The Swedish government has proposed that 20 % of the cultivated land in Sweden should be organic by the year 2010 (The Swedish Board of Agriculture, 2008). In addition to this the production of organic food like milk, meat and egg should increase considerably. To reach the government?s goal it is necessary that the Swedish farmers get motivated to convert their production from Conventional to organic. Milko is a dairy association that has chosen to focus on organic products, they want to be the leading organic dairy association, and therefore they have a large need for organic milk (Milko, 2008).

Membrane bioreactors (MBR) combined with biological phosphorous treatment (Bio-P) has been investigated if that could be an alternative to the future expansion with Conventional active sludge treatment at Lundåkra wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the proximity of Landskrona, Sweden.The results showed that the surface demand in the biological treatment will be reduced with 67% with the MBR-alternative compared to a Conventional activated sludge process. The nutrient removal in the MBR-solution was decreased or unchanged for nitrogen-, phosphorous- and organic parameters. However, the energy demand will increase with an estimated cost of approximately 1 million SEK annually. Moreover, the extra chemical consumption is estimated to cost 370 000 SEK annually.The disturbances caused by filamentous bacteria such as sludge dispersal could be resolved with MBR-technology because the membranes are not affected by these organisms. The Bio-P process combined with MBR-technology works if the wastewater recirculates from the membranes to an aerobic zone.In the proposal, there will be a new pre-treatment step, for instance hole screens.

Protecting the environment has with time grown to take a more central role in the society. Agriculture plays an important role in the society since this sector produces our food. More thorough research on how agriculture affects the environment is therefore motivated. This research can be used to improve the agricultural practice from an environmental point of view. This is something that both the farmers and the consumers can profit from. This study aims to form the basis for creating environmental indicators for use of nitrogen and energy on dairy farms. Twenty-three farmers in western Sweden have been interviewed about their farms, both organic and Conventional. They produce milk with different intensity, defined as the amount of milk delivered (sold) per hectare of arable land.

The purpose with this study was to investigate how the behaviour and physiological parameters differ between high ranked and low ranked cows, and between cows in an automatic milking system verses Conventional milking parlour. The study was carried out at the Kungsängen research Centre, Department of animal nutrition an management, Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, Uppsala. Twelve cows, the six highest and the six lowest in social rank were selected from the automatic milking system for the experiment. Ten cows, the five highest and five lowest in social rank were selected from the Conventional system. Blood samples were taken during milking and resting.

Today cultivation of cereal in Sweden has high costs for establishment in relation to the rest of the world, and if this cultivation will be able to continue, the farmers have to control their costs. It is important to see all costs, not the maximum harvest achieved, but the net result. All farmers have different conditions with respect to soil, direction of the farm and were the farm is located geographically. With the right knowledge and ambitions, we think most farmers could change to reduced tillage. In this paper we have tried to find out if reduced tillage is an alternative for farmers.

KRAV-certified organic dairy herds generally have a lower milk yield than Conventional dairy herds. A high-level of milk yield requires a feeding regime with high amounts of concentrates, a factor known to contribute to the development of claw lesions (Bergsten, C. 2003). The aim of this study was to compare claw health between organic and Conventional dairy herds in free and tie stall systems. The number of herds from different domestic animal health associations was chosen in proportion to the association´s total portion of Swedish dairy producing herds of each type, respectively.

The aim of this study was to detect antibodies in swine serum against proteins in soy beans, wheat, oat and barley. Two methods were used: agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID), and SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting. The sera examined originated (I) from piglets younger than one week (negative control), (II) pigs from a feed trial with soy bean in a herd with PMWS, and (III) pigs inoculated with Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Escherichia coli after being fed with soy. The AGID-test was negative concerning all examined sera which were analysed against proteins in soy bean, wheat, oat and barley. In the experiment based on immunoblot antibodies were demonstrated within all three groups of examined pigs.

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.

Stands where pre commercial thinning has been ignored or inadequate often tend to have high stem density and low average diameter when they reach heights of thinning. In such stands, it can often be expensive to do a Conventional pulpwood harvest as a first thinning. This study investigates the development of the stands and the economic outcome of forest fuel extraction, or a combined harvest as alternatives to the ordinary pulpwood harvest. Simulations in Heureka StandWise were performed for two thin and dense stands, which were constructed by data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory. The simulations show that the extraction of forest fuel in first thinning at an early stage can provide higher net revenue compared to Conventional pulpwood harvest at the same time or later.

This is a diploma thesis executed as a part of the examination of the educationalprogram Building engineer ? Construction management at Halmstad University. The aim of the thesis is to compare and evaluate Conventional open-cut pipe-laying withhorizontal directional drilling. The thesis includes a comparison of the economic,environmental and time-based aspects of both methods and discusses which factorsthat determine the optimal choice of method.The study is mainly based on previous studies regarding the subject and oninterviews with professionals from the industry.A fictional project with five realistic cases of pipe-laying scenarios was compiled,sent to different companies for calculation, evaluated and compared. Our conclusionregarding when it?s suitable to use which method is entirely dependent on thespecific project.

This study was carried out as a commission from Holmen Skog, district ?Egen skog? in Norrköping. During October 2006 several stands were inventoried by aerial photos from helicopter. The stands were those for which the next action proposed was plant inventory or plant check. The photos were interpreted and the number of stems was calculated.

Changes in the environment are affecting the world market, and pressures from several stakeholders? are forcing different enterprises to adjust to the current situation. Farmers? difficult working conditions and environmental impacts of the Conventional cotton production in India have been highlighted. The small-scale production that is characterising India?s cotton farmers implies an insufficient competition power.

This study investigated potato growing in beds as an alternative to Conventional ridges.It was based on results from field trials on bed-grown potatoes carried out by Halland Rural Economy and Agricultural Society in 2007, studies of literature and interviews with farmers with experience of bed growing of potatoes. Due to their shallow root system, potatoes are one of the most drought-sensitive crops. Potatoes are often grown on sandy soils with poor water-holding capacity. Factors such as total yield, tuber size distribution and quality defects are negatively affected when water becomes insufficient. Wide beds have a more flat top which leads to more uniform water infiltration. Further on, beds have lower soil surface area due to its shape, and therefore, retain water more efficient. In the field trials, which were carried out at the Stjärnarp Estate near Halmstad, potatoes were grown in beds alongside a Conventional ridge-grown crop.

Tumble dryers and drying cabinets have to a large extent replaced the traditional way of drying clothes outdoors. They are faster, more convenient, require less space and can be operated regardless of weather conditions. This replacement has significantly increased residential energy consumption, due to the fact that tumbles dryers consume large amounts of electrical energy. In the USA 9 % of the households electric energy is consumed when drying clothes. Over 4 million tumble dryers are sold in Europe each year and 20 % of the residential electricity consumption in Sweden is used drying and washing clothes.

The most common way to treat wastewater in Sweden today is by a combination of an activated sludge process and a chemical treatment. These processes are not very energy efficient and may not be the most environmentally friendly. That is why it is interesting to evaluate new alternative methods to see if they can be less harmful to the environment and help to a lower resource consumption. New techniques are tested in a pilot installation at Hammarby Sjöstad, Sjöstadsverket. To be able to evaluate these techniques in a wide perspective system analyses are conducted where different impacts can be considered, advantages and disadvantages in the systems.Five system structures for water treatment have been constructed in Matlab/Simulink in this study.