I am a physical geographer with ecological questions
Current project
Investigating geodiversity-biodiversity relationships under climate change Read more about the project here Affiliation Postdoctoral researcher, University of Oulu, Finland [email protected] Microclimate Ecology and Biogeography, Conference organiser of MEB2024 in 26.-29.8.2024 Helsinki, Finland |
... and I have a soft spot for tiny tundra plants
I investigate all sorts of things, but these are my favourite topics
Plant functional traits
Kemppinen & Niittynen. 2022. Microclimate relationships of intraspecific trait variation in sub-Arctic plants. Oikos.
Kemppinen et al. 2021. Consistent trait-environment relationships across tundra plant communities. Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Plant species distributions
Niittynen ... Kemppinen et al. 2020. Fine-scale tundra vegetation patterns are strongly related to winter thermal conditions. Nature Climate Change.
Kemppinen et al. 2019. Water as a resource, stress and disturbance shaping tundra vegetation. Oikos.
Soil moisture
Kemppinen et al. 2023. Soil moisture variations from boreal forests to tundra. Water Resources Research.
Kemppinen et al. 2021. Dwarf shrubs impact tundra soils: drier, colder, and less organic carbon. Ecosystems.
Microclimate
Kemppinen et al. Accepted. Microclimate, an important part of ecology and biogeography. Global Ecology and Biogeography.
Aalto ... Kemppinen et al. 2022. Microclimate temperature variations from boreal forests to the tundra. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology.
Kemppinen & Niittynen. 2022. Microclimate relationships of intraspecific trait variation in sub-Arctic plants. Oikos.
Kemppinen et al. 2021. Consistent trait-environment relationships across tundra plant communities. Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Plant species distributions
Niittynen ... Kemppinen et al. 2020. Fine-scale tundra vegetation patterns are strongly related to winter thermal conditions. Nature Climate Change.
Kemppinen et al. 2019. Water as a resource, stress and disturbance shaping tundra vegetation. Oikos.
Soil moisture
Kemppinen et al. 2023. Soil moisture variations from boreal forests to tundra. Water Resources Research.
Kemppinen et al. 2021. Dwarf shrubs impact tundra soils: drier, colder, and less organic carbon. Ecosystems.
Microclimate
Kemppinen et al. Accepted. Microclimate, an important part of ecology and biogeography. Global Ecology and Biogeography.
Aalto ... Kemppinen et al. 2022. Microclimate temperature variations from boreal forests to the tundra. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology.
... which I get to teach and share with others
Lecture course on physical geography
BSc level University of Oulu, Finland On this course, I teach phenomena and processes related to the atmosphere. Essay course on nature conservation BSc level University of Oulu, Finland This year, the essay topics are biodiversity, geodiversity and climate change. Field course on plant functional traits MSc, PhD level University of Bergen, Norway This year, field and lab methods on plant traits were taught in the Drakensberg, South Africa. |
News articles
Helsingin Sanomat Lapin Kansa Press releases University of Oulu University of Helsinki Interviews Terra University of Oulu Oulun ylioppilaslehti Blog posts Oikos blog Nature Ecology & Evolution community Photography for magazines Suomen Luonto Suomen Luonto Podcast and essay #muutos |
Most recently, this is what I have been up to:
15.3.2024
I presented a poster at the Nordic Society Oikos conference held in Lund, Sweden. The presentation was entitled "Microclimate, an important part of ecology and biogeography", and was based on the recently accepted article of the same name. Read the preprint here.
12.3.2024
I participated on a shrub workshop held in Lund, Sweden. The workshop was organised by Océane Bartholomée (University of Lund, Sweden) and Sonya Geange and Vigdis Vandvik (University of Bergen, Norway).
15.2.2024
I participated on a writing retreat at the Oulanka Research Station together with our Physical Geography Research Group.
13.2.2024
I published as a co-author two articles in a special issue on geodiversity published by Philosophical Transactions A. In Toivanen et al. 2024, we produced a European-wide geodiversity dataset. In Hjort et al. 2024, we provide a taxonomy of geodiversity. Read more here and here.
29.1.2024
I published as a co-author a research article, Tyystjärvi et al. 2024 The Cryosphere. We investigated winter near-surface temperatures in boreal and tundra ecosystems. Read more here.
19.1.2024
I published as a co-author a research article, Virkkala et al. 2024 Biogeosciences. We investigated carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide fluxes at high-resolution in a tundra ecosystem. Read more here.
18.1.2024
I presented an invited seminar talk at the Environmental Change Research Group, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom. The presentation was entitled "Microclimate, an inseparable part of ecology and biogeography - and how to lead a large author group", and the talk was partly based on the manuscript of the same name. Read more here.
11.1.2024
I presented a poster at the International Biogeographical Society conference held in Prague, Czechia. The presentation was entitled "Microclimate, an inseparable part of ecology and biogeography", and was based on the manuscript of the same name. Read more here.
