Green manuring is a way of creating an organic fertilizer by growing a crop that is mowed down. Besides the fertilizing effect this method has been shown to have a positive influ-ence on soil organic matter as well as weed flora, and green manure is an important me-thod of weed control in organic farming in parts of Sweden. However, the release of nu-trients from the green manure varies and can therefore be difficult to control. Risks for losses of nutrients are also present. Although the area of organic farmland is increasing in Sweden, the use of green manure is decreasing.This report contains a literature study which compiles research on the functions of green manure in a cropping system and also how the crop can be used if harvested, for example to produce biogas.

The majority of the Swedish population were self-provided within agriculture a hundred years ago. Times do change and today the situation is the other way around - most of us live within city boundaries and only few work with farming and related agricultural businesses. One thing that has not changed though, is the need of supplies from Swedish agriculture.What do we think of those products? Are we even aware of the connection between us and agriculture? The Federation of Swedish Farmers, LRF (Lantbrukarnas riksförbund), started their project to strengthen the link between consumers and producers in 2008.This paper is part of the project and its aim is to investigate consumers' views and values upon the effects and products from Swedish agriculture.Opinions and values have been studied through interviews influenced by phenomenology. The results show that the informants in general had a positive approach and thinking concerning the products and effects from Swedish agriculture.

Green manuring is a way of creating an organic fertilizer by growing a crop that is mowed down. Besides the fertilizing effect this method has been shown to have a positive influ-ence on soil organic matter as well as weed flora, and green manure is an important me-thod of weed control in organic farming in parts of Sweden. However, the release of nu-trients from the green manure varies and can therefore be difficult to control. Risks for losses of nutrients are also present. Although the area of organic farmland is increasing in Sweden, the use of green manure is decreasing.This report contains a literature study which compiles research on the functions of green manure in a cropping system and also how the crop can be used if harvested, for example to produce biogas.

In this study, the sea trout (Salmo trutta) spawning migration was studied in the river Själsöån, Gotland, to assess the main external factors determining upstream migration and seasonal changes in fish parameters. Additionally population trends were studied by examination of old data. The most important external factors for upstream migration were the air pressure, air temperature and wind direction. No significant difference was found between when males and females migrated upstream. Larger females in better condition started migration earlier than the smaller females in poorer condition.

Gotland is famous around the world for its unique nature. The agriculture here has always been an important source of income and part of the identity of the island. But today the profession has low status and hard to survive. How can the interest for farming be increased?Gotlandsgården is an investigation about how the agriculture could develop.

The Baltic Sea is one of the world?s most polluted seas. Increased discharge of nutrients due to greater populations of people, together with a slow water exchange, creates great stress on the sea. Too much nutrients leads to increased growth of algae and causes problem in the ecosystem. Even if we reduce nutrient discharge the problem still exist in the ocean. When algae dies and sinks, more nutritional substances is produced called "internal eutrophication". This phenomenon will grow in the future due to a warmer climate and the problem is spreading towards the coastal zone, which is an important site for fish recreation. By removing the abundance of algae, the nutritional and toxic substances are reduced and the algae biomass can be a future resource for biofuel production..

Field balances based on supply and removal of trace elements from the topsoil have been calculatedfor farms specialized in crop, dairy and pig production in Sweden. Today's field balances have beencompared with the field balances of 1990 in order to examine if, and then how, the situation haschanged. Studied trace elements are arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu),mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn).The balance calculations show that the stores of Cu and Zn are depleted with an average rate of -15% and -6 % over a 100-years period on crop farms when only commercial fertilizers are being used.The concentrations of Hg and Pb tend to increase in the topsoil on crop farms with more than 3 % forHg and with 2 % for Pb in 100 years. There is today balance between supply and removal of the traceelements As, Cd, Cr, Mn and Ni. In the south of Sweden, on crop farms with sugar beets in the croprotation, one can see a decrease in the concentration of Cd in the top soil by -6 % over a period of100 years.

Västergarn is one of the smallest parishes on the island of Gotland. It?s a place of rich history and has been subject to numerous excavations throughout the years. The University of Gotland has conducted seminar excavations at Västergarn between the years of 2005-2012. During these excavations a lot of horse related finds have been found.

The saw blade producer, Håkansson Sågblad AB, patented in the U.S. a new blade profiledesigned specially to cut fish and meat. The most important advantage of that blade is that its teethare not set, therefore the material lost when cutting is really smaller. The special geometry of thatprofile made that nobody had found a proper way to produce it before.The goal of the outlined work is to develop a machine to produce these new blades in afeasible way.The research approach of the project can roughly be divided into three phases:1.- Invention and development of a proper distribution of blades to produce a big amount ofthem at the same time.2.- Research of the best production process to produce the blades.3.- Main design of the machine to produce the blades.In the Thesis these three points are carefully developed and studied in the form of the startpoint of a really bigger project. Some tests had been done in order to prove all the analytical ideasand the results obtained had been satisfactory enough to give Håkansson the start point of a bigbusiness.

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.

Hunger is a problem in some parts of the world (www, FAO 1, 2012). The lack of food is often a result of insufficient knowledge in soil fertility management (Röing de Nowina, 2012). Ongoing hunger and malnourishment are quite prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and are often combined with poverty (www, FAO 1, 2012). Farming is the most common occupation in this area and the farms are often small-scale farms with subsistence crops and a few cattle. The farmers who operate these small-scale farms are economically a weak group.

Denna studie undersöker hur stressfaktorer påverkar kroppen vid dykning i gruva. Undersökningen genomfördes under en helgs intensivt dykande, för att bestämma lungkapacitet, pulsnivå samt eventuell vätske- och viktförlust hos dykarna. Testerna bestod av vägning, spirometritester och pulsmätningar. Testpersonerna dök mellan ett till tre dyk under helgen. Två av det totala antalet dyk var på 74 meters djup, resterande dyk genomfördes på 36 meters djup.

By using pollen analysis, 14C-dating and historical sources, I studied the history of vegetation and land use at an abandoned forest settlement near the Lade summer farms in the parish of Mora, Dalama. The aim of this paper is to investigate the agricultural establishment and development, the effects of this on forest vegetation, and the origin and development of summer farming. The analysis of pollen in a peat core revealed that a settlement was established at Lade around 1000 AD. Cereal cultivation, hay-making on the mire and extensive forest grazing were intro-duced as a complete agricultural system. Pollen analysis and the presence of ancient fields suggests that cultivation took place on permanent fields. Barley was the main crop, but rye and hops/hemp were also grown at the settlement.

Fiskvägar kan anläggas i anslutning till dammar för att överkomma de hinder som dammarna utgör mot migrerande fisk. En av de mest önskvärda lösningar som finns för detta är att anlägga naturlika fiskvägar, vilka har som syfte att efterlikna ett naturligt vattendrag. Ofta har dock dessa planerats för dåligt med avseende på exempelvis lutning och placering av ingången för att de ska kunna fungera riktigt effektivt. På grund av detta finns det behov av omfattande studier av topografi och kartering av området innan en fiskväg anläggs.I det här arbetet används topografin och de geografiska förutsättningarna för att studera möjliga sträckningar på en naturlik fiskväg förbi Strömdalens kraftverk i Gävle som en del av det fiskvandringsprojekt som Länsstyrelsen Gävleborg driver. I arbetet byggs en höjdmodell upp med hjälp av data från LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) och genom topografisk mätning, där mätpunkter från Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) och Totalstation används för att korrigera LiDAR-modellen över visst område.

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.