Oilseed rape is an important crop in Sweden and is grown on about 90000 ha today. The interest in oil seed pro-duction is increasing because of growing demand and high prices for oil seed both in Sweden and Europe. However, an increased intensity in the oil seed production can bring higher risk of yield losses due to fungal diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate what different fungi are associated with oilseed rape under field conditions and if their incidence is correlated to crop establishment problems. This study was carried out in three parts: 1) investigations on fungal community structure in roots and rhizosphere soils from young spring- and winter rape plants sampled in failed respectively good establishment patches in four fields, 2) investigations on the pathogenicity of fungi isolated from oilseed rape in controlled environment and 3) investigations on the effect of different fungicide seed treatments on germination and early plant development in a field soil naturally infested with damping off- and Verticillium wilt pathogens. The studies on community structure using a combined approach of standard fungal isolation techniques and DNA based methods revealed a high fungal diversity in three out of four studied fields of spring rape and winter rape. For some unknown reason, very few fungal species were identified from the fourth field.

Nature conservation has for a long time been founded on the assumption that high ecological values depend on low human impact. In Sweden this has led to forests with these characteristics being strictly protected from human influences. However, it is also known that historical land-use can enhance ecological values in forests. Mountainous forests in Sweden, which have not been affected by modern forestry, have for a long time been considered as untouched by people. However, forest history research has in recent years shown that even these areas have been used by people for a long period of time.

Beef cattle wintering outdoors should be provided a shelter, e.g. a type of barn or corresponding. This type of production requires appropriate soil types and secured animal welfare. For example, a clean and dry resting place needs to be provided to the animals. To receive an exemption for buildings the farmer has to have something equivalent that provides an adequate shelter.

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.

Reindeer husbandry and Forestry are both area related industries and will in big extent use the same lands. Conflicts often arise because of that the industries have different interests. Many of the activities done by the forestry influences the reindeer husbandry in an undesirable way, simultaneously as the reindeer husbandry activities can have negative consequences for the forestry. One such forestry activity is fertilization. It was during the 1960´s forest fertilization began to be practiced and the reason was that the increase in growth that the fertilization gave could be able to cover for the future shortage in wood many feared. During the 1970´s when the fertilizing activities were most intensive about 200 000 ha was fertilized annually.

The global wood pellet market has seen a rapid growth after the adoption of the Kyoto protocol and the renewable energy incentives created within the European Union. The global consumption of wood pellets reached 13,5 million tonnes in 2010 and several experts estimate the consumption to be between 35-50 million tonnes by 2020. These forescasts raise the questions which regions that can supply this vast amount of wood pellets and what the conditions are for producing it. This study evaluates the conditions for wood pellet production and export from British Columbia, on Canada?s west coast, focusing on existing industry structure, raw material supply and the distribution chain.

En svår och ständigt aktuell fråga är hur landsbygd och glesbygd ska definieras och avgränsas. För att utföra sådana avgränsningar har en stor mängd olika definitioner och mätmetoder tagits fram. Problemet med många av dem är att de ger mycket grova och statiska indelningar och att de ibland bygger på subjektiva eller svårpreciserade kriterier. Samhällsstrukturen har förändrats, exempelvis är tillgången till bil stor idag vilket ökar tillgängligheten och tillåter att människor bosätter sig längre från arbete och service. Det i sin tur bidrar till att gränsen mellan landsbygd och tätort suddas ut och blir mer diffus.

Under de senaste årtiondena har det pågått en förtätning och en alltmer ökad utbyggnad av världens städer. Som en följd av detta har stadens naturliga vatten- och värmebalans rubbats. På bekostnad av vegetativa ytor har artificiella byggmaterial introducerats som absorberar värme från solens strålar och höjer stadens temperaturer. Dessa material leder även snabbt bort regnvatten samt hindrar vatten att infiltreras ner i marken. Temperaturskillnader på 12oC jämfört med den omkringliggande landsbygden har kunnat uppmätas i stora amerikanska städer. Detta fenomen har kommit att kallas Stadens Värmeö eller Urban Heat Island som är den engelska termen. I Sverige förväntas det bli allt högre sommartemperaturer och fler rekordvarma dagar framöver.

