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Ecosystems' potential to provide services, e.g. to sequester carbon, is largely driven by the phonological cycle of vegetation. Timing of phenological events is required for understanding and predicting the influence of climate change on ecosystems and to support analyses of ecosystem functioning. Analyses of conventional camera time series mounted near vegetation has been suggested as a means of monitoring phenological events and supporting wider monitoring of phenological cycle of biomes that is frequently done with satellite earth observation (EO). Especially in the boreal biome, sparsely scattered deciduous trees amongst conifer-dominant forests pose a problem for EO techniques as species phenological signal mix, and render EO data difficult to interpret. Therefore, deriving phonological information from on the ground measurements would provide valuable reference data for earth observed phonology products in a larger scale. Keeping this in mind, we established a network of digital cameras for automated monitoring of phenological activity of vegetation in the boreal ecosystems of Finland. Cameras were mounted at 14 sites, each site having 1-3 cameras. In this study, we used data from 12 sites to investigate how well networked cameras can detect the phenological development of birches (Betula spp.) along a latitudinal gradient. Birches typically appear in small quantities within the dominant species. We tested whether the small, scattered birch image elements allow a reliable extraction of colour indices and the temporal changes therein. We compared automatically derived phenological dates from these birch image elements both to visually determined dates from the same image time series and to independent observations recorded in the phenological monitoring network covering the same region, Automatically extracted season start dates, which were based on the change of green colour fraction in spring, corresponded well with the visually interpreted start of the season, and also to the budburst dates observed in the field. Red colour fraction turned out to be superior to the green colour-based indices in predicting leaf yellowing and fall. The latitudinal gradients derived using automated phenological date extraction corresponded well with the gradients estimated from the phenological field observations. We conclude that small and scattered birch image elements allow reliable extraction of key phonological dates for the season start and end of deciduous species studied here, thus providing important species-specific data for model validation and for explaining the temporal variation in EO phenology products.

The EU is aiming to increase the utilisation of renewable energy to 20% of the total energy consumption by 2020. For Finland, the target is 38%. Renewable energy sources are assumed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared to fossil fuels. Yet not all environmental impacts of renewable energy use are thoroughly assessed, and there are no comprehensive assessments on the impacts and risks of renewable energy production that would take into account all possible environmental impacts. We applied qualitative expert knowledge to attain information on the impacts and risks of renewable energy in Finland. According to the expert panel, the overall impacts of renewable energy by 2020 are not significant. However, we found some hot spot areas, i.e. areas of the most concern related to particulate matter formation during regional wood combustion, climate impacts of forest energy, biodiversity impacts connected to several renewable energy sources, and eutrophication caused by utilisation of agricultural energy sources. There are currently no reliable and generally accepted methods to estimate the biodiversity impacts of renewable energy production, thus, this topic would require further studies. The climate change impacts of forest based energy sources are relatively well studied, but the results of these studies are highly variable because of different assumptions on spatial and time scale. A qualitative impact assessment framework, as described in this paper, can be used to assess the environmental impacts of renewable energy production and is a potential option to attain information on the renewable energy impacts as long as reliable and comparable quantitative datasets are not available. These kinds of qualitative assessments can also be applied to detect the areas that need further studies.

