Miikka Eriksson

Retention of wind-felled trees and the risk of consequential tree mortality by the European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus in Finland

Abstract Autumn storms felled about 7 million m3 of forest in southern Finland in 2001. Windthrow area and timber characteristics, as well as numbers of standing spruce trees attacked and killed by Ips typographus, were recorded in 61 Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.]-dominated windthrow areas. Generalized linear models were used to identify significant variables predicting the risk for consequential tree mortality by I. typographus. None of the windthrow areas with fewer than 20 wind-felled spruce trees (WFS) (n=28) and only half of the areas with 20 or more WFS (n=33) harboured trees killed by I. typographus during the years 2003–2005. The quantity and diameter of WFS and the basal area of recently dead standing spruce trees correlated positively with the risk of tree deaths. This study indicates that in Finland, at endemic I. typographus population levels, it is safe to leave fewer than 20 WFS in managed forests. Retention of even larger quantities of trees does not seem to evoke significant numbers of consequential tree deaths by I. typographus in managed forests. However, in stands where the natural mortality of spruce trees is high, the risks of consequential tree deaths after wind disturbance will also be higher.

Seasonal succession of fungi associated with Ips typographus beetles and their phoretic mites in an outbreak region of Finland

The ophiostomatoid fungi (Microascales and Ophiostomatales, Ascomycota) are common associates of Ips typographus, and include tree pathogens and species responsible for blue-stain of timber. Fungal assemblages associated with I. typographus have varied considerably between studies but few investigations have attempted to explain this variation. For this reason, we assessed the overall cultivable fungal diversity associated with I. typographus in a storm-felled spruce forest in south-eastern Finland. Fungi were isolated from the individually collected beetles as well as their phoretic mites in spring, summer and autumn, including different life stages of the beetle (hibernation, dispersal flight and first generation). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene region was used to identify the fungi. A total of 32 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were found and these resided in four fungal phyla/subphyla (24 Ascomycota, 2 Basidiomycota, 5 Mucoromycotina, 1 Mortierellomycotina) in association with adult bark beetles. Ophiostomatoid species were the most commonly detected fungal associates. A generalized linear model analysis showed a clear association between fungal communities and season, indicating seasonal succession among I. typographus-associated fungi. The season of sampling appears to be an important factor that has resulted in inconsistencies between results in previous studies. Many of these fungi were also found on phoretic mites and their presence or absence could have influenced variation in patterns of association.

Designing Pedagogical Models for Tourism Education: Focus on Work-Based Mobile Learning

The main objective of the TravEd Research project is to develop a pedagogical model that exploits mobile technologies and electronic learning environments and that is applied especially to develop decentralised tourism education in tourist destinations with extremely mobile tourism students. Developmental work on the project will be carried out through design-based research DBR. The approach to learning arises from the socio-cultural tradition inherent to the activities, culture, context, and environment in which the learning takes place. The focuses of attention are collaborative teaching-studying-learning TSL processes during which several types of applications that also enable smartphone use are utilised. This paper presents the theoretical underpinnings of the project and the first cycle of the DBR process that will be carried out during an apprenticeship period aiming to develop a pedagogical model for work-based mobile learning in tourism settings/education.