Publications and other research outputs of the scientists and students affiliated with the University of Helsinki are available from the Tuhat database.
Below is a list of selected publications from research work that has utilized the facilities and services of the Taita Research Station:
Aben, J., Pellikka, P. and J.M.J. Travis (2018). A call for viewshed ecology: Advancing our understanding of the ecology of information through viewshed analysis. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 (3), 624–633. https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/2041-210X.12902
Abera, T.A., Heiskanen, J., Pellikka, P.K.E., Maeda, E.E. (2020). Impact of rainfall extremes on energy exchange and surface temperature anomalies across biomes in the Horn of Africa. Agriculture and Forest Meteorology 280, 107779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107779
Abera, T., Heiskanen, J., Pellikka, P., Adhikari, H., Maeda, E. (2020). Climatic impacts of bushland to cropland conversion in Eastern Africa. Science of the Total Environment 717, no. 137255, 137255 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137255
Abera, T.A., J. Heiskanen, P. Pellikka, M. Rautiainen & E.E. Maeda (2018). Clarifying the role of radiative mechanisms in the spatio-temporal changes of land surface temperature across the Horn of Africa. Remote Sensing of Environment 221: 210–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.11.024
Abera, T.A., J. Heiskanen, P. Pellikka & E.E. Maeda (2018). Rainfall–vegetation interaction regulates temperature anomalies during extreme dry events in the Horn of Africa. Global and Planetary Change 167: 35–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2018.05.002
Adhikari, H., Valbuena, R., Pellikka, P., Heiskanen, J. (2020). Mapping forest structural heterogeneity of tropical montane forest remnants from airborne laser scanning and Landsat time series. Ecological Indicators 108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105739
Amara, E., Adhikari, H., Heiskanen, J., Siljander, M., Munyao, M., Omondi, P., Pellikka, P. (2020). Aboveground Biomass Distribution in a Multi-Use Savannah Landscape in Southeastern Kenya: Impact of Land Use and Fences. Land 9(10), [384] https://doi.org/10.3390/land9100381
Andersson, M. and P. Minoia (2018). Ecological sanitation: A sustainable goal with local choices. A case study from Taita Hills, Kenya. In, Africa in the Post-2015 Development Agenda: A geographical perspective. Zulu, L. C. & D'Alessandro, C. (eds.). London: Routledge, s. 182–198.
Capitani, C., Garedew, W., Mitiku, A., Berecha, G., Hailu, B. T., Heiskanen, J., Hurskainen, P., Platts, P. J., Siljander, M., Pinard, F., Johansson, T. & R. Marchant (2018). Views from two mountains: exploring climate change impacts on traditional farming communities of Eastern Africa highlands through participatory scenarios. Sustainability Science, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0622-x
Enroth, J., Pocs, T., He, X., Nyqvist, P., Stam, Å. C. S., Malombe, I., & Rikkinen, J. K. (2019). An annotated checklist of the bryophytes of Taita Hills region, Kenya. Acta Musei Silesiae. Scientiae Naturales, 68(1-2), 53–66. https://doi.org/10.2478/cszma-2019-0007
Forbes, K. M., Webala, P. W., Jääskeläinen, A. J., Abdurahman, S., Ogola, J., Masika, M. M., ... Sironen, T. (2019). Bombali Virus in Mops condylurus Bat, Kenya. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 25(5), 955-957. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2505.181666
Gonsamo, A.G., J-M. Walter, J.M. Chen, P. Pellikka & P. Schleppi (2018). A robust leaf area index algorithm accounting for the expected errors in gap fraction observations. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 248:197–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.09.024
Heiskanen, J., Adhikari, H., Piiroinen, R., Packalen, P., & Pellikka, P. K. E. (2019). Do airborne laser scanning biomass prediction models benefit from Landsat time series, hyperspectral data or forest classification in tropical mosaic landscapes? International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 81, 176-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2019.05.017
Hohenthal, J. M., Räsänen, M. and P. Minoia (2018). Political ecology of asymmetric ecological knowledges: diverging views on the eucalyptus-water nexus in the Taita Hills, Kenya. Journal of Political Ecology 25 (1), 1–19.
Hurskainen, P. J., Adhikari, H. and H. Andreas (2018). Land-use / land cover mapping of the Kilimanjaro savanna ecosystem. In, Hemp, C., Katrin, B-G., Fischer, M. & Andreas, H. (eds.). The KiLi Project: Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change: Linking biodiversity, biotic interactions and biogeochemical process. Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, p. 89–90.
