During two intensive days, the participants of the BIOWATER PhD course at the University of Oulu, Finland, had no less than 12 lectures on the topic of Catchment hydrology, biogeochemistry and processes. The course was fully booked, and although some had to cancel due to the flu season, 18 students followed our two-day course.

Lectures and topics

Lecture topics on the first day ranged from catchment hydrology, soil structure and preferential flow, through phosphorus species in soils and sediments, carbon fluxes in water courses, and ecological quality elements in river basin management plans. Monitoring of water quality and ecology, including the uncertainties inherent in this, was also on the menu. On the second day, we had time for four lectures, covering carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles in terrestrial and aquatic biogeochemistry; sediment and nutrient cycling in catchments and how we best can mitigate and manage; the question on internal phosphorus loadings in streams; and how paleo-limnological studies of sediment cores in lakes can help us understand the history of catchments. The students had several questions to the lecturers, and the lecturers also discussed topics between them, making the learning atmosphere more interesting.

Field trip to Jääli

After all these lectures, the participants benefitted from some fresh air when we travelled to a water restoration site in Jääli, just 30 minutes from the Oulu University. Here, local stakeholders had joined forces to implement environmental measures to reduce loadings into lake Jäälinjärvi. Whereas it has been important also here to reduce inputs of nutrients and sediments to the lake, the loadings of iron are of particular concern. The heavy ditching of the forests and peatlands upstream have caused excessive increase of iron concentrations in the tributaries to the lake. The local stakeholders showed us how they had worked to reduce the loadings and improve the environmental status of the lake.

 

Further work

The students have been given a set of papers and book chapters for reading; and are expected to deliver a written report before Christmas if they are to receive the 2 ECTs of the course.

Dr. Hannu Marttila was main responsible for the course, with the assistance of Dr.Prof. Björn Klöve and Dr. Eva Skarbøvik. The course was jointly organised by the Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu (oulu.fi/water,) the Technology and Natural Sciences Doctoral Programme at the University of Oulu, https://www.oulu.fi/uniogs/dp/tnsdp, and Biowater.

Course participants and lecturers on the second day, at the Botanical gardens near the University of Oulu.