The Department of Environmental Science (www) focuses on human health and health of the environment. There are groups working with plant and soil ecology, environmental technology, and atmospheric chemistry and physics. The biochemistry group studies greenhouse gas dynamics (CO2, N2O, CH4), and the microbial processes responsible for production and consumption of meth-ane, nitrous oxide, nitric oxide and carbon dioxide of peatlands, forests, agricultural soils, and lakes.

Pertti Martikainen is Professor of biogeochemistry and environmental microbiology in the Department of Environmental Sciences. His specialty is soil and water microbial ecology and microbial processes associated to the dynamics of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. During the last 10 years he has participated in several national projects and four research projects funded by EU (GEFOS, CONGAS, TUNDRA, CASUS) concerning greenhouse gas dynamics in peatlands.