Globally, coastal ecosystems like mangrove forests, sea grass meadows and salt marshes are well known for their ability to capture and store atmospheric carbon effectively. In Sweden, there is still limited knowledge about local coastal ecosystems with similar functions, with alder swamp forests being an interesting example. Therefore, this study aimed to increase knowledge of the factors that can contribute to the potential carbon sequestering ability of alder swamps. Vegetation data and sediment samples were collected from a total of 37 sampling plots across four alder swamps in Bohusl?n on the Swedish west coast.

In Sweden, reduced tillage usually means non-inversion tillage, where primary tillage is carried out using chisel ploughs or disc implements. Primary tillage method is mainly determined by the desired soil loosening and the handling of soil residues. The effect of tillage depth was studied in field experiments in Skåne, Väderstad, Uppsala, Örebro och Västerås in different crops; spring oilseed rape, spring wheat, winter wheat and spring barley.The experiments generally had a randomized block design with the treatments mouldboard ploughing, deep chisel ploughing and shallow chisel ploughing, in some cases also shallow discing and no-tillage. In the experiments the following parameters were determined: seedbed properties, saturated hydraulic conductivity, penetration resistance, number of emerged plants and crop yield (all parameters were not determined in all experiments. Root growth and draught requirement were determined in two separate studies. There were no significant differences between tillage depths in non-inversion tillage in seedbed properties, plant emergence or root development.

The use of hallucinogenic plants has throughout human history been used for religiouspurposes, in order to induce mystical states of mind, often interpreted as meeting with godsand spirits. In recent years, this practice has been taken up by people interested in theexploration of their psyche and spiritual side. This group of people, referred to as?psychonauts?, communicate with each other through internet based forum, where theyshare their experiences in so called ?trip reports?. The aim of this study was to see whatrole psychedelic drugs can play when used in a spiritual/religious context, and whetherthese sorts of mystical states of mind could tell us about more traditional mysticalexperiences.

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.

In the centre of Bromma, east of Brommaplan is the part of Bromma named Riksby. Riksby was built in the early 1940:s as a part of the westward expansion of Stockholm. Other places that were built at the same time was for ex. Stora Mossen and Abrahamsberg. This work is about the outdoor environment of the housing co-operative of Brickbandet.

City of Malmö has ambitions for the district Hyllie to become a demonstrative area ofsustainable urban development. As a part of this the following report aims to investigate the potential in using noise barriers combined with photovoltaics along Annetorpsvägen to generate solar electricity. To quantify the losses that shadows from buildings along the roadmight cause, a 3D-model of the area was constructed in SketchUp. This digital model made it possible to simulate shadows and how they change over the year. A reference model of a photovoltaic noise barrier (PVNB) was constructed and used to find the dates on which the solar cells are shadowed depending on building heights and positioning of the barrier.The results show that two lengths with a total distance of 400 meters is appropriate for applying photovoltaic noise barriers.

Fritidsodling är ett stort intresse i Sverige och det odlas trädgårdsväxter både för prydnad och för konsumering. Det finns ett stort antal skadedjur som kan förstöra växterna och reducera skörd. Denna litteraturstudie undersöker om det finns trädgårdsväxter som kan påverka skadedjuren negativt. Det ska göras genom att repellera/reducera skadedjuren, attrahera nyttodjur eller påverka odlingsmiljön och därmed stärka trädgårdsväxter att bättre motstå ett angrepp. Trädgårdsväxter som inte är typiska för skadedjuret att angripa kan förvilla dem genom att maskera värdväxtens lukt och därmed registrerar inte skadedjuret trädgårdsväxten. Utöver att maskera lukt kan vissa trädgårdsväxter även utsöndra flyktiga kemikalier som verkar motbjudande för skadedjuren och vara repellerande.

Södra Cell Mörrum is one of the five paper pulp plants that are included in Södra Cell, and the paper pulp that is produced here is not only sold to Swedish paper mills. Most of the paper pulp is exported to different countries in Europe. In the manufacturing process the plant needs different kind of process water and there are guideline values for how much copper, iron and sodium this water is allowed to contain. Analyzes of this water is in the current situation done with an atomic absorption spectrometric instrument (AAS-instrument) with a flame. Measurements done with flame-AAS of samples that have concentrations near the guideline values for copper, iron and sodium, are not reliable. The reason for not being reliable is that the quantitation limits of these metals are higher than the limit values.

Honey is a product that may contain pesticide residues due to contamination from bees pollinating various plants as well as elimination of vermin inside the hive. Different methods are needed for analysis of pesticides, since the term includes a wide range of different substances. National Food Administration lacks a validated method for determination and quantification of pesticides in honey using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, LC-MS/MS. The technique is especially important in analysis of polar and non-volatile pesticides, where gas chromatography is not functioning optimally. After investigating what pesticides could be found in honey produced in Sweden, a number of four pesticides suitable for analysis with LC-MS/MS was compiled; boscalid, impidacloprid, tau-fluvalinate and thiacloprid.

