SCANNET

Contact info

Oulanka Research Station
University of Oulu
Liikasenvaarantie 134
FI-93999 Kuusamo
FINLAND
Director: Pirkko Siikamäki

Phone: +358 8 8515200
Fax: +358 8 863419
Email:
Homepage: cc.oulu.fi/~oba/indexe.html

Location

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).