Oulanka Research Station is situated in the Oulanka river valley within the Oulanka National Park (66°22'N, 29°19'E). The site of the Station is c. 25 km south of the Artic Circle, about 280 km NE of Oulu and 60 km N of Kuusamo and some 55 km from Kuusamo airport.
Climate
Mean temperature in January: -15 º C Mean temperature in July: 15º C Mean annual precipitation: ~ 550 mm
Human Dimension
Nature tourism, reindeer husbandry, research and education dominate within the national park. Forestry outside the park.
Species Performance
Records and experiments on plant development and plan animal interaction exist
General Research
Early research interests included basic research on local flora and fauna, conservation biology and various types of surveys. In the 1990s, the environmental monitoring programmes of the station were complemented by EMEP, the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme. Other important activities include phenological monitoring and analyses of water quality in streams, rivers and ponds.
Ongoing research projects include:
Dynamics of ground vegetation in boreal forests
Disturbances and recovery of ericacean dwarf shrubs
River morphology
Population and metapopulation dynamics of plants
Sustainable nature tourism
Forest renewal in high areas
Trout populations in the Oulankajoki river system
Biogeography of aquatic organisms in Koillismaa
Population structure of the capercallie
Ecosystems of the Oulanka-Paanajärvi region
Structure of ecosystems in northern streams and interactions between them
Reindeer husbandry in multipurpose forest management
History and Facilities
In 1966 founded Oulanka Research Station is a regional unit of the University of Oulu in Kuusamo. It operate and offer support to the visitors throughout the year. Accommodation can be provided for about 85 persons, while the educational facilities include a 60-seat lecture hall, a seminar room with teaching collections and a teaching and research laboratory. In addition to basic equipment, the laboratory features facilities for DNA extraction, an atomic absorption spectrophotometer, a spectrophotometer, liquid scintillation counter, microcentrifuge and sampling equipment for terrestrial and aquatic fieldwork. State-of-the-art computer and video conference facilities, a dataprojector and a reference library are also available as well as a van, snow mobile, several boats, laundry room, sauna and a Lapp hut. For background material, researchers have access to long-term monitoring data of surveys carried out at the station.
Transportation
Oulanka Research Station is reached by car, by bus or by plane to Kuusamo (55 km from the station).
SCANNET - A
Circumarctic Network of Terrestrial Field Bases | 2010
