Johanna
Toivonen
Links
Areas of expertise
Biography
I am a plant ecologist with research experience from variety of vegetation and climatic zone, from humid tropics to subarctic, and dry savanna environments.
I did my MSc in 2002 on tropical low land forest structure, dynamics and seed dispersal in Peruvian Amazonia at the Department of Biology, University of Turku. Main subject: Ecology. Minor subjects: Taxonomy and Environmental sciences.
I defended my PhD in 2014 at the Biodiversity unit of the University of Turku. My dissertation on “Determinants of Polylepis (Rosaceae) forest distribution and treeline formation in the high Andes” dealt with ecology of high-Andean endangered Polylepis treeline forests, and climatic & anthropogenic impacts on them.
Currently my work focuses on subarctic treeline ecology, and carbon stock and fluxes of dry savanna environment trees.
Teaching
I have a strong pedagogical foundation in university pedagogy and hands-on teaching experience, especially in designing and leading field courses and excursions, including Erasmus BIP courses (Blended Intensive Programme) combining physical and virtual teaching & learning. I have also given courses and trainings at the University of Cusco, Peru, and at the University of Marburg, Germany.
Research
My research focuses, in a broad sense, on species-environment interactions within a framework covering ecological, ecophysiological and biogeographic approaches. The biogeographic approach is reflected in a broad range of ecosystem that I have worked with. I have carried out work in the Andean high elevation treeline ecosystems, the Andean tropical montane cloud forests, dry savanna environments in Africa and boreal / subarctic region in Northern Finland.
In my PhD, I focused on climatic and anthropogenic drivers of high-Andean Polylepis forest distribution. I used a variety of methods from field ecology to ecophysiological laboratory measurements and growing experiments, and GIS and remote sensing analyses, aiming to comprehensively answer to the question of the natural and human-based causes limiting the Andean treeline forest distribution and to clarify species trait - climatic niche relationship of the Andean Polylepis tree species.
In my postdoc project, I focused on microclimatic preferences and water retention capacity of the Andean cloud forest epiphytes in Peru. I was specifically looking at what aspects of forest structure and microclimate are related to epiphyte abundance, including vascular and non-vascular epiphytes. I also studied water retention dynamics of epiphytic bryophytes in the community and species level.
Currently, I am doing resarch on Northent Finland treeline ecosystems focusing on forest age stucture and dynamics and global change driven potential biome shifts, as well as carbon stock and fluxes of Namibian agroforestry trees in dry savanna environment.