Mainland Finland Research Articles

Chalara fraxinea . [Distribution map

Abstract A new distribution map is provided for Chalara fraxinea T. Kowalski, Pezizomycetes: Heliotales. Hosts: European ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ). Information is given on the geographical distribution in Europe (Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Aland Islands, Mainland Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland).

The impact of smoking on health-related and overall quality of life: A general population survey in Finland

The objective of the study was to examine the association between overall and health-related quality of life and smoking in men and women of discrete smoking groups in Finland. The design was a Health 2000 Survey, conducted in Finland 2000--2001. The setting and participants were a two-stage, stratified, nationally representative cluster sample that comprised 8,028 persons aged 30 or over living in mainland Finland. Health-related quality of life was measured by the 15D questionnaire; and overall quality of life was assessed by a single question measure capturing the respondent's own perception and estimation of his/her quality of life. The present study showed that daily smokers had both lower health-related and overall quality of life than never-smokers among the Finnish adult population. Health-related quality of life profiles showed that daily smokers did worse than never-smokers in a considerable number of the health dimensions. The effects of smoking were observed not only through health: the daily smokers registered significantly lower ratings of overall quality of life compared with never-smokers, too. Both the health-related and overall quality of life of ex-smokers approached those of never-smokers. The results of the present study suggest that improved health is not the only benefit of smoking cessation; better quality of life and more fulfilling everyday living can also be expected. As the major health consequences of smoking usually manifest themselves only after several years of smoking, both health-related and overall quality of life measurements could be used as an intervention tool for motivating people to quit.

Eradication of enzootic bovine leukosis from Finland

Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) was recognized among Finnish cattle in 1966. Administrative decisions specifying and refining official control measures were given in 1966, 1976, 1980, and 1993. The measures’ key principle always has been ‘test and slaughter’. The EBL/bovine leukosis virus (BLV) infection situation was monitored at meat inspection, and hematologically between 1970 and 1977 and serologically between 1978 and 1989. Annual surveys including all dairy herds and samples from beef animals were conducted in 1990–2001. Bulk-tank milk samples represented the dairy herds in the surveys; the beef animals were sampled individually at slaughter. The maximum positive herd-level percentage in the surveys was 0.03%. EBL/BLV infection was evenly dispersed in the southern part of the country and nonexistent in the northern part. We conclude that herd-level prevalence of EBL/BLV infection never exceeded 5%. It nevertheless took 30 years to eradicate the disease and the infection. EBL was eradicated from mainland Finland in 1996 and from the island district of Ahvenanmaa in 1999. Annual monitoring of the EBL situation continues.

Year‐to‐year variation in carabid beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) assemblages on the Åland Islands, south‐west Finland

Aims(1) To investigate changes in structure of carabid assemblages between sites on the main island of Åland and five small nearby islands between 1982 and 1999. (2) To determine whether island differences observed in one year is mirrored in another one. (3) To examine changes in abundance levels of individual carabid species on these islands since 1982. (4) To compare the proportion of flightless species on the main island of Åland with those on the small islands.LocationIslands in the Baltic Sea, Finland; the main island of Åland (90,000 ha) and five small, nearby islands (8–29 ha).MethodsCarabid beetles were collected, using pitfall traps, during 4 years (1982, 1987, 1988 and 1999). Sampling took place in moist, spruce‐dominated, lush forest patches.ResultsOverall, 12,127 individuals representing forty‐six carabid species were collected; forty‐one species (8580 individuals) on the main island of Åland, and thirty‐one species (3547 individuals) on the small islands. Carabid assemblage structure, measured using ordination techniques, was consistently and significantly different between the main island and the small island sites. Carabid assemblage structure and abundances of individual species did change significantly between years, possibly because of a combination of climatological and habitat changes in the Åland archipelago. The six most abundant species collected on the small islands, and the three most abundant species overall, were all short‐winged. Furthermore, the small islands had a higher proportion and number of short‐winged species compared with the main island of Åland.Main conclusionsCarabid assemblage structure was significantly different between the main island and the small islands in all years sampled, indicating that single‐year studies are sufficient to demonstrate differences in carabid assemblages on Baltic islands. Small islands host a non‐random proportion of species pools available on the main island of Åland and mainland Finland. It appears that dispersal to islands in the Baltic Sea is easy for carabid beetles of all wing forms, but that short‐winged species are more successful colonizers.

Seasonal cycle of C 2C 5 hydrocarbons over the Baltic Sea and Northern Finland

Measurements of C 2C 5 hydrocarbons in ambient air from a marine and a mountain site in Scandinavia are presented in relation to observed ozone concentrations. The marine site (the island of Utö) is located in the Baltic Sea about 80 km southwest of mainland Finland, while the other site (Pallas) is 900 km to the north on a fell top in a sub-arctic environment north of the Arctic Circle. The concentrations at both stations show a seasonal cycle with a winter maximum which is typical of arctic and mid-latitude areas. In spring, the concentrations decreased in steps when the air mass changed to a cleaner oceanic or arctic types after a period with the prevailing continental air mass. The decrease of concentrations in spring was further studied in terms of the concentration ratio between Utö and Pallas. For low and moderately reactive alkan es the ratio decreased steadily from March to August, indicating a long period of photochemical transformation from a winter concentration distribution to a summer one. However, for alkenes the concentrations at the northern site, compared to the more southerly one, were lower in spring and increased in summer. This suggests an emissions source that is active in summer in the vicinity of the northern terrestrial site. Isoprene and 1-butene are only observed at the pristine northern site during the growing season. The :local photochemical reactivity of the hydrocarbon mixture was estimated by calculating Propylene-Equivalent concentrations. In summer, isoprene, 1-butene, ethene, and propene comprise 50 and 80% of the total reactive mass at Utö and Pallas, respectively. The spring decrease of total reactive mass is much less compared to the total mass of light hydrocarbons. In fact, the total reactivity-scaled mass at the site north of the Arctic circle was roughly the same in April and in July, the minimum being observed in May before the beginning of the growing season. Logarithmic alkane ratios were used to estimate photochemical age, assuming OH-initiated photochemistry as the only sink process for these species. Based on the ethane and propane concentrations, the calculations gave a seasonal cycle of photochemical activity with a concomitant increase with background ozone concentrations in spring. When the calculations were made using propane and n-butane concentrations, which have a shorter lifetime, the resulting scale of photochemical histories was more regional. Ozone concentrations were higher during continental air masses compared to background ozone concentrations when the photochemical histories showed a more aged hydrocarbon composition.

Demogrpahic patterns in the Åland Islands, Finland, 1750-1900

The authors provide information concerning general demographic patterns in the Aland Islands Finland from the mid-eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. The primary sources used are parish records. Estimates of life expectancy at birth and at age five gross reproduction rates and total fertility rates are calculated for five-year intervals for the period 1751-1900 and are compared with similar data for mainland Finland and Sweden. Annual variations in crude birth marriage and death rates are examined and years of crisis or extreme behavior are identified.