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 purpose of this study was to examine whether an inventory of the vegetation overgrowth could be used to indicate a locally nutritional impact. The study was conducted at Märstaån where the water runs through a number of agricultural lands that could lead to an increased amount of diffuse emissions of Nutrients. The vegetation overgrowth in the water was also studied in relation to shade, meandering and water flow effects on the vegetation. With this method, no definitive conclusions could be drawn.Where the water was shaded, no vegetation overgrowth could be found. Therefor trees should be planted to prevent any future overgrowths.

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.

The present study deals with the importance of play for children's learning in preschool. The purpose is to investigate the importance of play for children's learning in preschool from a pedagogue?s perspective. The study is based on two issues: How does the pedagogue´s who were interviewed reason about the impact the play has on children's development? How does the pedagogue´s approach to make play a learning situation? The empirical data is based on semi-structured interviews with four preschool pedagogue´s.

The impact of the distribution in the soil volume of two farm manures on the net mineralization and immobilization processes of nitrogen were studied in an incubation experiment. Cattle slurry and broiler litter were placed in the soil with three procedures for incorporation including placement on top of the soil (TOP), in the middle of the soil (MID) and mixed homogenously with the soil (MIX). During the two weeks of incubation, few significant differences in net mineralization were seen between TOP, MID and MIX. However, there was a tendency that MIX led to a larger net immobilization of N than placement at one point (TOP and MID). This is also the result in the literature.

Every year about 210 000 tones dry weight of sewage sludge is produced in Sweden. Most of the sludge is applied to agricultural land, plantsoil and landfill cover. Sewage sludge contains essential Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen is limiting growth on solid ground in Sweden and can therefore be used as fertilizer to increase productivity. In order that the sludge can be spread to forest land it requires first a conversion of sludge to pellets, to make it more manageable.

To the sewer systems households, industries and other activities are connected. The wastewater is collected at treatment plants where a nutritious sludge is produced. The sludge does not only contain Nutrients, but also hazardous substances originating from different activities in society. To reduce the flow of hazardous substances to treatment plants and to create a sustainable recycling of plant Nutrients the Swedish Water & Wastewater Association has developed the certificate system REVAQ. This certificate requires a good quality of the sludge but also that the treatment plants maps the origin of the unwanted substances.

The present study deals with the importance of play for children's learning in preschool. The purpose is to investigate the importance of play for children's learning in preschool from a pedagogue?s perspective. The study is based on two issues: How does the pedagogue´s who were interviewed reason about the impact the play has on children's development? How does the pedagogue´s approach to make play a learning situation? The empirical data is based on semi-structured interviews with four preschool pedagogue´s.

Climate changes today are mainly caused by anthropogenic activities and the increased emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and this has raised questions on how to reduce the usage of fossil fuels. Ethanol is a good alternative to conventional gas and has been used in Brazil since the 1970 ?s. In Sweden several newspapers has written about the poor working conditions on many farms thus making the Swedish company SEKAB design a certification for their ethanol to ensure that it can be considered to be a sustainable alternative.Furthermore WWF has developed a certification tool called Bonsucro in cooperation with Coca Cola, Ferrero group, BP and Shell. This is due to the fact that no global certification tool has been available up until now.

The pig industry suffers economical loss due to stillbirths, piglet mortality and low birth weight. This is due to breeding programs that have resulted in larger litters. It has been suggested that these problems are due to the metabolic state of the sow during gestation and the fact that she might not be able to supply her foetuses with enough Nutrients for survival and a high and even birth weight. A lot of research has been done to investigate whether body weight and back fat thickness of the sow has any impact on her reproductive traits and if there are any special feed components that improve reproduction. Fibers and unsaturated fatty acids have a positive impact on reproductive traits as long as the sow is fed a sufficient amount of energy and protein during gestation and lactation.

This report describes honey, its origin, properties and effects on human health. Honey has been used for a long time in most civilizations and apiculture is an important activity sector in many parts of the world. The trend is an increase in honey production but a decrease in the number of beekeepers in Sweden. Honeybees live in a highly developed society with a strong hierarchy and a well organized distribution of the tasks. They visit a broad spectrum of plants and collect nectar to store it as honey.

70 % of the lakes and waters in the water district of northern Baltic Sea do not reach the requirements for good ecological status. This is mostly due to eutrophication caused by a too high deliverance of Nutrients from agricultural land or effluents. Losses of particulate phosphorus through water erosion contribute to a great extent to this eutrophication. In the action plan for the water district cover crops are mentioned as a measure for reducing losses of phosphorus from arable land. This paper reviews the possible effect of cover crops in the water district and discusses what crop that would be most suitable.

The purpose of this report was to investigate how the abiotic factors (temperature, pH, Nutrients, oxygen levels and water content) would affect the decomposition of oil-contaminated soil and how a variance in structured soil would affect the decomposition-rate. A minor field-study was made and soil where structured in five different ways (one was a default pile and was used as a reference). The study took place over 137 days and three samples were taken (start, middle, end) and analyzed for aromatic and aliphatic compounds. The result of this study shows that there is a significant difference between all methods for the aliphatic compounds and no significant difference for the aromatic compounds. The abiotic factors that affect decomposition vary from organism to organism, depending on what type of environment it will function the best.

Yeast and Clostridia is a problem in silage for farmers as contaminated silage may result in poor animal health and milk quality. Clostridia can produce toxins that, when consumed, acts as neurotoxins, it may also cause blown cheeses if the Clostridia contaminates milk. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cause, effect and interaction of yeasts and Clostridia in silage. Clostridia are microorganisms which are strictly anaerobic and consume carbohydrates and protein in the silage. Yeast is a fungus that is facultative aerobic and feed on carbohydrates in the silage.

The cocoa produced in Fiji is exported to industrialized countries for processing of the raw material. The Swedish organization Cocoa Bello is involved in a project to provide the Fijian cocoa farmers with knowledge as well as resources to enable local processing and to attain added value of the cocoa crop. The purpose of this study is to discover a field of application for the Fijian cocoa among the rural population, using an ethnographic design. We spent one week in Namau Settlement, Fiji, where we applied in-depth interviews and participant obser-vations in six families. We found a number of aspects affecting food choices, such as social, economical and cultural beliefs.