The aim of this study was to investigate if the botanical composition of haylage affects pH, dry matter content and microbial composition of the faeces in horse and pig and ileal environment in pigs. Two separate studies were conducted where pigs and horses were fed two diets containing haylages with different botanical composition. The first haylage was from a tilled land dominated by timothy and meadow fescue and the other haylage came from a meadowland with a large inclusion of dandelion, 25 % and common couch. The dry matter content (70.8 % and 73.0 % respectively) and the pH-value (5.7) were similar in both feeds. The first study was made as a three-periods switch-back study with 7 Standardbred horses. In the first and the third period, 7 and 9 days long respectively, the diet consisted of the haylage from the tilled land, oats, sugar beet pulp, soy bean oil meal, lucerne pellets and brewers yeast.

The colour choice of spiders and the effects of competition on this phenomenon were examined in the laboratory using the sit-and-wait predator goldenrod crab spider (Misumena vatia, (Thomisidae)). This species can  be both white and yellow (could also change colour)  and it was here examined whether individuals preferred to sit on flowers which has the same colouration as their bodies. I found that M.vatia showed preference for flowers that matched their own body colour, but when competition was introduced this preference disappear. It seems, however, that position is a factor that can influences the substrate decisions of M. vatia, where the edge of the flower is preferred..

The purpose of this paper is to examine what problems cabbage growers have with the Swede Midge. The last few years the Swede Midge, Contarinia nasturtii, has become a larger problem for cabbage growers in several countries in Europe as well as in Sweden. In Canada the problems are so severe that the midge is classified as a quarantine pest and therefore certain rules have to be followed. I have collected facts of the biology, host plants and reproduction of the Swede Midge, as well as the growers experiences and the occurrence of the midge in Canada, Europe and Sweden. The Swede Midge is hard to control because of its short life cycle and the larvae are protected between the heartleaves of the plant. When the larva feeds on the growth point the plant becomes distorted, in some cases several heads develop or none at all. When the midge infests spring rape its flower buds become undeveloped and rosette like.

This work is about presenting the weave in a new and different context, by bringing textile and glass together. The work is characterized by material and shape experiments with silver and copper weave and hand blown glass. From experiments and sketches, the work has resulted in four sculptures, symbolizing four selected stages in a lifecycle; the birth, the development, the maturity and the death. One important part of the work has been to combine different materials and techniques.Studies of literature, sketching, handweaving and integration of silver and copper weave in the glass have been important methods in the working process. Inspired by the flower, the human being and the universe, a story about the life cycle has taken shape.The paper describes the working process with choices and analyses.

This essay examines the way the recurring motifs in Karin Boye's poetry might be read as expressions of queer or subversive desire. The fact that the lyrical I is not gendered in the poems opens up for a queer reading. In adherence to Sara Ahmed's notion of desire lines and sexual orientation I discuss the spatial aspects of desire, and explore the positions and movements of the lyrical I in Boye's poetic landscape as deviations from the concept of the straight and marked path, into the queer and unknown.I trace desire in Boye's poetry mainly through the themes of nature and night, and the ways in which these phenomena deviate from the normative structures laid out by the poems. Usually the motifs of night (such as fog, shadows and darkness) are associated with the fading of the senses. The night obscures the vision of the lyrical I and wraps them in heavy silence, making them experience and desire in new ways. Through motifs related to nature Boye formulates a feminine, matriarchal myth.

Secondary deciduous forests, which have their origin in earlier pasture- and meadow-land in slopes along the lower reaches of the Ume river, are thought to contain high nature conservation values, in spite of a relatively low age. The aim of this study was to clarify how factors as historical use, exposition, disturbance dynamics and successional age influences the conservation values in these types of riparian forests and how this can be implicated in the practical work with conservation and management at Umeå municipality. Sample plots were placed in seven stands with a variation of their historical use, exposition, disturbance dynamics and age of succession. Conservation values as structure, tree-regeneration, abundance and composition of vascular plants, amount of dead wood and the abundance of signal-species were measured and registered. The species composition and especially the composition of tree species, differed between forests with different exposition and different historical use.

There are several objects of age whose provenance and history has disappeared with time. The purpose of this thesis is to find out which analyzing methods that gives results and how the different methods can be combined and /or established in each other. The investigations centers around an embroidery, belonging to Tämta church, with unknown origin, use and age. The embroidery is long and narrow with applications in the form of dragons and eagles on a ground of velvet cloth. The dragons and eagles are covered with metal threads.

