During consultation procedures between forest owners and the Sámi, data on, e.g., reindeer lichen Biomass on the current site is needed. Hitherto, the existing methods of measuring lichen cover and Biomass has been either objective methods such as the Point Intercept method, which is time consuming, or some sort of subjective visual estimation, which is faster but less accurate. However, both these methods are sensitive to different observers and/or to different inventories. This paper addresses the further development and evaluation of a photographical inventory method that uses colour distribution in images to estimate lichen Biomass. During the autumn of 2011 six different locations, with different grazing pressure and lichen cover, in Norrbotten county were inventoried using both the Point Intercept method and the photographical method, complemented with collection of Biomass samples.

Storage of Biomass is associated with problems like heat development, Biomasslosses, and reduction of the fuel quality. Certain processes such as biological- andchemical degradation are responsible for these storage problems. This master?sthesis was carried out at Vattenfall Research and Development AB and is alignedtowards quantifying the Biomass losses from short-term storage (1-2 months) ofbark and recovered wood. The Biomass was stored in outdoor piles during differentseasons, campaign 1 (summer) and campaign 2 (autumn).

Game fields are one way to divert animals away from sensitive areas, create shelter and forage, and also to increase the biological diversity. In this study I investigated how the plant composition in six different crop mixes used for game fields affected the Biomass production, Biomass consumption and biological diversity at the Koberg estate in southwestern Sweden. Six experimental fields were used and each field contained six plots, approximately 1500 m2 each, that was sown with a different crop mix. The crop mixes ranged from a pure grass mix (A), 70 % grass and 30 % leguminous plants (B), 53 % grass, 21 % leguminous plants and 26 % other herbs (C), 100 % leguminous plants (D) to the most complex mixes constituting of 91 % leguminous plants and 9 % other herbs (E) and 87 % leguminous plants and 13 % other herbs (F). The fields were cut weekly during the summer in 2010, to estimate weekly Biomass production.

With an increased demand for Biomass based energy and with development of better technique harvest Biomass, new possibilities open up. With the possibility to combine traditional cleaning of road?s right of way with Biomass harvesting, the work of suppressing tree vegetation could become profitable or at least decrease the road maintenance cost. However, knowledge about productivity and profitability in mechanical Biomass harvesting in roads? right of ways are still limited.

Stump Biomass is energy rich and stump harvesting for use as fuel become more and more interesting in Sweden. Swedish Forest Agency (2009) has estimated that stump harvesting in Sweden would respond to an annual energy supply of 57 TWh/year. However, stump has not been recognized as a bioenergy resource in Sweden. Suitable methods for pre-treatment of stump are probably of great importance to make it accepted as fuel. It is therefore rewarding to carry out an investigation in this area for stump. This report represents results from a diploma project, which was aimed to develop a fixed bed reactor for experimental study of Biomass torrefaction, followed by TG analysis and kinetic modelling employing Ozawa method and different kinetic models including one-step and three-pseudo-component models.

Fast pyrolysis is a method for converting Biomass into three energy rich products: char, gas and bio-oil, where the latter is most interesting.  Pyrolysis is an endothermic process where Biomass is heated in an anaerobic environment and, with the right operating conditions, up to 80 %wt bio-oil can be extracted. Key parameters for fast pyrolysis are: stable reactor temperature (~500°C), short residue time for gas in the reactor (<2 s) and a very high heating rate for the Biomass. Today there are several different process solutions for fast pyrolysis, where fluidized beds and rotating cones are most developed. Bio-oil has compared to fossil oil: lower heating value, low pH and also polymerizes with time. Because of this upgrading is desirable for increasing competitiveness.