The promise that ecosystem service assessments will contribute to better decision-making is not yet proven. We analyse how knowledge on ecosystem services is actually used to inform land and water management in 22 case studies covering different social-ecological systems in European and Latin American countries. None of the case studies reported instrumental use of knowledge in a sense that ecosystem service knowledge would have served as an impartial arbiter between policy options. Yet, in most cases, there was some evidence of conceptual learning as a result of close interaction between researchers, practitioners and stakeholders. We observed several factors that constrained knowledge uptake, including competing interests and political agendas, scientific disputes, professional norms and competencies, and lack of vertical and horizontal integration. Ecosystem knowledge played a small role particularly in those planning and policy-making situations where it challenged established interests and the current distribution of benefits from ecosystems. The factors that facilitated knowledge use included application of transparent participatory methods, social capital, policy champions and clear synergies between ecosystem services and human well-being. The results are aligned with previous studies which have emphasized the importance of building local capacity, ownership and trust for the long-term success of ecosystem service research. EEA Santa Cruz Fil: Saarikoski, Heli. Finnish Environment Institute; Finlandia Fil: Primmer, Eeva. Finnish Environment Institute; Finlandia Fil: Saarela, Sanna-Riikka. Finnish Environment Institute; Finlandia Fil: Antunes, Paula. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia. Centre for Environmental and Sustainability Research; Portugal Fil: Baró, Francesc. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institute of Environmental Science and Technology; España. Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute; España Fil: Berry, Pam. University of Oxford. Environmental Change Institute; Gran Bretaña Fil: Garcia Blanko, Gemma. Fundación Tecnalia Research & Innovation. Energy and Environment Division. Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia; España Fil: Gómez-Baggethun, Erik. Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Department of International Environment and Development Studies; Noruega. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA); Noruega Fil: Carvalho, Lawrence. Center for Ecology and Hydrology; Gran Bretaña Fil: Dick, Jan. Center for Ecology and Hydrology; Gran Bretaña Fil: Dunford, Robert. University of Oxford. Environmental Change Institute; Gran Bretaña. Lancaster Environment Centre. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; Gran Bretaña Fil: Hanzu, Mihail. Romanian National Institute for Research and Development in Silviculture; Rumania Fil: Harrison, Paula A. Lancaster Environment Centre. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; Gran Bretaña Fil: Izakovicova, Zita. Slovak Academy of Science. Institute of Landscape Ecology; Eslovaquia Fil: Kertész, Miklós. Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Centre for Ecological Research. Institute of Ecology and Botany; Hungría Fil: Kopperoinen, Leena. Finnish Environment Institute; Finlandia Fil: Köhler, Berit. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA); Noruega Fil: Langemeyer, Johannes. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institute of Environmental Science and Technology; España. Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute. Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability; España Fil: Lapola, David. Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Center for Meteorological and Climatic Studies Applied to Agriculture (CEPAGRI); Brasil Fil: Liquete, Camino. Joint Research Centre (JRC). European Commission; Italia Fil: Luque, Sandra. National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture; Francia Fil: Mederly, Peter. Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Eslovaquia Fil: Niemelä, Jari. University of Helsinki. Department of Environmental Sciences; Finlandia Fil: Palomo, Ignacio. University of the Basque Country. Basque Centre for Climate Change; España. Fil: Martínez Pastur, Guillermo José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Cientificas; Argentina Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica; Argentina Fil: Preda, Elena. University of Bucharest. Research Center in Systems Ecology and Sustainability; Rumania Fil: Priess, Joerg A. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research; Alemania Fil: Santos, Rui Ferreira Dos. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia. Centre for Environmental and Sustainability Research; Portugal Fil: Schleyer, Christian. Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt. Institute of Social Ecology; Austria. University of Kassel. Section of International Agricultural Policy and Environmental Governance; Alemania Fil: Turkelboom, Francis. Research Institute for Nature and Forest; Bélgica Fil: Vadineanu, Angheluta. University of Bucharest. Research Center in Systems Ecology and Sustainability; Rumania Fil: Verheyden, Wim. Research Institute for Nature and Forest; Bélgica Fil: Vikström, Suvi. Finnish Environment Institute; Finlandia Fil: Young, Juliette. Center for Ecology and Hydrology; Gran Bretaña Fil: Aszalós, Réka. Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA Centre for Ecological Research; Hungría

There are many different types of manufacturing distributions, ranging from subsistence do-it-yourself (DIY) to centralized industrial production. In this paper, a taxonomy is introduced of alternative manufacturing distributions for sustainable production. First, different types of manufacturing distributions are explained. Second, the importance of location-specific considerations is illustrated through a case study of Turkish car production. Third, comparative sustainability analysis for different manufacturing distributions is provided. This includes economic, ecological, social and institutional sustainability. Fourth, factors affecting the sustainability of all manufacturing distributions are explained. Fifth, the taxonomy is introduced, together with an example of comparative sustainability analysis for two alternative types of manufacturing distributions. Overall, it is argued that different manufacturing distributions have different strengths and weaknesses depending on multiple factors. Moreover, in some situations, centralized manufacturing can have higher potential for sustainable production than other distributions of manufacturing. Hence, the taxonomy is introduced to facilitate increased specificity and balance in debate concerning alternative manufacturing distributions for sustainable production.

