WSFS-Vemala

• User interface for expert use accessible for an annual fee (includes sVemala)
• Paid data inquiries
• Commercial modelling services 
• Research and other projects (model applications, model development and collaboration), examples of Vemala projects

Simulation tool sVemala is a nutrient loading simulation tool based on Vemala model results. Excel-based sVemala is developed to provide the possibility to use Vemala model results independently and to assess the effect of nutrient loading changes on a catchment scale. sVemala contains annual loading, retention and source apportionment of the nitrogen, phosphorus and suspended solids loading to each river stretch and lake simulated in Vemala model. sVemala can be used to assess how the changes in nutrient loading affect nutrient concentrations in downstream lakes and river stretches as well as the loading on catchment level. sVemala also includes loading scenarios with different combinations of climate change and water management practices simulated with the Vemala model.

sVemala contents:

• Calculation of nutrient transport: loading, retention and source apportionment of nitrogen, phosphorus and suspended solids loading to each river stretch and lake
• Changes in loading: user assigns a change in loading for a river stretch or lake (kg/year)
• Summary for each lake/river: summary of the loading to the chosen waterbody and the division to different sources
• Areal loadings: calculation produces areal loading sums
• Instructions: instructions for the use of sVemala and information about inputs and processes of Vemala model

Simulation tool sVemala is for expert use and available via the Vemala user interface for an annual fee.

Retention pool studies are an example of paid modelling services Syke provides. The method developed in Syke is used to identify possible locations for retention pools in a specific study catchment. Subsequently, the impacts of these potential retention pools on flood management, low flows and nutrient retention are then estimated using Vemala model.

1. Identifying possible retention pool locations with a spatial analysis method
2. Simulating impact of retention pools with Vemala model

The long-term impact of WSFS-Vemala model and how it is created: impact pathway analysis describes the Vemala upkeeping and development work via the resources used, activities performed, outputs of activities, outcomes and impact. Impact assessment of Syke's operations was done by Gaia Consuling Oy 2024 and it included an impact pathway analysis of WSFS-Vemala model.

News in Finnish: Suomen ympäristökeskus saavutti tulossopimuksen vaikuttavuustavoitteet (Gaia Consuling Oy, Syken vaikuttavuuden arviointi 2024)

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(© Gaia Consuling Oy 2024,  Impact assessment of Syke's operations) 

Resources: modelling system WSFS & expertise of Syke experts and researchers & financial resources

Activities: collaboration & data gathering and analysis & model application, upkeeping and development

Outputs: expert materials & reports and publications & up-to-date and reliable modelling system WSFS

Outcomes: increased awareness & deeper understanding & knowledge transfer to decision-making

Impact: strengthening of ecological sustainability and societal wellbeing & improved status of waterbodies
& improved allocation and efficiency of water management actions

(unofficial translation, original report in Finnish)

• What causes eutrophication? (waterinfo.fi)
• High nutrient load fuels eutrophication - estimates from Vemala model (ymparisto.fi)
• Water resources management requires planning (waterinfo.fi)
• Many opportunities for the protection of waters and the Baltic Sea (ymparisto.fi)
• The future of the water quality and eutrophication status of Finnish coastal waters, and assessing it (report abstract available in English)

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The table below describes the operational model versions V1 and V3 of Vemala. In version V1, nutrients are represented as total nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), whereas in version V3, nutrient fractions are also provided separately. The open spatial data of Vemala has been produced using model version V1.

Vemala V3

Vemala V3 model uses terrestrial input simulated with different Vemala submodels as is summarized in table above. In rivers and lakes, the phytoplankton growth is simulated using the AQUAPHY model (Lancelot et al. 1991) and the nutrient cycling using a simplified version of the biogeochemical model RIVE (Billen et al., 1994). The bioavailable nutrients are linked in the aquatic ecosystem to one another through phytoplankton dynamics, organic matter degradation and sedimentation.

Vemala V3 can simulate the loads of total and bioavailable nutrients (NO3- and PO43-) to the sea with the contribution of the different loading sources. Furthermore, the model describes the impact of different farming actions, management measures and climate change on the nutrient loads.