Johansson, T. P., Heiskanen, J., Siljander, M., & Pellikka, P. K. E. (2019). Web map application to support spatial planning, decision-making and transition towards climate-smart landscapes in the Taita Hills, Kenya. In K. Koutsopoulos, R. de Miguel Gonzales, & K. Donert (Editors), Geospatial Challenges in the 21st Century (p. 173-187). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04750-4_9
Johansson, T., Owidi, E., Ndonye, S., Achola, S., Garedew, W. and C. Capitani (2018). Community-based climate change adaptation action plans to support climate-resilient development in the Eastern African Highlands. In, Leal Filho, W. and D. Ayal (eds.). Handbook of Climate Change Resilience. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71025-9_38-1
Jyrkänkallio-Mikkola, J., M. Siljander, V. Heikinheimo, P. Pellikka & J. Soininen (2018). Tropical stream diatom communities – the importance of headwater streams for regional diversity. Ecological indicators 95:183–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.07.030
Kaasalainen, U.S., Hemp, A. and J.K. Rikkinen (2018). Lichen diversity on Mt. Kilimanjaro. In, Hemp, C., Böhning-Gaese, K., Fischer, M. & Hemp, A. (eds.). The KiLi Project: Kilimanjaro ecosystems under global change: Linking biodiversity, biotic interactions and biogeochemical ecosystem processes. Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, p. 74–75.
Kaistinen, H., Kivikko, T., Marttunen, E., Potinkara, M., Muukkonen, P. & M. Siljander (2018). Taita Taveta geodatabase. In, Tyystjärvi, V. & Muukkonen, P. (eds.). Creating, managing, and analysing geospatial data and databases in geographical themes. Helsinki: University of Helsinki, Faculty of Science, Department of Geosciences and Geography, p. 58–80. (Department of Geosciences and Geography C; no. C14). Open access database developed by the MSc students of University of Helsinki https://taitagis.ttu.ac.ke/resource-downloads/
Masika, M. M., Korhonen, E. M., Smura, T., Uusitalo, R., Vapalahti, K., Mwaengo, D., Jääskeläinen, A. J., Anzala, O., Vapalahti, O., Huhtamo, E. (2020). Detection of dengue virus type 2 of Indian origin in acute febrile patients in rural Kenya. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 14(3), [0008099]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008099
Munyao, M. N., Siljander, M., Johansson, T., Makokha, G. & Pellikka, P. (2020). Assessment of human–elephant conflicts in multifunctional landscapes of Taita Taveta County, Kenya. Global Ecology and Conservation 24 , e01382 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01382
Mwalusepo, S., Massawe, E. S., Johansson, T., Abdel-Rahman, E., Gathara, M., Njuguna, E., Calatayud, P. A., James, O. J., Landmann, T. and B.P. Le Ru (2018). Modelling the distributions of maize stem borers at local scale in East African mountain gradients using climatic and edaphic variables. African Entomology 26, (2) 458–470. https://doi.org/10.4001/003.026.0458
Odanga, J. J., Mohamed, S., Nyankanga, R., Olubayo, F., Johansson, T., Ekesi, S. (2020). Temporal Population Patterns of Oriental Fruit Flies and False Codling Moths within Smallholder Avocado Orchards in Southeastern Kenya and Northeastern Tanzania. Int. J. Fruit Sci. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538362.2020.1746728
Odeny, D., Karanja, F., Mwachala, G., Pellikka. P. and R. Marchant (2018). Comparison and Prediction of the above Ground Carbon Storage in Croplands on the Inhabited Slopes on Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) and the Taita Hills (Kenya). Journal of Geographic Information System 10 (4), 415–438. https://doi.org/10.4236/jgis.2018.104022
Pellikka, P.K.E., Heikinheimo, V., Hietanen, J., Schäfer, E., Siljander, M. and J. Heiskanen (2018). Impact of land cover change on aboveground carbon stocks in Afromontane landscape in Kenya. Applied Geography 94 (5), 178–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2018.03.017
Pfeifer, M., Gonsamo, A., Woodgate, W., Cayuela, L., Marshall, A.R., Ledo, A., Paine, T.C.E., Marchant, R., Burt, A., Calders, K., Courtney-Mustaphi, C., Cuni-Sanchez, A., Deere, N.J., Denu, D., Gonzalez de Tanago, J., Hayward, R., Lau, A., Macía, M.J., Olivier, P.I., Pellikka, P., Seki, H., Shirima, D., Trevithick, R., Wedeux, B., Wheeler, C., Munishi, P.K.T., Martin, T., Mustari A. and P. J. Platts (2018). Tropical forest canopies and their relationships with climate and disturbance: results from a global dataset of consistent field-based measurements. Forest Ecosystems 5 (7). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-017-0118-7