Eutrophication enhances the production of autochthonous dissolved organic matter (DOM), which is a major driving factor behind the impairment of many aquatic ecosystems. In a mesocosm study, we investigated the effects of the abundance and composition of DOM on the potential bioavailability of cadmium (Cd) caused by eutrophication, using three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy integrated with tangential flow ultrafiltration technology. The complexing capacity of DOM-Cd and the sorption distribution coefficient between DOM and the bulk solution was calculated based on a 1 : 1 complexation model. The fluorescent DOM was decomposed into three components (one protein-like and two humic-like substances) by parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). The fluorescence intensity of the protein-like substance was significantly correlated with the concentration of chlorophyll a (Chl-a), indicating that the protein-like substance mainly originated from the release or decomposition of algal cells. The complexing capacity of DOM-Cd decreased from 997 μmol Cd per gram dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to 884 μmol Cd per gram DOC with an increase in the proportion of autochthonous protein-like substances. However, the total Cd-complexing capacity of DOM was still high during the algal bloom due to the increase of DOM abundance. The proportion of freely dissolved concentration of Cd to total Cd concentration decreased from 50% to 20%, suggesting that the potential bioavailability of Cd was reduced.

The circular economy (CE) can be a driver for sustainability and CE can be promoted and supported by the creation of new and innovative business models, which embed CE principles into their value propositions throughout the value chains. This study focuses on the environmental value propositions of the CE business models. The term environmental value proposition refers here to an absolute value being a promise of environmental improvement, which a company provides to the environment by its impacts throughout the whole value chain. The aim of this study is to outline a framework for evaluating the environmental value propositions of CE business models. The framework consists of an environmental value propositions table (EVPT) and a step-by-step approach towards an evaluation process. The framework was tested in three CE business model cases. The outlined framework enables a better understanding of circular economy principles, combining them with the environmental value proposition. With the framework, companies can plan and design new CE business models or they can verify intended environmental benefits and analyse their contribution to sustainability. The biggest challenges, when applying the framework, were related to the estimation of environmental benefits gained from the environmental value propositions at the system level. In the future, intensive scientific work should concentrate on developing environmental assessment methods specifically for companies developing new CE business models. Post-print / final draft

Peatlands that are close to a natural state are rich in biodiversity and are significant carbon storages. Simultaneously, peat resources are of interest to industry, which leads to competing interests and tensions regarding the use and management of peatlands. In this case study, we studied knowledge–management interactions through the development of participation and the resulting representation of nature (how nature was described), as well as the proposed and implemented conservation policy instruments. We focused on the years 2009–2015, when peatland management was intensively debated in Finland. We did an interpretative policy analysis using policy documents (Peatland Strategy; Government Resolution; Proposal for Conservation Programme) and environmental legislation as central data. Our results show how the representation of nature reflected the purpose of the documents and consensus of participants' values. The representation of nature changed from skewed use of ecosystem services to detailed ecological knowledge. However, simultaneously, political power changed and the planned supplementation programme for peatland conservation was not implemented. The Environment Protection Act was reformulated so that it prohibited the use of the most valuable peatlands. Landowners did not have the chance to fully participate in the policy process. Overall, the conservation policy instruments changed to emphasize voluntariness but without an adequate budget to ensure sufficient conservation.