?Re:Regional? is a diploma work by Sanna Alm and Ylva Hedin, for the Master?s Programme in Spatial Planning presented at the Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden. ?Greater Helsinki Vision 2050 ? International Ideas Competition? was the starting point of this study. The competition was launched the 15th of December 2006 and the closing date was the 31st of May.

?Re:Regional? is a diploma work by Sanna Alm and Ylva Hedin, for the Master?s Programme in Spatial Planning presented at the Blekinge Institute of Technology, Karlskrona, Sweden. ?Greater Helsinki Vision 2050 ? International Ideas Competition? was the starting point of this study. The competition was launched the 15th of December 2006 and the closing date was the 31st of May.

1. Reaction on burial depth and nitrogen availability and placement in competition with a crop In this trial it was investigated how couch grass (Elymus repens) changes its ability to compete in stands of wheat and barley with different burial depth and different amounts and placement of nitrogen. More knowledge in this area can be valuable in the attempt to decrease the use of herbicides and still keep the weeds under control. The trial was carried out in the summer of 2004 as an outdoor pot experiment. The pots contained 15 litres of soil with a surface of 0,06 m2.

The different material layers as part of a road construction fill all a function so theroad becomes durable, safe, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. Recently, anew group of construction materials started to play an important role in roadconstruction ? geosynthetics.This thesis addresses the two most common types ofgeosynthetics used in modern road construction, namely geogrids and geotextiles.The most common use of geogrids is reinforcement of poor subgrade by usinggeogrid soil reinforcement, which occurs when road material particles wedge inthe geogrid?s mesh. Geotextiles act partly as a barrier that prevents the finermaterial in the below ground from being mixed with coarser upper material andalso act as a load spreader.Road contractors often face a choice of whether geogrids and/or geotextiles areappropriate in a particular road project and also how much profit the choice mightbring. This phase in the tender calculation process is the intended scope of thisthesis.The thesis deals with both the "hard" cost-function aspects and the "softer" values e.g.

Lake Bornsjön is situated 30 km southwest of Stockholm in a rift valley lake and consist three basins outstretched in northwest-southeast direction. The surface area is 6,7 km2 with a maximum depth of 18,3 meters, a mean depth of 9,8 meters and a retention time of the water of 6,5 years. The drainage area is 42 km2 and consists mainly of arable land (ca 1000 ha) and productive forestry land (2500 ha), but in the drainage area there are also restored and fairly newly constructed wetlands.Today the Stockholm area receives its drinking water from Lake Mälaren, but if there would be any pollution of this source, Lake Bornsjön would act as the water source. The area surrounding the lake was bought already in 1899 by Stockholm Stad for protection of the lake and was taken over 1993 by Stockholm Vatten AB. It has been a water protection area from 1988 and it was also accepted as a nature reserve in 1995.

SAMMANFATTNING Uppskattningsvis transporteras 171 miljoner grisar inom EU varje år, varav ca 3,5 miljoner i Sverige. Grisarna kommer, under hela förloppet från förflyttningen från box i stallet till bedövningen i slakteriet, att utsättas för stressande moment. Orsakerna är bland annat omgrupperingar, nya miljöer, vibrationer i bilen samt, speciellt under sommaren, värmestress. Temperaturen i djurtransportbilen är en nyckelfaktor som dessutom kan förstärka effekten av andra stressorer. Lastning i höga temperaturer ökar risken för värmestress. Värmestress innebär att djuren får allt svårare att avge sin värme. Även den relativa luftfuktigheten har betydelse, framförallt vid temperaturer över 30°C. Det är ventilationen i transportbilen som ska transportera bort värme och fukt från bilen.