Piiroinen, R., Fassnacht, F.E., Heiskanen, J., Maeda, E., Mack, B. and P. Pellikka (2018). Invasive tree species detection in the Eastern Arc Mountains biodiversity hotspot using one class classification. Remote Sensing of Environment 218, 119–131. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425718304292?via%3Dihub
Rosti, H., Rikkinen, J., Pellikka, P., Bearder, S., Mwamodenyi, J. M. (2020). Taita Mountain dwarf galago is extant in the Taita Hills of Kenya. Oryx 54(2), 152–153. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060531900142X
Räsänen, M., Merbold, L., Vakkari, V., Aurela, M., Laakso, L., Beukes, P., Zyl, P. V., Josipovic, M., Feig, G., Pellikka, P., Rinne, J. and Katul, G. G. (2020). Root-zone soil moisture variability across African savannas: From pulsed rainfall to landcover switches. Ecohydrology 13(5), [2213]. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2213
Räsänen, M. M. Chung, M. Katurji, P. Pellikka, J. Rinne & G.G. Katul (2018). Similarity in fog and rainfall intermittancy. Geophysical Research Letters 45(19). https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL078837
Siljander, M., Kuronen, T., Johansson, T., Munayo, M.N., Pellikka, P.K.E. (2020). Primates on the farm – spatial patterns of human–wildlife conflict in forest-agricultural landscape mosaic in Taita Hills, Kenya. Appl. Geogr. 117 (102185) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2020.102185
Siljander, M., Adero, N., Gitau, F., Nyambu, E. (2020). Land use/land cover classification for the iron mining site of Kishushe, Kenya: A feasibility study of traditional and machine learning algorithms. African Journal of Mining, Entrepreneurship and Natural Resource Management 1(2), 115–124. http://www.ajmenrm.ttu.ac.ke
Suija, A., Kaasalainen, U.S., Kirika, P. and J.K. Rikkinen (2018). Taitaia, a novel lichenicolous fungus in tropical montane forests in Kenya (East Africa). Lichenologist 50 (2), 173–184. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0024282918000026
Stam, Å. C. S., Anttila, J., Pellikka, P. K. E., Rikkinen, J. K. (2020). Sensitivity of tropical pendant bryophytes: results from a translocation experiment along an elevation gradient. Annales Botanici Fennici 57(1-3), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.5735/085.057.0110
Teucher, M. C., Schmitt, B., Wiese, A., Apfelbeck, B., Maghenda, M., Pellikka, P., Lens, L., Habel, C.C. (2020). Behind the fog: Forest degradation despite logging bans in an East Africa cloud forest. Global Ecology and Conservation 22, e01024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01024
Tuure, J., Korpela, A., Hautala, M., Rautkoski, H., Hakojarvi, M., Mikkola, H., Duplissy, J., Pellikka, P., Petaja, T., Kulmala, M., Alakukku, L. (2020). Comparing plastic foils for dew collection: Preparatory laboratory-scale method and field experiment in Kenya. Biosystems Engineering 196, 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2020.05.016
Tuure, J., Korpela, A., Hautala, M., Hakojärvi, M., Mikkola, H., Räsänen, M., Duplissy, J., Pellikka, P., Petäjä, T., Kulmala, M., Alakukku, L. (2019). Comparison of surface foil materials and dew collectors location in an arid area: a one-year field experiment in Kenya. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 276–277, 107613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.06.012
Uusitalo, R. J., Siljander, M., Culverwell, C. L., Mutai, N., Forbes, K. M., Vapalahti, O., & Pellikka, P. K. E. (2019). Predictive mapping of mosquito distribution based on environmental and anthropogenic factors in Taita Hills, Kenya. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 76, 84-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2018.11.004
Vesala, R., Arppe, L. & Rikkinen, J. (2019). Caste-specific nutritional differences define carbon and nitrogen fluxes within symbiotic food webs in African termite mounds. Sci Rep 9, 16698. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-53153-x
Wachiye, S., Merbold, L., Vesala, T., Rinne, J., Rasanen, M., Leitner, S., Pellikka, P. (2020). Soil greenhouse gas emissions under different land-use types in savanna ecosystems of Kenya. Biogeosciences 17(7), 2149–2167. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2149-2020
Zhu, Y., Merbold, L., Leitner, S., Pelster, D. E., Okoma, S. A., Ngetich, F., Onyango, A. A., Pellikka, P., Butterbach-Bahl, K. (2020). The effects of climate on decomposition of cattle, sheep and goat manure in Kenyan tropical pastures. Plant and Soil 451(1-2), 325–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04528-x