Constructed wetlands provide cost-efficient nutrient removal, with minimal input of human labor and energy, and their number is globally increasing. However, in northern latitudes, wetlands are rarely utilized, because their nutrient removal efficiency has been questioned due to the cold climate. Here, we studied nutrient retention and nitrogen removal in a boreal constructed wetland (4-ha) receiving treated nitrogen-rich wastewater. On a yearly basis, most of the inorganic nutrients were retained by the wetland. The highest retention efficiency was found during the ice-free period, being 79% for ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+-N), 71% for nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N), and 88% for phosphate-phosphorus (PO43--P). Wetland also acted as a buffer zone during the disturbed nitrification process of the wastewater treatment plant. Denitrification varied between 106 and 252 mg N m-2 d-1 during the ice-free period. During the ice-cover period, total gaseous nitrogen removal was 147 mg N m-2 d-1, from which 66% was removed as N2, 28.5% as N2O through denitrification, and 5.5% as N2 through anammox. Nearly 2600 kg N y-1 was estimated to be removed through microbial gaseous N-production which equaled 72% of NO3--N and 60% of TN yearly retention in the wetland. The wetland retained nutrients even in winter, when good oxygen conditions prevailed under ice. The results suggest that constructed wetlands are an efficient option for wastewater nitrogen removal and nutrient retention also in cold climates. acceptedVersion

Delineation of flood hazard and risk on maps is useful as a means of public education and as a basis for measures aimed at lessening future flood damages. In many northern countries, rivers...

Heat fluxes at the lake surface play an integral part in determining the energy budget and thermal structure in lakes, including regulating how lakes respond to climate change. We explore patterns in turbulent heat fluxes, which vary across temporal and spatial scales, using in situ high-frequency monitoring data from 45 glob- ally distributed lakes. Our analysis demonstrates that some of the lakes studied follow a marked seasonal cycle in their turbulent surface fluxes and that turbulent heat loss is highest in larger lakes and those situated at low latitude. The Bowen ratio, which is the ratio of mean sensible to mean latent heat fluxes, is smaller at low lati- tudes and, in turn, the relative contribution of evaporative to total turbulent heat loss increases toward the tro- pics. Latent heat transfer ranged from ~ 60% to > 90% of total turbulent heat loss in the examined lakes. The Bowen ratio ranged from 0.04 to 0.69 and correlated significantly with latitude. The relative contributions to total turbulent heat loss therefore differ among lakes, and these contributions are influenced greatly by lake location. Our findings have implications for understanding the role of lakes in the climate system, effects on the lake water balance, and temperature-dependent processes in lakes. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers who provided a con- structive review of this manuscript. R.I.W. was funded by EU Surface Tem- perature for All Corners of Earth, which received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme for Research and Innovation, under Grant Agreement 640171. We thank individuals who contributed to the collection of data included in this analysis: Jon Cole (Peter Lake), Ken Hinkel and Brittany Potter (Emaiksoun Lake), Peter Staehr (Hampen Soe and Grib Soe), and Hilary Swain (Lake Annie). This work benefited from participation in the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) and the Networking Lake Observatories in Europe (NETLAKE). J.A.R. acknowledges funding from the Ontario Ministry of the Environ- ment and Climate Change and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (grant CRN3038). J.D.L. was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Arctic Observing Network (AON; grant number 1107792). Data collection for Lake Võrtsjärv was supported by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, grant IUT21-2. The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, United Kingdom, funded data collec- tion from the Cumbrian lakes. We thank Kevin Rose who provided a help- ful review of an early version of this work. Researchers from various institutions provided data used this study. Please contact R. Iestyn Wool- way (riwoolway@gmail.com) for more information regarding requests for data from the relevant individuals. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers who provided a con- structive review of this manuscript. R.I.W. was funded by EU Surface Tem- perature for All Corners of Earth, which received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme for Research and Innovation, under Grant Agreement 640171. We thank individuals who contributed to the collection of data included in this analysis: Jon Cole (Peter Lake), Ken Hinkel and Brittany Potter (Emaiksoun Lake), Peter Staehr (Hampen Soe and Grib Soe), and Hilary Swain (Lake Annie). This work benefited from participation in the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) and the Networking Lake Observatories in Europe (NETLAKE). J.A.R. acknowledges funding from the Ontario Ministry of the Environ- ment and Climate Change and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (grant CRN3038). J.D.L. was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Arctic Observing Network (AON; grant number 1107792). Data collection for Lake Võrtsjärv was supported by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, grant IUT21-2. The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, United Kingdom, funded data collec- tion from the Cumbrian lakes. We thank Kevin Rose who provided a help- ful review of an early version of this work. Researchers from various institutions provided data used this study. Please contact R. Iestyn Wool- way (riwoolway@gmail.com) for more information regarding requests for data from the relevant individuals.

