Swedish farmers have the possibility to be subsidized by EU rural development programme for grazing animals on pastures to promote the biodiversity of flora and fauna. The environmental remedy sometimes does not allow supplementary feed and at the same time the Swedish Animal Welfare Act and the Swedish Agricultural Board?s regulations for animal welfare and protection states that animals, in this case horses, shall be fed with food of good quality and adapted for the species. The regulations also state that they should have an individual feeding regime that enables them to maintain a normal body condition. The aim with this master thesis has been to investigate if it is possible to keep Gotland ponies on extensive pastures, during late spring and summer and still maintain animal welfare. The horses were assessed every fourth week using a welfare assessment protocol developed in line with the Welfare Quality® project (submitted, Viksten et al) where physical, behavioural and resourcebased parameters were observed. Twelve one-year old stallions of the breed Gotland ponies purchased from different breeders were used in the study.

The area around the stream Orsundaan, which runs trough the valley Harsbacksdalen, is famous for its beautiful landscape. The upper area of Orsundaan and Harsbacksdalen is situated just south of Heby in Uppland, Sweden. Even though the area is protected by different nature conservation acts, it is difficult to find any information about the geodiversity in the area. Geodiversity, or geological and geomorphological diversity, includes the concepts of geoprocesses and geoelements. Very high geodiversity could be seen at an inventory of the geomorphology in the upper area of Orsundaan and Harsbacksdalen.

Green roofs have seen a revival in the society of today. They provide many functions of which both society as a whole and the individual can take part. In particular extensive green roofs, that requires little or even zero maintenance, provides very valuable functions. Green roofs affect our environment and our economy in a positive manner as well as the physical expression of buildings. In this bachelor thesis the impact of green roofs on society has been examined throughout literature studies. The result as a compilation of contemporary research in this field is presented together with a discussion about the use of green roofs in general. The two major arguments for an extended use of green roofs are, the high stormwater retention capacity and the cost-benefits seen over time compared to a conventional roof.

The aim of this study about wind power planning in forest was to examine the factors and restrictions, which represent technical limitations, biodiversity, tourism and amount of energy for wind farms in Kronoberg County. Suitable areas for wind power were identified from the collected information about planning principles and potential conflicts. From the suitable areas the potential energy gain is calculated. Methods used were mainly a literature review, interviews with experts and practitioners, GIS analysis and a rough calculation of the energy gain. The section of information and facts describes in general wind power planning and possible conflicts.

Tropical rain forests only cover around six percent of the world?s land area and contain around 70 % of the world´s animals and plants. Tropical rainforests have been, and still are, negatively affected by human activities. These activities lead to forest degradation which has negative impacts on production and biodiversity. Between 1970-1980 forests in Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia, was subjected to intense logging.

The global biodiversity loss is mainly due to human activities such as an intensification of forestry. Boreal forest ecosystems in Fennoscandia are characterized by disturbances such as forest fires, storms and floods. However, industrial forestry practices suppress forest fires and change the landscape, leading to a loss of habitats and associated species. Particularly lichen species with slow adaptation abilities and a strong substrate specificity face an extinction debt in boreal forests since their substrates are long-lived but no longer created. In this study the species-substrate relationship of two red-listed forest-fire dependent lichen species Carbon-icola anthracophila and C.

The forest and mire landscape surrounding the north Swedish villages have been of fundamental importance through time for the farmers. In the Scandinavian summer farm system the forest and mire pasture was used to its full potential. The system consisted of smaller summer farms some kilometres from the main farm in the village, and were the livestock grazed in the forest around the summer farm. The livestock affect their environment, and grazed forests generally contain a higher biodiversity than an ungrazed forest. The overall aim of this thesis is to understand the impact of livestock grazing on a northern forest ecosystem over a long time period.

Urbanization has for a long time been a threat to our biodiversity. Epiphytic organisms such as lichens have been negative affected by traffic pollution and the new urban environment surrounding their old habitat (van Her 2001). Another epiphytic organism is the green algae Desmococcus olivaceus. Unlike lichens the green algae is favoured by polluted areas. The aim of this study was to investigate if time in urban environments affected the cover of the green algae on old oaks.

