Carbon serves as the currency of the soil, as nearly all soil functions are intricately linked to carbon. Similar to monetary systems, carbon storage involves both readily exchangeable carbon (labile carbon) and carbon allocated for long-term storage (recalcitrant carbon). In this master's thesis opportunity, you will closely monitor the labile carbon budget within one of our urban greenspace studies in Lahti. Specifically, you will investigate how the introduction of grass clippings, rich in labile carbon, impacts the overall carbon budget in urban park soils. As part of this research, you will have the opportunity to participate in fieldwork for soil and gas analyses, laboratory experiments, and, if interested, engage in modeling activities.
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This thesis delves into soil-plant interactions within Lahti city parks. Our study examines the impact of meadows and lawns on soil carbon levels, where we will put a focus on root structures with this thesis. Roots play a crucial role, contributing approximately 70% of soil carbon input. The objective of this master’s thesis is to collect bulk samples of the lawn and meadow soils, preserve root structures using resin, and analyze them through photographic imaging and some advanced modeling techniques. You should possess a keen interest in modeling and some experience with Python and/or R.
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Global salt production is approximately 300 million tons annually, consisting primarily of NaCl, but also other salts such as KCl, MgCl2 and other compounds. Similar to the use of fossil hydrocarbons, much of the salt we consume is taken from deposits which are hundreds of millions of years old. This “fossil salt”, long ago removed from the water cycle, is then reintroduced to the hydrosphere. Traditional treatment methods, such as those used at municipal wastewater treatment plants, do no remove salt from water and so most is discharged to surface waters and eventually to the world’s oceans.
In this MSc project, you will determine the annual global production of all forms of salt and will work with researchers to model how the input of fossil salt could impact the salinity of the world’s seas and oceans.
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The moss animal Pectinatella magnifica (Leidy 1851), originating from North America, has spread by humans all over the northern hemisphere, including (so far) two watercourses in Finland. The most noticeable harm of this invasive species is biofouling of, for instance fishing equipment, aquatic structures like water pipes and jetties. Furthermore, being a large (it can grow up to more than 1 m in diameter) gelatinous animal colony, many perceive it as rather non-aesthetic, hampering recreation. More knowledge is needed on the occurrence of Pectinatella in Finland, the potential and mechanisms of invasions to new watercourses and methods on how to manage the species and how to prevent it from spreading further.
Xi Shu (2025):
Yuan Wang (2023):
Viljami Viippola (2022):
Changyi Lu (2021):
Kukka Kyrö (2021):
Norbertas Noreika (2016):
Jarmo Saarikivi (2016):
Kaisa Hauru (2015):
Leena Hamberg (2009):
Helmi Nevalainen (2025):
Tifany Chairunisa (2025):
Jasmin Paani (2025):
Maribel Salazar Rivera (2024):
Dorottya Hajnal (2024):
Leenise Blair (2024):
Minna Huovinen (2024):
Jessica Nielsen (2024):
Xiwei Li (2023):
Sem de Waard (2023):
Riku Kangasniemi (2023):
Nuria Keeve (2023):
Petra Liljebäck (2023):
Annina Malmsten (2023):
Cameron Bechthold (2022):
Johanna Huttunen (2022):
Riikka Järvinen (2022):
Ilmo Kapanen (2022):
Yanxia Qiu (2022):
Meeri Tahvanainen (2022):
Ida Torvinen (2022):
Maria Hämäläinen (2020):
Allan Delesantro (2020):
Anna Ojala (2020):
Gausul Azam (2020):
Peter Immonen (2020):
Janne Auranen (2020):
Sampsa Malmberg (2019):
Suvi Kolu (2019):
Liisa Ikonen (2019):
Henri Järvisalo (2016):
Steven Collins (2016):
Xuefei Li (2015):
Marju Prass (2015):
Emmi Silvennoinen (2015):
Jessica Latus (2014):
Sveta Silvennoinen (2014): Economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by urban green spaces in terms of stormwater quality management
Tiina Helkavaara (2014): Kaupungistumisen vaikutus maaperään, hajottajaeliöstöön ja lehtikarikkeen hajoamiseen
Chhabi Neupane (2013):
Matti Mäkilä (2012): Kaupungistumisen vaikutukset maakiitäjäislajistoon (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Helsingissä ja Lahdessa
Norbertas Noreika (2011):
Soetken Maene (2005):