Botanical air filtration is a promising technology for reducing indoor air contaminants, but the underlying mechanisms need better understanding. Here, we made a set of chamber fumigation experiments of up to 16 weeks of duration, to study the filtration efficiencies for seven volatile organic compounds (VOCs; decane, toluene, 2-ethylhexanol, α-pinene, octane, benzene, and xylene) and to monitor microbial dynamics in simulated green wall systems. Biofiltration functioned on sub-ppm VOC levels without concentration-dependence. Airflow through the growth medium was needed for efficient removal of chemically diverse VOCs, and the use of optimized commercial growth medium further improved the efficiency compared with soil and Leca granules. Experimental green wall simulations using these components were immediately effective, indicating that initial VOC removal was largely abiotic. Golden pothos plants had a small additional positive impact on VOC filtration and bacterial diversity in the green wall system. Proteobacteria dominated the microbiota of rhizosphere and irrigation water. Airborne VOCs shaped the microbial communities, enriching potential VOC-utilizing bacteria (especially Nevskiaceae and Patulibacteraceae) in the irrigation water, where much of the VOC degradation capacity of the biofiltration systems resided. These results clearly show the benefits of active air circulation and optimized growth media in modern green wall systems.

In this perspective article, we critically explore ‘disruption’ in relation to sustainability transitions in the energy sector. Recognising significant ambiguity associated with the term, we seek to answer the question: What use has ‘disruption’ for understanding and promoting change towards low carbon energy futures? First, we outline that different understandings and dimensions of ‘system disruption’ exist with different linkages to institutional and policy change. This variety points out a need to research in more detail the particular effects of differing low-carbon innovations in terms of their disruptive consequences for whole socio-technical systems. Thus, disruption can be utilised as a useful conceptual tool for interrogating in more detail the ways in which energy systems are changing in particular contexts. Second, we reflect on the relationship between ‘green industrial policy’ and disruption. In some contexts ‘energy disruption’ has been facilitated by green industrial policy, and it would seem that the profound changes said to be on the horizon in terms of disruption are also a motivator of green industrial policy. New industrial policy can be an important way in which the negative consequences of disruptive change, such as job losses, can be managed and facilitated.

One of the founding texts within the history of Nordic conservation is ‘Forslag till inrattandet af Riksparker i de nordiska landerna’ (A Proposal for Establishing Nation’s Parks in the Nordic Coun...

Sequestering carbon in forests and wood products is an inexpensive way to reduce the atmospheric carbon concentration. However, its full potential is not utilized in present climate policies. Optimizing sequestration, while continuing to harvest wood for materials and energy, could reduce the economic burden of mitigation efforts. Optimal sequestration can be incentivized by subsidizing carbon storage according to its social value. We analyze the dynamic market-level impacts of implementing a forest carbon policy by using the Finnish Forest and Energy Policy model (FinFEP). We find that sizeable and immediate increases in carbon sinks can be obtained, even with low carbon prices. High carbon payments strongly increase the carbon sink in the short run, but this impact diminishes over time. Low payments have a milder but longer-lasting impact. Forest owners’ valuations of forest amenities also affect the magnitude and dynamics of harvest and carbon sequestration results. Thus, a realistic description of forest owner behavior is needed to assess the impacts of forest carbon policies. Moreover, we show that a market-level model is necessary for assessing the regional carbon sequestration impacts and costs. Relying on stand-level models with fixed timber prices may yield overly optimistic results.