The sandy beaches of Vänern are threatened by overgrowth and thereby the biodiversity is at high risk to decline. This study is based on an inventory of vegetation of overgrowth character and mosses. The frequency and spread of mosses is perceived as an indication of initial or present overgrowth. External factors that have been taken into consideration are wind-, wave- and ice erosion, the slope of the beach, wear and grade of exposure. The purpose of the investigation is to control the beaches grade of overgrowth and find out which external factor is of most importance for the maintenance of the biotope. The results show that the beaches environment is affected by the slope of the beach, grade of exposure, size, wear and overgrowth.

Clearcutting systems have been the dominating silvicultural approach during the last decades in the Nordic countries. While economically rational, it is also leading to a trivialisation of the flora and fauna, and may result in negative reactions of people in urban settings. As a consequence of this, and a more diversified view on which goods and services forests should deliver, there is an increasing interest in broadening the range of silvicultural methods that are used. The term continuous cover forestry (CCF) represents a suite of methods that have gained increasing interest in the Nordic countries. In CCF a considerable amount of the trees are left after harvest to favour values that require a continuity of tree-covered areas. There are thus hopes that this method will meet the needs for maintaining biodiversity and satisfy social and cultural values.

The bioenergy market has been introduced relatively late in a perspective of the Swedish forestry. Nowadays branches and tops are used more frequently as bioenergy after harvesting. Therefore, it has developed a competitive situation between pulpwood and bioenergy. This situation has even established some questions. Two examples of these are: ? At what top diameter should the final piece of pulpwood be crosscut to get the best economically result? ? Should the top diameter, at the final piece of pulpwood, be crosscut at a thicker or smaller diameter than what is done today? The purpose of this report is to answer these two questions when the harvesting is made motor manually in beech stands.

Cuttings of Lonicera xylosteum L. were treated with willow extract to study the response in rooting capacity. The extracts were prepared by mixing chopped pieces of Salix x smithiana Willd. with water in a warring blender. The investigation comprised 2 types of salix extracts based on differences and dynamics between twigs in winter dormancy and twigs with new shoots. To explore the rooting response, three tests were made.

The hotel is located on Skatholmen in the archipelago of Stockholm, Värmdö county. The hotel building has an open structure characterized by hospitality and the nature outside. The rooms have stunning views of the island landscape and lush forest. With biodiversity and valuable nature in mind, the building has been designed with a structure that should not be too intrusive in the surrounding landscape. The building is meant to blend into the dark silhouette of the island and to give a light footprint on the topography of the landscape.The use of well-chosen materials and similar design, both in plan and facade, creates a consistent building despite the building's somewhat playful expression.

The concept of planetary boundaries was introduced in the year 2009 by a group ofresearchers led by Johan Rockström and Will Steffen. The group presented a draft of thelimits of the planet regarding nine Earth System processes concerning climate change, oceanacidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, interference with Pand N cycles, global freshwater use, land-system change, rate of biodiversity loss andchemical pollution. The starting point for the study presented in this report was that asustainable development only can be achieved if humankind stays within the boundaries. It istherefore, based on the ongoing urbanization, relevant to evaluate how cities affect the EarthSystem processes. The aim of the study was to investigate if Stockholm Royal Seaport (NorraDjurgårdsstaden), a district in the northeast of Stockholm with a clear environmental profile,affects the Earth System processes less than Stockholm in general does.

To reach an Ecological Sustainable Development, Sweden has established environmental quality objectives. Green spaces are attractive for exploitation and in Sweden the access to large jointly green spaces has decreased, which has impact on humans recreation and the biodiversity. The economic aspect has great impact on the planning process which gives indications that the environmental objective may collide with other sector goals within the municipality. The thesis overall aim is to see how the management by objectives for the green spaces implements and how the green spaces is handled in the planning process in a specific case. The thesis builds on a content analysis, strategic interviews and a case study.