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.

Difficult calvings and stillbirths are problems in Swedish dairy production that result in large expenses for the farmers and welfare issues concerning the animals. A common opinion is that the live weight of SRB and SLB is increasing, and whether increased weights have caused the increase in calving problems has been discussed. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the relative birth weight (calf/cow) and calving difficulty and stillbirth, respectively. The importance of breed and parity for the relative weight has been investigated, and comparisons with previous studies have been made to evaluate whether the relative weight has changed over the last decades or not. The study was based on 807 calvings, registered during the period 1993-2003 in the experimental dairy herd of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Jälla).

The Baltic Sea is threatened by eutrophication that largely is due to nutrient leaching from farmland within the catchment area. To solve this problem the surrounding countries cooperate within various configurations such as HELCOM and the EU-financed project Baltic Compass. Poor manure management in Russia has been discussed frequently the last couple of years. A literature review of different types of reports and legal acts is the core of this degree project which has been performed in connection to two ongoing research projects financed by EU (Baltic Compass) and SIDA. It is supplemented with interviews with Swedish agricultural consultants and travel reports from two occasions when I had the opportunity to discuss with Russians active within the agricultural sector. Different hypotheses were investigated and discussed. The environmental debate in Russia is quiet and there is a widespread approach that economic profit always trumps environmental concern ? a Soviet heritage that influence the Russian agriculture considerably. The Russian legal acts on stable manure management focus mainly on sanitary questions and only secondary on nutrient leaching.

Nematodes are perhaps the most common animals in the world. Nematode populations can reach densities up to several millions per square meter in the soil. There are many factors which affect nematode communities in arable soil with respect to diversity and population size. Factors like tillage, crop, fertilization, nutrient status and moisture in the soil all have an impact on soil biology and in this way also have effects on the nematode community. This study is based on three different parts, soil samples taken in March 2012 and March 2013, soil samples taken monthly during the growth season of 2013 in bare fallow plots and a pot experiment.

A couple of hundred years ago half of the earth?s surface was covered by forest. Today, only half remains and every year an area the size of Nepal is disappearing. Deforestation, together with the burning of fossil fuels, is also one of the reasons for the increasing greenhouse effect. Another relatively unknown problem for the world?s forests is the trade with illegally harvested timber.

The ability of a dog to perform some kind of practical work, for example hunting or herding, depends among other things on its behavioural characteristics. In animal breeding it is not always easy though to select for behavioural traits. It may, for example, be difficult to identify traits that are not only heritable but also of importance for the dogs' ability to perform the practical work of interest. Moreover, it is often difficult to accomplish accurate measurements of behavioural traits. When selecting dogs for breeding, it is usually preferable to evaluate them using an objective and standardized bahavioural test, rather than results from field trials.

Modern milk production have come a long way when it comes to accommodating the nutritional and physiological needs of the animals, but unfortunately the behavioural and psychological needs of cows and heifers are often left unfulfilled. A long time for eating is beneficial for the digestion and also gives the cattle something to do and decreases the risks for developing abnormal behaviours. An important factor that influences eating- and ruminating time is the particle size of the roughage. The aim of the study was to find out if particle size influences the behaviour of dairy heifers, in particular with regard to eating behaviour and abnormal behaviours. The study was conducted at Uddetorp farm high school in Skara. Forty-two heifers of the breeds SR and SF were housed in 8 slatted floor pens.

Grasslands which have been actively managed for a long time and which in modern times have not been subject to cultivation such as fertilization are called semi-natural grasslands. These rare and species-rich areas hold an ecological, biological and historical value and if the management stops these areas will likely diminish. More effective agricultural systems and a declining number of grazing animals have in Sweden, among other countries, made semi-natural grasslands less valuable as foraging areas. Shrubs and fast growing plants rapidly colonize abandoned semi-natural grasslands, threatening biodiversity. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of breed and season on diet composition, with special reference to four competitive species found in wet areas ? in cattle grazing heterogeneous semi-natural grasslands ? and thereby contribute to improved management of these areas.