Forests play a crucial role in the transition towards a bioeconomy by providing biomass to substitute for fossil-based materials and energy. However, a policy-policy conflict exists between the desire to increase the utilization of bio based renewable resources and the desire to protect and conserve biodiversity. Increasing forest harvest levels to meet the needs of the bioeconomy may conflict with biodiversity protection and ecosystem services provided by forests. Through an optimization framework, we examined trade-offs between increasing the extraction of timber resources, and the impacts on biodiversity and non-wood ecosystem services, and investigated possibilities to reconcile trade-off with changes in forest management in 17 landscapes in boreal forests. A diverse range of alternative forest management regimes were used. The alternatives varied from set aside to continuous cover forestry and a range of management options to reflect potential applications of the current management recommendations. These included adjustments to the number of thinning, the timing of final felling and the method of regeneration. Increasing forest harvest level to the maximum economically sustainable harvest had a negative effect on the habitat suitability index, bilberry yield, deadwood diversity and carbon storage. It resulted in a loss in variation among landscapes in their conservation capacity and the ability to provide ecosystem services. Multi-objective optimization results showed that combining different forest management regimes alleviated the negative effects of increasing harvest levels to biodiversity and non-wood ecosystem services. The results indicate that careful landscape level forest management planning is crucial to minimize the ecological costs of increasing harvest levels.

Biomass as a renewable energy source is an alternative to fossil fuels. Due to its lower energy density compared to fossil fuels, different ways of converting biomass into an energy-dense fuel are sought after. Fast pyrolysis of biomass into pyrolysis oil represents such method, allowing wider substitution of fossil fuels. Pyrolysis is an energy-intensive process but its efficiency can be improved by integration of pyrolysis reactor into a combined heat and power plant. In this study environmental analyses are conducted on the production of 50 000 tons of pyrolysis oil from wood to substitute for heavy fuel oil. The pyrolysis oil is produced either in a stand-alone reactor or as an integrated part of a combined heat and power plant. The combined heat and power plant is wood and peat fueled, producing of 820 GWh of energy. The cradle-to-grave emissions of CO2-eq, NOx, SO2, and PM are calculated by using two methods: 1) life cycle assessment and 2) the Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment. Reductions in environmental loads of over 75% in (fossil) CO2-eq and over 90% in NOx, SO2, and PM can be achieved when heavy fuel oil is replaced by pyrolysis oil. The pyrolysis is 20% more efficient if integrated with CHP production. The potential reductions vary several percent between the applied methods because of different system boundaries. Nevertheless, integrating the pyrolysis reactor into a combined heat and power plant appears as the best option irrespective of the method used. Extending the system boundaries with the life cycle inventories results in significant increases of emissions in many processes; however, combustion in plants has a dominant role in overall emissions but is not subject to the boundary extensions, and thus, the totals of emissions between the methods are nearly the same.

Concentrations of pharmaceuticals, consisting of four anti-inflammatory and one antiepileptic drug, were studied in the aqueous and solid phase of municipal sewage sludge, collected from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in central Finland. The samples included untreated municipal sludge from the biological wastewater treatment, digested sludge and sludge before and after composting. First, samples were taken as grab samples to study the bioavailable part in aqueous phase but also the part in solid fraction. Later, the long-term concentrations were studied by passive sampling with styrene divinylbenzene-reverse phase sulfonated (SDB-RPS) disks. In the untreated solid sludge, the concentrations of carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen were 0.5 ng g−1, 26 ng g−1, 29 ng g−1, 250 ng g−1, and 13 ng g−1, while in liquid phase they were 5.6 ng L−1, 200 ng L−1, 210 ng L−1, 35 ng L−1, and 55 ng L−1, respectively. Concentrations decreased with the treatment steps but substantial amounts still occured even after the final stage. The results show that current sludge treatment cannot fully remove pharmaceuticals, leaving varying concentrations after each stage. Additionally, the results suggest that SDB-RPS disks are suitable for sampling and quantification of the bioavailable fraction of pharmaceuticals in municipal sludge.

Academics have frequently used and endorsed the Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) approach for national park management. However, it is only minimally used by public agencies such as national park organisations. This study explores the potential that managers of Finnish national parks see in the PPGIS approach in the context of planning for the visitor use of parks. Ten semi-structured interviews with managers of Parks and Wildlife Finland were conducted. The managers perceived that PPGIS could help in optimising site management, and preferred PPGIS studies that are practical and clearly connected to planning site management actions. They envisioned a mobile phone application that would allow mapping visitor experiences on the spot. Overall, the managers were open to adopting place-based planning practices. The study increases the understanding of public agencies’ views towards PPGIS. It also produces practical information for conducting PPGIS case studies as well as for integrating PPGIS tools into planning processes.