The construction of buildings and paved surfaces changes the natural water balance.Precipitation generates surface runoff and storm water instead of infiltrating into the soil.Storm water has come to be considered as a major source of pollution in lakes and streams inthe vicinity of urban areas. Reduction of pollutants in storm water is a key action in order toprotect sensitive recipients and maintain high water quality. Storm water is traditionallytransported by storm sewers to the nearest recipient. In recent years the approach to stormwater management has changed; storm water should primarily be disposed of on site, throughlocal disposal of storm water, LOD. LOD is created by a combination of the function ofseveral smaller local facilities and the general sewer system.

Burkina Faso as well as most sub-Saharan African countries struggle with providing food for a fast growing population. The dominating farming system is agroforestry parklands. Agroforestry parklands can broadly be defined as areas where scattered trees occur on farmlands as a result of selective clearing. The presence of trees in crop fields may in the long term have a positive effect on the production of annual crops. It is commonly discussed, but not proven, that the presence of trees leads to increased groundwater recharge due to higher infiltration capacity of the soil.

Herbicide resistance is the result of an evolutionary process where a population gradually changes from being susceptible to being resistant to an herbicide. The resistance mechanism is usually a change in the biochemistry of the weed, but in some cases changes in morphology or growth rhythm. The change is caused by random mutations. Two resistance mechanisms are found in black-grass; target site resistance and metabolic resistance.Black-grass is a tufty, winter annual grass weed, which is mainly found in milder climates. Black-grass is a big problem in Southern Europe.

This study forms part of the R&D project "Improved survival of bird chicks in organic fields" managed by the Rural Economy & Agricultural society in Uppsala. The skylark (Alauda arvensis) is a species that has decreased drastically in Sweden as a consequence of more intensive cropping. Studies in England have shown that skylark reproduction can be greatly improved within conventional fields, at a low cost, by establishing patches of bare ground (skylark plots). Within conventional farming, herbicides can be used in case a weed problem arises due to implementation of these skylark plots, whereas this is not allowed in organic farming. This study examined the effects of skylark plots on the weed culture in organic autumn-sown (winter) cereals and whether weeds might cause long-term problems to farmers. The study was conducted in two parts; a field study and a review of the literature regarding the weeds observed. The field study was carried out in 2007 during three weeks in June and three weeks in July, on eleven organic fields with winter cereal in the vicinity of Uppsala.

Textiles are made in an unsustainable way and there is a need to find alternative ways and material to reduce the negative impacts on the environment, humans and animals. Problems like pollution, excessive water consumption and loss of soil fertility is a result of this lack of diversity. It is a necessity to find innovative alternatives in other fabrics due to the unsustainable use of cotton and polyester fibers. As in many other countries in the Western part of the world, in Sweden there is a rapid turnover and increased selling of clothes that result in increased textile waste. About 15 kilogram of textiles (net inflow) is consumed per person each year.

AbstractDrinking water is an important resource on Earth both for humans and animals. Although most of the surface is covered by water only a small quantity is available as drinking water. Our manner of living creates a lot of pollution which has an environmental impact. Groundwater has a protracted turnover time in the soil and it can take many years before the effects of human impact are detected. The Swedish environmental object is ?Good groundwater quality? which aims to provide a safe and sustainable supply of drinking water today and in the future.

The construction of buildings and paved surfaces changes the natural water balance.Precipitation generates surface runoff and storm water instead of infiltrating into the soil.Storm water has come to be considered as a major source of pollution in lakes and streams inthe vicinity of urban areas. Reduction of pollutants in storm water is a key action in order toprotect sensitive recipients and maintain high water quality. Storm water is traditionallytransported by storm sewers to the nearest recipient. In recent years the approach to stormwater management has changed; storm water should primarily be disposed of on site, throughlocal disposal of storm water, LOD. LOD is created by a combination of the function ofseveral smaller local facilities and the general sewer system.

Abstract Spiritual gardening, historical perspective and epistemology, - how do these concepts connect? A review of the ideologies of four pragmatic growers. The purpose of this thesis is: ? to present an alternative forthcoming perspective on knowledge, that may be of significance for future theories and knowledge about growing and gardening. ? to lift experiences with Nature Spirits into an academic context, that permits us a closer look at the phenomenon. ? to contribute to an academic platform connecting humanistic and natural sciences. The intention of this text is to bridge the differences between the strictly rational traditions of knowledge and those more experience based ones. The thesis wants to show that much can be won if feeling based and mental reflections once again are approached as equal sources of knowledge. The aim is to give an orientation about the subject of Nature Spirits. The interesting fact is not whether (that) one can talk to nature, but how one does it and that more can be understood about nature and the reality that the established sciences study. The form for this study of literature is a describing presentation; to put names on and give wording to the phenomena of Nature Spirits and Plantdevas. The sources of literature are four pragmatic practitioners of spiritual gardening who have written extensively about their own work.

