Environmental Science is in the main research and education areas of University of Eastern Finland (UEF). There are groups working with plant and soil ecology, environmental technology, and atmospheric chemistry and physics.

The Biogeochemistry Research Group (Head: Professor Pertti Martikainen; Vice-head: Assistant Professor Christina Biasi) is working at the Department of Environmental Science, UEF. The group has studied since 1990 the greenhouse gas dynamics (CO2, N2O, CH4), and the microbial processes responsible for production and consumption of methane, nitrous oxide, nitric oxide and carbon dioxide of peatlands, forests, agricultural soils, and lakes. Gas dynamic studies in arctic have been made in the CARBO-North, CONGAS, TUNDRA and CASUS projects funded by EU.

Currently, we are leading a project funded by the Academy of Finland to identify the mechanisms behind high N2O emissions from Arctic peatlands, which will tightly linked to the studies in PAGE21. The aim of the group is to analyse the effects of environmental changes and land use on gas dynamics of the northern ecosystems, and to understand process underlying the gas emissions. The group has laboratory and field facilities (various chamber techniques, eddy covariance for CO2 and N2O) for studies on methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and nitric oxide (gas chromatographs for methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, IR-analysers for carbon dioxide, NOx analyzers for NO, isotope ratio mass spectrometer to determine e.g the 13C/12C and 15N/14N ratio in solid and gaseous samples). Presently ten PhD students, seven post graduate students and four senior scientists are working in the group. The group is part of the Nordic Centre of Excellence for Studies of Cryosphere and interactions between climate change (DEFROST).

UEF is participating in WP4 in the project PAGE21 with flux measurements (CO2, CH4 and N2O) and process studies primarily at the secondary research site Vorkuta/ Seida in Russia. The greenhouse gas dynamics will be studied from dominant land cover types including the N2O "hotspots" (peat circles). The partner will thus provide data on greenhouse gas emissions, information on factors controlling the emissions and data to validate and calibrate the models available in PAGE21. The research will focus on linking carbon and nitrogen dynamics in arctic soils.

 

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Phone: +358 (0)40 355 3810
Fax: +358 (0)17 16 3750

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Ass. Prof. Christina Biasi Senior scientist (Stable isotope ecology, C and N dynamics in northern ecosystems, global change studies) in the Biogeochemistry Research Group	Prof. Pertti Martikainen Senior scientist (Microbiology of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxides) and leader of the Biogeochemistry Research Group
Dr. Maija Marushchak (née Repo) Postdoctoral researcher (CO2, CH4 and N2O dynamics in Arctic ecosystems) in the in the Biogeochemistry Research Group	Narasinha Shurpali Senior Scientist (Micrometeorology, biosphere-atmosphere interactions, simulation, modelling) in the Biogeochemistry Research Group
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