I4WORLD partner stories
Luke is a research organisation operating under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland that builds sustainable future and well-being from renewable natural resources. Luke is involved in three doctoral research projects:
Human activities, such as industry, transport, agriculture and forestry, recreational activities, and land use in general cause multitude pressures to our environment, including different kind of emissions, wear, fragmentation, and climate change. These pressures contribute to biodiversity loss and disrupt the ecosystems that provide essential services to society. In this research project, we are together looking for new modern methods that may open exciting new possibilities to utilize long-term time-series and material archived in sample banks in research. This long-term ecological monitoring and research has a vital role in developing the management of production ecosystems and in applying well informed protection measures.
Collaboration with the University of Oulu has been fruitful in this I4WORLD doctoral project, which multidisciplinary integrates organic chemistry and biology with applied physical science research. The impact of the project is towards the smarter use of forestry biomass and by-products in accordance with circular economy principles. The project focuses on enhancing the fundamental understanding on bark properties that supports the development of higher-value products, and employs modern methodologies to gain a deeper understanding of the interactions between biomass properties and the processes of extraction and chemistry.
The aquatic moss, floating hook-moss (Warnstorfia fluitans) together with endophytic fungi, can capture metals like copper and nickel from mining-impacted water. The moss can survive well in aquatic conditions of low nutrients, pH and temperature, being especially suitable for cleaning of wastewater in cold subarctic conditions. In this research project, Luke has provided opportunities for field work and research infrastructures for the samples.
Read more about I4WORLD doctoral projects in collaboration with Luke:
- Research project: Genomics meets remote sensing: developing integrated, efficient biodiversity monitoring methods for forest and peatland environments in Finland Doctoral researcher: Shreya Pandey
- Research project: Analysis of Bioactive Compound Extraction Kinetics via Synchrotron Radiation Techniques Doctoral researcher: Rachana Yadav
- Research project: Microbes and the Floating-Hook Moss in Phytoremediation of Mining Water (MoPoW) Doctoral researcher: Abrar Hussain Mian
Read more about Luke in their website: https://www.luke.fi/en