Cameraria ohridella, the chest-nut leaf miner, is a new pest in Sweden. These moths make leaf mines on chest-nut trees, preferably on Aesculus hippocastanum, which results in brown blotches on the foliage and early loss of leaves. Since the first observation in Macedonia in 1985 it has spread rapidly through Europe. The moth arrived in Sweden in 2003 when it was observed in Malmö and surrounding areas. In this paper a literature study describes the morphology and life cycle of the chest-nut leaf miner. Further more a test with pheromone traps examining the number of generations in Sweden is shown.

This study was made to compare and distinguish any differences in olfactory recognition and host plant adaptation between two strains of cotton leaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis. The populations used were established in Egypt and Benin, Africa. The documentation consisted of information about (1) each of the strains development through the larval stage up to pupation on diets of cotton, clover and cowpea. (2) Their oviposition preferences as adults between cotton, clover, cowpea, maize and cabbage. (3) Electroantennographic recordings to quantify any possible responses to plant volatiles. Throughout the diet experiments the larvae from the Benin strain showed significantly a better development between artificial, clover, cowpea and cotton respectively, while the Egypt strain had significance between artificial, cotton and cowpea/clover as diet. Also noted was how the strains substantial development of weight differentiated if fed the cotton diet, followed by the cowpea diet showing that the Benin strain would develop a higher body mass on a cotton diet as well as on a cowpea diet. This trend was however switched once the pupal stage was reached, where the Egyptian strain contained a significantly greater body mass than the Benin strain on the artificial and the Benin strain a greater on cowpea, which suggests that in the end, the Benin strain develops significantly better on cowpea while the Egypt strain develops better on an artificial diet. During the oviposition experiment that both stains showed a clear difference in hierarchy of host plants considered suitable for oviposition, where the Egyptian strain is significantly more attracted to clover than the Benin strain. Also showed with electroantennographic recordings and significant values was the higher sensitivity the Egypt strain had towards (E)2-hexenal, (E/Z)-b-ocimene, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, Nonanal, (-)-linalool and ?-myrcene when compared to the responses from the Benin strain..

Tussilago farfara, coltsfoot, is a troublesome perennial weed with deep lying rhizome, which can vegetatively generate new plants. The mechanical control of coltsfoot that is used today, "starvation", which consists of several cultivations of the soil, which fragmentises the rhizome. This results in production of new shoots, which leads to depletion of nutrient resources; as long the new plant is not allowed to establish. However, very little research has been done to investigate how the starving technique affects the regenerative ability of coltsfoot. The purpose of this experiment with coltsfoot was to investigate how fragmentation and burial depths affect the time of emergence, number of emerged shoots per rhizome fragment, number of shoots per node, and if the germination ability within nodes changes during the experiment.

Certain microbial residents from composts are known to possess the ability to suppress soilborne plant pathogens. Trichoderma spp. and Gliocladium spp. are commonly found in composts and are perhaps the most wellknown hyperparasites of fungal pathogens, which may also be naturally present in compost. Trials have many times proven them to be effective against plant diseases caused by soilborne pathogens such as Pythium spp., Phytophthora spp.

The euthropthication of the Baltic Sea is a threat that is beginning to be taken seriously by the governments concerned. In Sweden, regulations concerning the allowed nitrogen (N) concentration in the effluent water from wastewater treatment plants are being tightened up. The Rimbo wastewater treatment plant has been imposed to reduce the annual mean concentration of total N in the effluent water to levels below 15 mg l-1. A more and more common way to reduce the nitrogen level in wastewater is to let the water pass through a wetland. This study investigates the possibility to build this kind of wetland at the outlet of the Rimbo wastewater treatment plant.A prestudy of the topography, soil characteristics and groundwater flow indicates that the land area in question is well suited for the construction of a wetland.

This dissertation is done as a preparatory step for the action plan of environmental protection shall issue to preserve the Phytoecia nigricornis in the country when it is red-listed and classified as vulnerable (VU). My task was to investigate the prevalence of the Phytoecia nigricornis in Halland County. They wanted to see if it existed in Halland (Ehnström, 1999). If it did not exist they wanted to know how to improve its habitat.the Phytoecia nigricornis is difficult to inventory because when it is larvae it lives in the roots and lower parts of the trunk of the Solidago Virgaurea plant and the adult beetles only keeps to Solidago Virgaurea by mating and egg laying and larval caterpillars when they hatch (Bily, 1989; Molander, 1999). Often it is overlooked or missed, and one question was whether it existed  in the whole country or only in those parts where it was previously found in, Skåne, Blekinge and Östergötland (Ehnström, 1999).One problem for the Phytoecia nigricornis is that their habitats is declining.