The purpose with this study was to analyze the possibilities to produce organic lambs and to hihglight the most common difficulties in such a production system. A description of current organic and conventional lamb production systems was conducted, both from Sweden and from some other countries. The Department of Animal Environment and Health at SLU in Skara performed the project together with The County Board of Agriculture in Västra Götaland and Värmland and The Swedish Animal Health Service. The project lasted from 2002 to 2004. The student report contains the years 2002 and 2003. In the year of 2003 there were 210 000 adult sheep in Sweden, of which 16 400 adult sheep were certified by KRAV. Of the different countries in Sweden, Västra Götaland and Gotland had the largest number of sheep, 14 and 13 per cent of the total number.

Peat litter is a soft material with high absorbency. About hundred years ago many farmers in Sweden used peat litter to their dairy cows. After the World War II the use of peat litter decreased and the farmers used more straw. Nowadays (year 2007), when it is harder to find straw and sawdust to buy, peat litter is advancing again. The purpose with this study is to investigate peat as a litter to dairy cows.

ABSTRACT. In the late 1960?s all the wolves in Scandinavia went extinct in the wild due to extensive hunting. In 1983 two new wolves immigrated and founded, together with a third immigrant in 1991, the population that exists today. Due to the fact that the population originates from less than a handful of individuals, the genetic variation is small.

Destillers dried grains with soluble (DDGS) is a by-product when producing ethanol. DDGS from wheat has a high crude protein content and a good amino acid profile, which makes it an interesting feed ingredient for poultry. The disadvantage of feeding DDGS from wheat to poultry is that it also contains a high fiber content that chickens don?t have the ability to break down. Lantmännen Agroetanol has developed a new protein feedstuff from DDGS by extracting wheat protein from DDGS, the product name is Agroprotein SD.

This Masters Thesis includes a survey of recreational habits and the attitudes towards forests of the people of Sätra, a suburb of the city of Gävle. The study also includes the planning and design of a forest suited for education in the same part of the city. The thesis is a part of a project called Tätortsnära skog, commissioned by the Swedish forest agency. The project aims to survey the recreational habits of the general public in the regions of Dalarna and Gävleborg. Tätortsnära skog is focused on cities with a population of more than 20 000 inhabitants, of which Gävle, Sandviken, Falun and Borlänge all fall within the category.

Biodiversity is under threat in Sweden and many species are on the brink of extinction. This is mainly due to the large-scale drainage projects during the 19th and 20th century and the increasingly intensive land use in agriculture and forestry. The intensive land use with sharply defined boundaries between the production units has in many cases led to either overgrazing or overgrowing. As a result many species have been pushed back to "leftover" habitats like shooting ranges, power line corridors, roadsides, dumps, embankments and other similar areas. Therefore the question has been raised, wether or not it is needed to re-introduce large herbivores into the wild in order to maintain the biodiversity that is related to the extensive land use.This study has been conducted as a literature review and will focus on the European bison?s (Bison bonasus) impact on other species and biodiversity; conditions for reintroducing large herbivores in Sweden are also discussed.Free roaming populations of large herbivores have a positive impact on plants, insects and many other groups of organisms.

SAMMANFATTNINGIsbjörnen är mycket populär hos djurparksbesökare och en viktig symbol för klimathotet, trots detta finns fortfarande många frågetecken kring hur vi ger isbjörnar i djurparker hög välfärd. I litteraturen har vi länge talat om isbjörnar som solitära djur men trots detta låter vi dem ofta dela hägn med andra isbjörnar på djurparker. Det har observerats positiva effekter av grupphållning av isbjörnar, bland annat sänkt förekomst av stereotypa beteenden, men vi måste vidare utreda vilken påverkan det har på deras välfärd. Ytterligare problem för isbjörnar på djurparker är stereotypt vankande som har observerats hos flertalet karnivorer som i det vilda rör sig över stora områden eller hemytor. Syftet med denna studie var att titta på hur isbjörnarna på Orsa björnpark utnyttjar sitt hägn, vilka beteenden som kan observeras samt hur stor del av observationerna de spenderar tillsammans.