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More information about Vemala V3: Korppoo ym. 2017 (sciencedirect.com)

Vemala-N simulates nitrate (NO3-), organic nitrogen (Norg) and total nitrogen (TN) leaching and load formation at a catchment scale. The simulation unit is crop/land use class with 5 agricultural crop classes and one forest class. The model simulates the dependency of the main processes (mineralisation, nitrification, denitrification, plant uptake) on the soil moisture and temperature. Vemala-N can be used to run scenarios to simulate the effect of a changing climate on the nitrate leaching and its sub-processes or the effect of changing crops and fertilisation (both mineral and organic) on the nitrate leaching. The results form the VEMALA-N sub-model and the forest loading for P are then adjusted to the Metsävesi results (Metsävesi, 2020).

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More information about the model: Huttunen ym. 2015 (researchgate.net)

Vemala-ICECREAM simulates particle bound and dissolved phosphorus (PP and DP) load and erosion from agricultural areas. It is a field-scale, process based model (e.g. Jaakkola et al. 2012), applied to all fields in Finland. The field characteristics – soil type (clay, silt, coarse and peat), field slope and the size of a rectangle-shaped field plot – are used in the simulations. The output from the ICECREAM model (daily total P load) is used as an input to the Vemala model. Agricultural measures that are taken into account in ICECREAM and can be used in management scenarios are:

• Amount, depth of application and type of fertilizer (mineral/manure)
• Annual crops (also over winter), perennials and root crops, 13 different crops parameterized
• Conventional tillage, direct sowing
• Dates for agricultural practices
• Buffer zones/strips

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More information about the model:  Huttunen ym. 2015 (researchgate.net)

Process-based N simulation in ICECREAM is based on the GLEAMS model (Knisel, 1993). ICECREAM simulates the daily balance of organic matter, organic N, ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) pools by accounting for input of plant residues, organic and mineral fertilizer, atmospheric deposition, fixation by plants and decay of organic matter. Processes reducing N in the soil are plant uptake, denitrification, volatilization and transport with runoff and leaching. ICECREAM application on each field provides the total agricultural loading of N fractions (TN, organic N, NH4-N and NO3-N) as input to the Vemala model for catchment scale loading simulations.

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More information about the model and more detailed description of the model structure (picture 2): Kämäri ym. 2019 (sciencedirect.com)

Vemala TOC model simulates TOC processes in the soils. TOC leaching depends on the C storage, soil moisture, temperature and runoff conditions. C in soil is described with three storages – solid organic carbon (SOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The main processes described in the model are mineralization of organic carbon (OC), dissociation of OC and production of DOC, association of DOC back into SOC. Model simulates TOC leaching from 6 land use classes in the model: agriculture on clay soils, agriculture on coarse soils, agriculture on peat soils, forests on mineral soils, forests on ditched peat soils and natural peatlands. TOC and carbon modelling with Vemala are being further developed in ongoing projects.

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Billen G., Garnier J. & Hanset P. 1994. Modelling phytoplankton development in whole drainage network: the RIVERSTRAHLER Model applied to the Seine river system. Hydrobiologia, 289, 119-137.

Finér L., Lepistö A., Karlsson K., Räike A., Tattari S., Huttunen M., Härkönen L., Joensuu S., Kortelainen P., Mattsson T., Piirainen S., Sarkkola S., Sallantaus T. & Ukonmaanaho L. 2020. Metsistä ja soilta tuleva vesistökuormitus 2020. MetsäVesihankkeen loppuraportti. Valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimustoiminnan julkaisusarja 2020:6. Valtioneuvoston kanslia. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-287-826-7 

Huttunen, I., Lehtonen, H., Huttunen, M., Piirainen, V., Korppoo, M., Veijalainen, N., Viitasalo, M., Vehviläinen, B. 2015. Effects of climate change and agricultural adaptation on nutrient loading from Finnish catchments to the Baltic Sea. Science of The Total Environment. Volume 529, 168-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.05.055

Huttunen, I., Huttunen, M., Piirainen, V., Korppoo, M., Lepistö, A., Räike, A., Tattari, S., Vehviläinen, B., 2016. A national scale nutrient loading model for Finnish watersheds – VEMALA. Environmental Modelling and Assessment 21(1), 83–109. DOI: 10.1007/s10666-015-9470-6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-015-9470-6 