A distributed hydrological rainfall-runoff model has been developed using a GIS integrated with a dynamic programming module (PCRaster). The model has been developed within the framework of the EU-project TWINBAS at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, and is intended for use in WATSHMAN ? a tool for watershed management developed at IVL. The model simulates runoff from a catchment based on daily mean values of temperature and precipitation. The GIS input data consist of maps with soil type, land-use, lakes, rivers and a digital elevation model.

Children's need of a good environment of playing outdoor at schoolyards is, both from a perspective of commonly public's health and from the children themselves, indisputable. Children who have a good and varying playground develop physically, psychologically and socially. As an instrument of pedagogic a playground also is valuable for example in teaching the round, periodical successions and understanding of democratic processes. The conception playground means here in my work the environment outdoor for children at schools up to about twelve years old. What is a good playground then? How is it possible for a landscape architect to contribute improvements? The purpose of my work has been to enlarge my knowledge about playgrounds, understand more of the profession as a landscape architect and apply a perspective of children in the planning. To sum up, the shaping of playgrounds has great importance for the activities of the children and if the teachers make use of it, the teaching. A good playground gives the delight, the excitement and the curiosity free spaces and stimulates new challenges.

Forestry and reindeer husbandry are entitled to use the same land for their operations. For this reason, conflicts occasionally arise between them. Soil scarification is a forestry operation which has a negative effect on the occurrence of reindeer lichen. Reindeer lichens are of crucial importance to reindeers and reindeer husbandry, especially in the winter when reindeers primarily feed on different lichen species (Cladina spp. and Cetraria spp.).

Few rectory gardens are today remaining in their former design and the cultural heritage that they represent are disappearing. Since 1987-88 the parishes are no longer bound to keep housing for their priests, which means that they, for economical reasons, are starting to sell their rectories. With this in mind, a group of people, growing up in rectories in Småland and Öland between the 1930th and 1950th, formed an interest group to save the memory of their rectory gardens. On the basis of their memories, they have written a couple of descriptions of the rectories, which describe the gardens content, design and the life they once lived there. With this compilation of the 14 rectory gardens I want to keep the memory of them and create a ground for future work in this field. Historically the rectory gardens played an important roll as patterns and examples in the countryside.

Eutrophication of lakes and streams are nowadays a well known environmental problem and implies an enrichment of the nutrients phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). Phosphorus is considered to be the most important component for the growth of aquatic plants and leads in too large quantities to an intensification of growth. Phosphate (PO4) is the fraction of phosphorus that can easiest be taken up by plants and thus have the greatest impact on eutrophication. Increased plant growth in lakes and unfavorable conditions for aquatic animals are two examples of negative consequences. A significant portion of the increased nutrient supply to nearby water can be derived to phosphate leaching from agricultural areas, where private sewers and agriculture is two main sources.

Fosforutsläpp kan leda till övergödning i vattenrecipienten om kritiska nivåer överskrids. De enskilda avloppen står idag för en relativt stor andel av Sveriges fosforutsläpp jämfört med de kommunala avloppen. Detta kan sättas i bakgrund av att staten, alltsedan 1970-talet, har lagt ner stora resurser på att reducera utsläppen hos kommunala avlopp, medan en motsvarande satsning på de enskilda avloppen uteblivit.Merparten av dagens enskilda avlopp utgörs av markbaserade reningssystem, det vill säga avloppslösningar där avloppsvattnet får passera genom markmaterial för att renas. Fosforreningen i markbaserade reningssystem har forskningshistoriskt sett inte varit en prioriterad fråga, vilket har lett till kunskapsbrist inom området. Naturvårdsverket har i och med miljöbalkens införande skärpt sina krav på fosforreningen hos enskilda avlopp.

The plants in the genus Elatine are characteristic for oligo and mesotrophic lakes. This study focuses on Elatine hexandra one of the four species in Sweden. It is stated as vulnerable by the National Environment Agency and a conservation plan with guidelines to preserve the plant in Sweden is under preparation. There have been a few previous studies investigating this plant in other countries but this is the first one for Sweden. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution, growth and reproduction of E.