Aino Hämäläinen

I'm interested in studying the effects forest management has on forest-dwelling species and biodiversity, and in finding ways to maintain the species diversity in managed forest landscapes. My research has focused especially on epiphytic lichens in boreal forests. In my current research project, which started in 2020, I examine the importance of landscape structure and history for forest-dwelling lichens. I will assess whether the amount of habitat and the history of forest management in the surrounding landscape affects the diversity of deadwood-dwelling lichens in woodland key habitats and on retention trees in clear-cut sites.

My previous research at SLU has mainly focused on boreal low-productivity forests, and assessing their biodiversity and conservation value in comparison to productive forests. In addition, I have studied different forest management methods, such as retention forestry and prescribed burning, and their effects on lichen diversity, during my PhD.

2016 Doctor of Science (Agriculture and Forestry), School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu

In my doctoral thesis I examined how retention forestry, prescribed burning and biofuel harvest (harvest of stumps and logging residues for energy production) affected epiphytic lichens occurring on the retained trees, stumps and residues. In addition, I studied the mortality and dynamics of retention trees after harvest, in order to assess which kind of habitats they can provide for forest-dwelling species.

2011 MSc (Agriculture and Forestry), School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland

2010 BSc (Agriculture and Forestry), School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland

Scientific articles

Hämäläinen, A., Ranius, T., Strengbom, J. 2020. Increasing the amount of dead wood by creation of high stumps has limited value for lichen diversity. J. Environ. Manage. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111646

Hämäläinen, A., Strengbom, J., Ranius, T. 2020. Low-productivity boreal forests have high conservation value for lichens. J Appl Ecol. 57: 43– 54. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13509

Ranius, T., Hämäläinen, A., Sjögren, J. et al. 2019. The evolutionary species pool concept does not explain occurrence patterns of dead-wood-dependent organisms: implications for logging residue extraction. Oecologia 191: 241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04473-2

Hämäläinen, A., Strengbom, J., Ranius, T. 2018. Conservation value of low-productive forests measured as the amount and diversity of dead wood and saproxylic beetles. Ecol. Appl. 28(4), 1011–1019. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1705

Lõhmus, P., Lõhmus, A., Hämäläinen, A. 2018. Rapid legacy-dependent succession of lichen assemblages after forest fires: Insights from two boreal regions. J Veg Sci. 2018;00:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12600

Ranius, T., Hämäläinen, A., Egnell, G., Olsson, B., Eklöf, K., Stendahl, J., Rudolphi, J., Sténs, A., Felton, A., 2018. The effects of logging residue extraction for energy on ecosystem services and biodiversity: A synthesis. J. Environ. Manage. 209, 409–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.12.048

Hämäläinen A., Hujo, M., Heikkala, O., Junninen, K., Kouki, J. 2016. Retention tree characteristics have major influence on the post-harvest tree mortality and availability of coarse woody debris in clear-cut areas. For. Ecol. Manage. 369: 66–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.03.037

Hämäläinen, A., Kouki, J., Lõhmus, P. 2015. Potential biodiversity impacts of forest biofuel harvest: lichen assemblages on stumps and slash of Scots pine. Can. J. For. Res. 45: 1239–1247. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2014-0532

Hämäläinen, A., Kouki, J., Lõhmus, P. 2014. The value of retained Scots pines and their dead wood legacies for lichen diversity in clear-cut forests: The effects of retention level and prescribed burning. For. Ecol. Manage. 324: 89–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.04.016

Heikkala, O., Suominen, M., Junninen, K., Hämäläinen, A., Kouki, J. 2014. Effects of retention level and fire on retention tree dynamics in boreal forests. For. Ecol. Manage. 328: 193–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.022

Doctoral thesis

Hämäläinen, A. 2016. Retention forestry and intensified biomass harvest: epiphytic lichen assemblages under opposing ecological effects in pine-dominated boreal forests. Dissertationes Forestales 218, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland. Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/df.218