19.12.2023
I taught on the seventh Plant Functional Trait Course that was held this year at the Drakensberg mountains, South Africa. The course was hosted by Peter le Roux (University of Pretoria, South Africa), and led by Vigdis Vandvik (University of Bergen, Norway) and Brian Enquist (University of Arizona, USA). All teachers and students were from all across the globe. Together, we collected data on plant functional traits, photosynthesis, respiration, ecosystem fluxes, leaf spectroscopy, and root traits. We also collected trait and microclimate data for our collaborators at Range X. All data will be publish openly available, and we are currently working on the data manuscript.
8.11.2023
I served as an external reviewer in Karen De Pauw's PhD defence at the University of Ghent, Belgium. Karen's thesis is entitled "Understorey biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in rural and urban forest edges across temperate Europe". Read more here. I also gave a seminar talk at the Forest & Nature Lab, and visited their study sites.
2.10.2023
I am back from four weeks of fieldwork in northern Finland. Together with Pekka Niittynen (University of Jyväskylä, Finland) we collected data on geodiversity, microclimate, and soil nutrients at our study sites in the Kilpisjärvi region, Värriö Strict Nature Reserve, and Oulanka National Park. We also collected microclimate data for our collaborator Georg Kodl (University of St Andrews, Scotland).
4.9.2023
I published as a co-author a data article, Vandvik et al. 2023 Scientific Data. We collected data on plant traits and associated data from a warming experiment, a seabird colony, and along elevation in Svalbard, Norway. We collected the data on the Plant Functional Trait Course 2018. Read more here.
1.9.2023
I am teaching a new course this academic year at the University of Oulu, Finland. The course is called "Nature conservation: a geographic perspective". It is an essay course and this year the topics are biodiversity, geodiversity and climate change. Full description is here.
I presented a poster at the Nordic Society Oikos conference held in Lund, Sweden. The presentation was entitled "Microclimate, an important part of ecology and biogeography", and was based on the recently accepted article of the same name. Read the preprint here.
12.3.2024
I participated on a shrub workshop held in Lund, Sweden. The workshop was organised by Océane Bartholomée (University of Lund, Sweden) and Sonya Geange and Vigdis Vandvik (University of Bergen, Norway).
15.2.2024
I participated on a writing retreat at the Oulanka Research Station together with our Physical Geography Research Group.
13.2.2024
I published as a co-author two articles in a special issue on geodiversity published by Philosophical Transactions A. In Toivanen et al. 2024, we produced a European-wide geodiversity dataset. In Hjort et al. 2024, we provide a taxonomy of geodiversity. Read more here and here.
29.1.2024
I published as a co-author a research article, Tyystjärvi et al. 2024 The Cryosphere. We investigated winter near-surface temperatures in boreal and tundra ecosystems. Read more here.
19.1.2024
I published as a co-author a research article, Virkkala et al. 2024 Biogeosciences. We investigated carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide fluxes at high-resolution in a tundra ecosystem. Read more here.
18.1.2024
I presented an invited seminar talk at the Environmental Change Research Group, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom. The presentation was entitled "Microclimate, an inseparable part of ecology and biogeography - and how to lead a large author group", and the talk was partly based on the manuscript of the same name. Read more here.
11.1.2024
I presented a poster at the International Biogeographical Society conference held in Prague, Czechia. The presentation was entitled "Microclimate, an inseparable part of ecology and biogeography", and was based on the manuscript of the same name. Read more here.
19.12.2023
I taught on the seventh Plant Functional Trait Course that was held this year at the Drakensberg mountains, South Africa. The course was hosted by Peter le Roux (University of Pretoria, South Africa), and led by Vigdis Vandvik (University of Bergen, Norway) and Brian Enquist (University of Arizona, USA). All teachers and students were from all across the globe. Together, we collected data on plant functional traits, photosynthesis, respiration, ecosystem fluxes, leaf spectroscopy, and root traits. We also collected trait and microclimate data for our collaborators at Range X. All data will be publish openly available, and we are currently working on the data manuscript.
8.11.2023
I served as an external reviewer in Karen De Pauw's PhD defence at the University of Ghent, Belgium. Karen's thesis is entitled "Understorey biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in rural and urban forest edges across temperate Europe". Read more here. I also gave a seminar talk at the Forest & Nature Lab, and visited their study sites.
2.10.2023
I am back from four weeks of fieldwork in northern Finland. Together with Pekka Niittynen (University of Jyväskylä, Finland) we collected data on geodiversity, microclimate, and soil nutrients at our study sites in the Kilpisjärvi region, Värriö Strict Nature Reserve, and Oulanka National Park. We also collected microclimate data for our collaborator Georg Kodl (University of St Andrews, Scotland).
4.9.2023
I published as a co-author a data article, Vandvik et al. 2023 Scientific Data. We collected data on plant traits and associated data from a warming experiment, a seabird colony, and along elevation in Svalbard, Norway. We collected the data on the Plant Functional Trait Course 2018. Read more here.
1.9.2023
I am teaching a new course this academic year at the University of Oulu, Finland. The course is called "Nature conservation: a geographic perspective". It is an essay course and this year the topics are biodiversity, geodiversity and climate change. Full description is here.