Huttunen, I., Huttunen, M., Salo, T., Mattila, P., Maanavilja, L., & Silfver, T. 2023. National-scale nitrogen loading from the Finnish agricultural fields has decreased since the 1990s. Agricultural and Food Science, 32(3), 112–127. https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.125385

Jaakkola, E., Tattari, S., Ekholm, P., Pietola, L., Posch, M. & Bärlund, I. 2012. Simulated effects of gypsum amendment on phosphorus losses from agricultural soils. Agricultural and Food Science 21: 292–306. https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci.6773 

Korppoo, M., Huttunen, M., Huttunen, I., Piirainen, V., Vehviläinen, B., 2017. Simulation of bioavailable phosphorus and nitrogen loading in an agricultural river basin in Finland using VEMALA v.3. Journal of Hydrology, 549, 363–373. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.03.050 

Kämäri, M., Huttunen, I., Valkama, P., Huttunen, M., Korppoo, M., Tattari, S. & Lotsari, E. 2019. Modelling inter- and intra-annual variation of riverine nitrogen/nitrate losses from snowmelt-affected basins under agricultural and mixed land use captured with high-frequency monitoring. CATENA 176: 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.01.019 

Lancelot C., Veth C. & Mathot S. 1991. Modelling ice-edge phytoplankton bloom in the Scotia-Weddell sea sector of the Southern Ocean during spring 1988. Journal of Marine Systems (2):333-346.

Lignell, R., E. Miettunen, H. Kuosa, J. Ropponen, L. Tuomi, I. Puttonen, K. Lukkari, M. Korppoo, M. Huttunen, K. Kaurila, J. Vanhatalo, F. Thingstad. Modeling how eutrophication in northern Baltic coastal zone is driven by new nutrient inputs, internal loading, and 3D hydrodynamics. 2025. Journal of Marine Systems. (submitted) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2025.104049 

Narikka, M., Virtanen, H., & Huttunen, M. 2024. WSFS-Vemala-kuormitusmallin paikkatietorajapinta valuma-aluesuunnittelun tukena. Vesitalous, 6, 15-21.

Vehviläinen B. 1994. The watershed simulation and forecasting system in the National Board of Waters and the Environment. Publications of the Water and Environment Research Institute. National Board of Waters and the Environment, Finland No. 17.

Ongoing projects:

• BlueLakes: Digitizing the Carbon Sink Potential of Boreal Lakes 
• VESSU-ST: Planning and development of tools for river basin management planning
• SiKaSimu: Opportunities to reduce the water impacts of pig and poultry production, project page in Finnish (luke.fi)
• Identification of retention areas and modeling of their impacts with Vemala - the method has been developed and applied in several projects in collaboration with various ELY Centers

Finished projects:

• BlueAdapt: Adaptive governance creates blue growth in Finland, project page (blueadapt.fi)
• Green-Digi-Basin: project page (freshwatercompetencecentre.com)
• KIPSI: Gypsum treatment of fields in the Archipelago Sea catchment project page (seuranta.vaikutavesiin.fi)
• KLIVA: Water balance, ecosystem services and metal transport in a changing climate, ​​​​​project page in Finnish (fikliva.org)
• Vemala TOC model development in several projects
• SysteemiHiili: Comprehensive assessment of climate measures in catchments - with system analysis towards carbon-neutral land use
• KaiHali: Management and restoration of water bodies receiving mine waters
• Sulfa 2: Toimintamallit happamuuden ennakoimiseksi ja riskien hallitsemiseksi turvetuotantoalueilla
• LOHKO I & II: Developing field-scale nutrient load modelling which considers the specific characteristics of the field plot, project page in Finnish (mtk.fi)
• N-SINK: Reduction of waste water nitrogen load: demonstrations and modelling
• MINEVIEW: Multiple lines of evidence In assessing ecotoxicological and human health risks of mine effluents and public perception, project page (jyu.fi)
• Development of Finnish coastal nutrient load model (FICOS), final report in Finnish (researchgate.net) & news in Finnish (syke.fi) 

Above listing provides examples of some main projects related to Vemala model. More project information can be found from the projects section in Syke.fi.