60-second science with Dr Rainer Peltola: Pollination in the boreal forests of Finland

We have released a new 60-second science video. Check out Dr Rainer Peltola, a researcher with the Natural Resources Institute Finland, as he talks about research on the pollination of Finland’s boreal forests.

Berries in addition to mushrooms are Finland’s most important Non-Timber Forest Products, NTFPs. Although many berries are the most important NTFPs of Finnish forests and an important component in the Finnish nature-use tradition, there is a vast gap in knowledge of the pollination services for many berries. Native pollinator populations, many of which are dependent on dead wood, have been vastly affected by both intensified forestry practices and structural changes in Finnish agriculture. Populations have diminished which directly affects the capability to produce fundamental ecosystem services in forest, namely pollination services for forest berries. Though commercially important, the pollination services for the main berry crops are vastly unstudied in Nordic countries. We aim to produce detailed knowledge of the function and meaning of pollination services to native berry crops in the forest ecosystem.

Dr Rainer Peltola is a researcher with the Natural Resources Institute Finland (www.luke.fi).