An increasing demand for wood products in China has resulted in large areas invested in fast-growing tree plantations of eucalyptus. Eucalyptus plantations are often associated with an intensive management including fertilization. By understanding the effects of fertilization and where in the ecosystem nutrients are accumulated a more sustainable forest management could be achieved. In this study, a nutrient budget including all Biomass and soil components was created for Eucalyptus urophylla. The examined nutrients were nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

This study was carried out at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden. The aim of the study was to determine how plant species richness and diversity influence the nitrogen pools and nitrogen fluxes in the soil. Plant and soil samples from a biodiversity experiment in grasslands were used. Thirty plots with 12 grassland plant species (legumes, grasses, and non-legume herbs), combined from 1-12 species were investigated.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the removal of Biomass in connection with thinning operations in young stands that are dominated by small diameter trees. The economy of such operations depends on the products generated as well as the performance of the harvesting systems. Conversion tables designed to predict the outcome based on harvesting method was another goal of this study. Removal of Biomass affects the nutrient composition of the site. Therefore it is a purpose that this study will provide researchers with some variables that can be utilized when studying this aspect. Trees were harvested and divided into bunches based on diameter.

Crop efficiency in utilizing available nutrients is an important factor in increasing produc-tivity and reducing the environmental impact of agriculture. Nitrogen is the nutrient that plants need in the largest quantity and wheat, along with maize and rice, is the world's most cultivated crop. In this work, the Nitrogen Use Efficiency, NUE, during the major growth period, HTP, of twelve different spring wheat varieties, were examined. The NUE was calculated as the product of uptake efficiency of nitrogen, UN, and the conversion effi-ciency of nitrogen to Biomass, EN. The purpose of this work was to find if there are varietal differences in NUE and its components among the twelve varieties and to link a high NUE to specific characteristics of the varieties.

Successful forest regeneration is a prerequisite for sustainable forest management. Therefore, it is important to prevent browsing damage on the commercially important tree species Scots pine. In this study I have tested a new alternative way to increase the available amount of forage and increase the use of these resources by especially moose. The method is based on a slash treatment at harvest, where the accessibility of slash as forage is increased during final felling or commercial thinning by gathering the slash and putting the Scots pine slash on top of the slash piles. This study has compared the availability of forage, the amount of browsed Biomass and the number of fecal pellet groups between conventional and slash treated stands after final felling and commercial thinning in southern Sweden.

Forest Biomass is becoming an increasingly important source of renewable energy, and thereby the demand is increasing. There is currently 213 000 km of forest roads in Sweden that could be suitable for Biomass harvesting. Harvest of Biomass along forest roads both provides Biomass and maintains the quality of the roads. Currently, the volume of Biomass along roads can only be assessed post harvest, chipping and industry deliverance. As the decision of whether or not to harvest should preferably be based on more than experience, the TJ-method has been proposed. The TJ-method is a subjective method to quickly determine the dry matter quantity with the assessment being conducted from the roadside.

The countries in the European Union have agreed to increase their percentage renewable energy sources to 20 %. To reach this goal an increase of Biomass production needs to be made. One way of achieving this is by using nonnative species. Poplar in Sweden produces Biomass faster than the domestic trees. In the southern parts of Sweden plantations has been made with good results. In the northern parts survival is a problem that needs to be solved before plantations can be made for commercial use.

When the Swedish Forestry Act was changed in 1994, brushing of young stands became non mandatory. Since then the annual need for brushing in the country has increased by about 100 000 hectares per year. In later years the price for Biomass energy has increased to the same level as pulp wood. The high price on Biomass energy and the large areas of stands in the need of brushing has created a new market with its own technical, economical and environmental conditions. There is a development of various techniques to manage the forestry stands with late brushing.

The aim of this study is to describe a number of type stands of lodge pole pine in Norrbotten with respect on stem volume and total Biomass. Further questions to answer is if there is stand characteristics that make the stands more suitable for pulpwood in early thinning, or if it is better to apply whole tree harvest. The study shall also give an indication if bio energy can be an economical interesting alternative for Sveaskog. Sampled trees represented the variation in the different stands. Five trees were selected from each stand to represent that stand. Stem volume and Biomass (kg dry weight (DW) per hectare) for each fraction was calculated.