Research at the Botanical Museum

The Plant Museum has been involved in the DNA bar coding project of Finnish organisms (FinBOL) since 2012.

So far in Oulu, tags have been produced for 200 Finnish Russula, Inocybe (in collaboration with Jukka Vauras, University of Turku herbarium) and Aphyllophorales (in collaboration with Matti Kulju), species of fungi.

The project will also be extended to other groups of organisms, with an emphasis on northern species and material serving in distribution research.

DNA tags are stored in the BOLD database. The tags can be utilized in species identification from sample material.

Species information consists of observational data on a species at a point in time. Our understanding of species ranges, population changes, the impact of environmental changes on species distribution, and the prevalence, rarity, or endangerment of species is built on this information. The accumulation and sharing of species information is central to the museum's research activities. The research is diverse, ranging from local studies to global macroecology. Researchers of the museum publish species information in journal articles and extensive compilations, as well as through online information sharing channels (laji.fi, Kasviatlas (in Finnish), GBIF).

Research on endangered species and habitats and conservation of biodiversity has been the subject of the museum's research since the early 1980s. Information on endangered species has a direct impact on land-use planning and thus contributes to the conservation of biodiversity. The museum’s collections and materials support this research and form a part of national and international networks. Research is carried out not only at the museum but also at the Ecology and Genetics Research Unit.