Kind of C.V.

I am Professor of Plant Ecology at the Department of Biology, University of Oulu. I started here in January, 2001. I moved to Oulu from Lahti, where I worked as a Lecturer at the Department of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Univeristy of Helsinki.

I was born in Tampere, in the heart of Finland, in 1954. I lived in many other places, and started my studies in Biology at the University of Helsinki in 1973. Leena Hämet-Ahti was the supervisor in my Masters degree, and Teuvo Ahti in my PhD. Leena Hämet-Ahti introduced me to the vegetation science, and Teuvo Ahti to lichens. For my PhD, I studied vegetation of communities dominated by reindeer lichens (Cladina). It seems that some people still think that I am a Finnish lichenologist. Since then I have studied mainly other things than lichens (like you see in my publications). I had my Master degree in 1979 in Helsinki, and PhD in 1984 in Joensuu.

My previous jobs

• University of Helsinki 1978-1981: Employed continuosly in short term jobs in Botanical Museum, Department of Botany (now name vanished in re-organization), and as editorial secretary of Annales botanici fennici.
• University of Joensuu 1981-1983: I was an assistant teacher at the Department of Biology here for two years. I returned to defend my PhD here in 1984 (my opponent was Eddy van der Maarel from Uppsala)
• University of Kuopio: 1983-1994: First as the curator of Botanical Garden (now closed down and privatized), then a senior assistant teacher and other positions at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science. This was interrupted by one year in Australian National University, Canberra (1990/91), where I worked with Peter Minchin.
• University of Tromsø 1994-1997: Associate Professor in Environmental Ecological Botany.
• University of Helsinki at Lahti, 1997 to 2000.
• Editor, Journal of Vegetation Science and Applied Vegetation Science, from 1999. I was an associate editor in JVS in 1991 to 1997. In addition, I am a member of editorial boards in Annales botanici fennici and Phytocoenologia.

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