One of the main reasons for the massive loss in plant species diversity is the fragmentation of habitats. In Europe, open pastures and meadows are the habitats going through the most changes during the 20th century, according to the agricultural changes. In this study vascular plants were invented at five different islands in the Lurö archipelago, Vänern, Sweden. The aim of the study was to sort out whether the diversity of plants has gone through any changes in abandoned managed grasslands compared to continuous managed grasslands. The aim was also to study if a change in the landscape has made any differences for the species development or decline.

Hazel (Corylus avellana L.) is a common feature of meadows and pastures where it can grow in large populations and become very old. Is it possible to use the size of hazel stools for age determination and is it possible to use the size distribution of a population to provide information about how the land has been used? Hazel populations on ground where the lake-water level had been lowered, has been studied to validate an already developed growth model of hazel clones. Different hazel populations, on wooded meadows affected by mowing or grazing or overgrown meadows, were studied to evaluate the method utilizing hazel as land use indicator. The growth model was used to compare the size distributions of hazel populations with historical periods, which has been important for changes in agriculture or demography.

This report was an outcome of a cooperation between ?The Visitor and Knowledge Project Carl von Linné? and SLU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Science. The aim with the cooperation was to create a garden and to suggest suitable plants for an orangery already built. All species suggested should have a documented relationship with Carl von Linné. The project is located in the southern part of Sweden at an estate named Möckelsnäs not far away from Linné?s birthplace.

Den globala havsnivåhöjningen är en direkt följd av den globala uppvärmningen ochkommer i framtiden påverka stora områden i kustregionen. Syftet med detta arbete äratt öka förståelsen samt se hur Gotlands strandängar samt kustområden kan påverkas avhavsnivåhöjningen år 2100 och se vilka eventuella följder detta kan leda till. Metodernasom har använts är GIS-analys och litteraturstudier. Höjdmodeller med olika upplösningjämfördes även för att undersöka vilka som lämpar sig till en liknande analys införframtida studier. Resultatet visar att vid en havsnivåhöjning på 1 m kommer 97 % avstrandängarna försvinna och vid en havsnivåhöjning på 2 m försvinner 99 % av degotländska strandängarna.

The concept competence is considered to be difficult to define. Therefore, it may be problematic to define competence in business and to evaluate the level of skills of employees (Thomsen, 2010). In this study the aim has been to identify key competencies for employees working as purchasers for Skanska Nordic Procurement Unit (NPU). These key competencies will afterwards help Skanska NPU to evaluate purchasers? level of competence.The theoretical framework of the study consists of three different parts.

En av de största orsakerna till den massiva förlusten av växtarter, är fragmenteringen av habitat. I Europa är öppna naturbetesmarker och ängar de habitat som genomgått de största förändringarna i och med jordbrukslandskapets omstruktureringar under 1900-talet. I den här studien inventerades kärlväxter på 5 olika öar i kulturlandskapet Lurö skärgårds naturreservat. Syftet var att ta reda på hur diversiteten bland kärlväxtarter skiljer sig mellan hävdade gräsmarker och f.d. gräsmarker där hävd upphört och hur ett förändrat landskap spelat roll för artantalets utveckling eller tillbakagång.

This study concerns the type of vegetation selected by cattle grazing on semi-natural pastures, and whether the selection depends on the nutrient content of the vegetation or on other factors. The study was carried out in three different semi-natural pastures in the Uppsala area during June, July and August in 2006. The three pastures were first surveyed, mapped out and divided into sub-areas with regard to the type of dominating vegetation. The vegetation types identified were: wet, mesic, dry, wooded, pasture with signs of former cultivation (arable). Within each vegetation type three 1x1 m sampling plots were laid out. The grazing behaviour of the cows was recorded in a behaviour study.

A well-planned grave with a sustainable selection of plants facilitates easy maintenance for both staff and the holder of the right of burial. It also helps reduce the negative impact on the environment.As in many other areas, the environment is high on the agenda within the cemetery administration. One of the major concerns is the impact of the choice of plants for the grave. Within the industry there is a great motivation and willingness to adapt to a sustainable work mode and this has spawned a number of project works. In autumn 2009 the partnership project, ?Environmental aspects of planning and maintaining graves?, was started in Movium (at The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences).