Päivi Soronen

As my first step in a career as a researcher, I participated in a study related to bioenergy harvesting, focusing on the effects of logging residues on the nitrogen and carbon cycles of forest soil. At that time, I became familiar with microdialysis method, based on the diffusion of soil solutes through a semi-permeable membrane. The method provides information on the supply of nitrogen available for the plant root on a small scale. With microdialysis, we have explored, among other things, the effects of logging residues, nitrogen fertilisation and tree species on nitrogen availability. In addition to the availability of nitrogen, my interest has been the soil carbon stock and the composition of organic matter, as well as influencing them, for example, by the tree species composition. I explore how alder or birch affects nitrogen availability and the soil carbon stock in spruce stands in my dissertation. Currently, I am working on a project that aims to improve the knowledge of forest soil emissions of volatile organic compounds and the factors affecting them (e.g., different forest management practices and environmental conditions) and the relationship of emissions to nitrogen availability.