Pollen analysis of a peat core was used to reconstruct the last 2500 years of vegetation history, with focus on the impact of anthropogenic disturbance, in Hamra National Park, central Sweden. In addition, analysis of pollen in soil samples was performed in an attempt to locate ancient cultivation plots in the National Park. The analysis of the peat core shows a development of the vegetation that can be divided into four stages of different degrees of human impact: A - virgin forest (c. 500 B.C.-A.D. 1300), B - grazed forest (c. A.D.

The Swedish boreal forests are limited by nitrogen (N) availability. While biological N2 fixation by cyanobacteria hosted by pleurocarpous feather mosses are important sources of N input to natural boreal forest ecosystems, little is known about the patterns of N2 fixation in silvicultural systems. This study investigates the biological N2 fixation rates of two boreal feather moss species (Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens) along a chronosequence from clear-cut to mature forest, as well as the vegetation characteristics along the chronosequence. Measurements and samples were collected from 32 forest sites that were classified into four age classes (clear-cut, pre-commercially thinned, thinned and mature forest). The sites were located near the city of Arvidsjaur in northern Sweden.

Biodiversity is essential for human well-being and it is defined as the genetic variation within species and the variety of species and ecosystems. Biodiversity provides several ecosystem services which are necessary for human beings but there are different threats towards the biodiversity. The biodiversity linked to the forest in Sweden are threatened, about 50 % of the red-listed species in Sweden are associated with forests. This is linked to the commercial exploitation of the boreal forest in Sweden which started 200 years ago. The forestry the last 50 years, with clear-cuts, have contributed to a fragmented forest landscape.

The purpose of Älvdalens besparingsskog is to develop the district and most of all the forestry in Älvdalen. It's owned by about 2 300 private forest owners who's landed properties are located in Älvdalen. Every year the besparingsskogen gives out a lot of its profit in form different types of subsidies for agriculture and forestry. The owners can apply for subsidies for several of the costs that occur in forestry. During the period 2000-2003 the owners are offered forest management plans and pcSKOG-gård at no cost for their private forest properties. The purpose of this master's thesis was to find out if the activity in the forestry changed when the forest owners got new forest management plans and the computer program pcSKOG-gård.

This study presents results for observing forest changes in Sweden using multi-temporal L-band satellite data and is a part of the JAXA?s ALOS Kyoto and Carbon Initiative. An extensive dataset of images acquired by the Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS PALSAR) is investigated for clear-cut detection in boreal forests in northern Sweden (Lat. 64°14? N, Long.

Nature conservation on certified small private forest owners- a comparison between the two certification systems FSC and PEFC in southern Sweden Today two different certification systems are used in Sweden to certify forest, FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Pan European Forest Certification). During the last years certification of forests in general and different certification systems have frequently been debated. FSC is a globally widespread system and about 10 million ha out of 23 million ha Swedish forest is FSC-certified. The FSC-standard is mainly used by major forest companies and to some extent also by smaller private forest owners. PEFC is a European system and about 2 million ha Swedish forests is PEFC-certified today.

This study was conducted on behalf of SCA forest AB, Västerbottens forest administration. Timber procurement from non-industrial private forest owners has become an increasingly important part of SCA:s wood supply. The objectives of this study was to report the current forest conditions in the private forests in the county of Västerbotten, analyse the potential for procurement of wood from private forest owners, and provide a basis for decisions on future strategies for timber procurement from private owners.Material and data have been collected from different sources, mainly from Swedish National Forest Inventory and SKA-VB08. This material was the basis for the analysis and calculations performed with the Heureka application PlanWise. This study area was divided into six different analytical areas (Coastal south, Coastal middle, Lycksele, Inland south, Inland north, Skellefteå), where each area of analysis is represented by a number of municipalities.In this study, two scenarios were specified; one describing the current forest management with current harvesting levels and the effects of these assumptions, the second to illuminate what potential there is for future timber harvesting.

As the past century?s technological development has progressed the Swedish boreal forests have transformed into dense, highly productive, homogenous and coniferous forests. The area around Saxdalen in Ludvika municipality has long been dominated forests which have been heavily worked since the 18th century. There are in Ludvika 119 000 hectares of productive forest land. Around 70 percent are owned by forest companies and 20 by private forest owners.

Services, no matter if they are established on the market or not, are often problematic since they are difficult to define for the customer. An example of such services is an real estate agent offers his or her service when it comes to all types of real estate. The purpose of the intermediation is to sell a costumers real estate to a buyer and act arbitrator between the two parties, this means that good communication is very important. To pin down what the service is all about and to know how to communicate is essential. When it comes to land and forest holding a special need of knowledge and experience is needed to be able to act professionally.

Tropical rain forests only cover around six percent of the world?s land area and contain around 70 % of the world´s animals and plants. Tropical rainforests have been, and still are, negatively affected by human activities. These activities lead to forest degradation which has negative impacts on production and biodiversity. Between 1970-1980 forests in Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia, was subjected to intense logging.

During the year of 2008, a powerful earthquake hit the southern part of Iceland, which changed the geothermal conditions in the area around the city of Hveragerdi. Elevated soil temperatures in a nearby forest plantation have contributed to a unique opportunity for researchers to study how an increased soil temperature affects the boreal forest ecosystem, something that partly can be connected to the climate changes which are happening today. The boreal forest is representing a carbon sink and a buffert for the emissions that occurs. Changes in this ecosystem will for that reason contribute to major impact for the global carbon cycle. To study the impact of how elevated soil temperatures affects different processes in a plantation of Sitka spruce, studies were made on the photosynthesis of the trees and the respiration from the soil.

?Development of methods for the planning and implementation of ditch clearing with modern methods?, is a long title for an exam work but that is what this report describes. In Sweden, we have a limited area available, and with the present development with increasing market oil prices, and enormous forces on the renewable energy sources, we need every hectare possible to protect the output of the forests. So with this in mind, many people are now considering how to increase the production of the forests that are already available. A part of production increases is to manage the existing forests, and not to allow this area to go to cultivation or become marshland. We manage our forests in a way that benefits the environment, and we consider that our working practice over the years has shown us to be correct and well functioning. A part of our way of producing forests is to ensure that we have functioning drainage systems in the forest holdings which we administer. The responsible at Holmen Skog requested a good method to make inventories of the drainage systems of Holmen forests. This Degree Project is about ways to identify and implement drainage systems with modern methods. It deals with authorities regulations, and how they operate in different counties.

The loss of habitat is one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity today. Consequences to a species inhabiting fragmented habitats include: group size changes, altered diets and altered foraging behaviours. In my study I observed Colobus anlgolensis palliatus troops living in the forests of Diani, a highly developed area on the Kenyan coast. I looked for differences in behaviours between three troops inhabiting pristine forest patches and three troops inhabiting highly degraded forest areas. I used focal animal sampling with instantaneous sample points.

In Sweden, the demand for bio energy has increased in recent years due to the current energy and climate debate. In 2008, the energy supply of Sweden was 612 TWh, biofuels accounted for 123 TWh of these. Stumps have been highlighted as a potential fuel in recent years and the Swedish Forest Agency expects a technically and biologically feasible potential of 20.7 TWh annually between 2010 and 2019. The idea of utilize stumps is not new. During the 19th century stumps were used for tar production and during the 70?s and 80?s attempts were made to use stumps in the pulp industry.

The value of game for hunting from a social economic viewpoint is an interesting topic that is currently being investigated in a Swedish research program. The amount of damages that the game stocks cause to the forestry is, and has been in focus for a longer period of time. Something that I saw as missing was an investigation of how much an active game keeping measure might cost in lost incomes for forestry in terms of reduced acreage for Forest production. This question was the foundation for this investigation, which purpose is to give interested persons with decent knowledge of forestry an example of how cost estimation for forestry resembling the example that is studied can look like. The measures that has been taken is a felling of forest in different ages on both sides of a forest dirt road to create increased asset of forage for the game, and at the same time give hunters that have their post along the dirt road a better chance of seeing passing animals early and increasing the possibility to shoot good shots. The area, which is a part of The Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management estate Öster Malma, is also used as an example for guests who wish to learn more about managing ungulates. These guests have now got the opportunity to get information on how big the costs are for the measures that have been taken. The main conclusions of this work is that changed timber prices and foremost a change of interest rate makes big differences on the result of the calculations.