Sammanfattning Klimat- och sårbarhetsutredningen (SOU 2007:60) spår en framtid då Sveriges klimat till större del präglas av intensivt regn, och diskuterar konsekvenserna detta kommer innebära. Så väntas framtiden bli, men hur ser det ut idag? Syftet med uppsatsen är att kartlägga den samtida förekomsten av intensivt regn i Sverige och dess konsekvenser, i syfte att skapa en referenspunkt till diskussionerna om framtidens regnintensiva klimat och hur det kommer påverka samhället.Materialet studien bygger på har inhämtats från flera håll, men främst kommer det från SMHI, tidningsartiklar, räddningstjänster och kommuner. Sedan har en sammanställning gjorts där de identifierade händelserna analyserats kvantitativt och rumsligt. Studien är avgränsad till att endast inkludera händelser under sommarmånaderna juni, juli och augusti eftersom flest händelser av intensivt regn bedöms inträffa då.Resultatet visar stor geografisk spridning av inträffade regn, och liten kronologisk spridning.

Storm water is rain and melted snow that runs off, primarily from impervious surfaces.Future storm water management is facing the challenges of increased precipitation, asclimate changes, and increased areas of impervious surfaces due to the expansion anddensification of the cities. Impervious surfaces reduce the potential for water to infiltratein the ground leading to increased surface runoff and higher peak discharge.The runoff coefficient is closely related to the percentage of impervious surfaces andrepresents the maximum percentage of a catchment that can contribute to runoff. In thisstudy, the objective was to evaluate the weighted runoff coefficient for three differenturban types; apartment buildings, townhouses and residential areas and a comparisonbetween today and the 1970`s was made.The runoff coefficient was determined by manual mapping of the different surface typesin each area based on data in the form of orthophotos and aerial photographs. The surfacetypes that were mapped were asphalt, permeable areas, tiles, sand/gravel and roof.Tiles and sand/gravel were the most difficult surface types to map. In order to see towhat extent these categories influenced the weighted runoff coefficient a sensitivityanalysis was carried out and the runoff coefficient based on surface type was changed indifferent scenarios.The results of the sensitivity analysis showed that the surface types tiles and sand/gravelhad little impact on the weighted runoff coefficient which in mainly due to the fact thatthe percentage of these surfaces types of the total area is small.The result of the study showed that the largest change in the runoff coefficient occurredin residential areas where the increase in the percentage of impervious surfaces causedby new roofs in the form of porches and garages and from paved or tiled driveways.

During the last couple of years leaf-edge-cuts, typical to Otiorhynchus wingless-weevils, have been discovered on ornamental shrubs, especially Syringa vulgaris lilac and Ligustrum vulgare privet. These plant species have not earlier been attacked by wingless-weevils and because of that, the aim of this study is to see if new species of weevils have been established in Sweden or if the domestic weevils have changed their food preferences. This work also includes a literature study of known weevil species in Sweden and their host plants, and of wingless-weevil species in Europe that could be invasive here. Locations, where damage to previously named plants has been reported, have been examined. The extension and appearances of the damages have been documented in order to study if different weevil species make different types of edge-cuts.

The preschool constitutes a big part of many children's everyday existence. Its contents are therefore of great importance and the environment deserves a well thoughtout design. In this study, surveys in field and literature have resulted in conclusions around how plants can be used in children's play environments, in order to contribute to the experiencerelated values. The aim is to present conclusions to lean on when drawing up designproposals for new playgrounds, especially where the natural conditions are not so favorable. The first question that is responded to is how plants can be used in order to enrich the children's play environments.

This thesis was done after a request from the county?s administrative board of Västmanland to provide the board with a better understanding of how green areas have changed within Västerås municipality over time.The purpose and goal of this study was thus to measure and analyze how much of the green areas within Västerås municipality that have disappeared during the past one hundred years as well as to provide a review of previous studies regarding the importance of green areas for humans as well as the biological diversity.In order to answer these questions I have in this study used a combination of a literature study, cartographic analysis as well as a time series analysis. The computer software used to do the measurements of the green areas was ArcGIS which is a geographical information system.In the cartographic and times series anlaysis measurements and analysis was made of the district map of 1911, the economic map of 1950 and the property map of 2011. The measurements show that the municipality has grown with 46,3 km2 over the last one hundred years. New neighborhoods? have emerged and the municipality has expanded.

In a city sometimes conflicts arise between either to save the species-rich vacant lots where many species thrive, or to build new buildings. Green roofs can then serve as a refuge for plants and animals that have had their natural habitat destroyed or diminished. Today we know too little about green roofs contribution to the biodiversity in the cities. We also know very little about how various types of vegetation on roof can increase biodiversity and its ability to attract different species.The aim with this study was to examine how different types of vegetation on the roofs affect the biodiversity of the invertebrate and how species-composition and number of individuals differ between the roof- and groundlevel.This study has been carried out on Augustenborg Botanical Roof Gardens in Malmo, and in an area about 1.5 kilometers away from Augustenborg. Three different types of vegetation on the roof and ground floor were selected: sedum- ruderal and grass.

Festulolium (Festulolium) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) has not been grown inSweden over a longer period. So far there is no greater area cultivated, but the area isincreasing. Festulolium and tall fescue are expected to eventually replace meadowfescue in many leyseed mixtures to dairy cows in southern and central Sweden. Tallfescue has in recent years become popular again. Festulolium is a hybrid betweenryegrass and fescue.

Storm water is defined as runoff from precipitation such as rain or snow. It is collected in sewage disposal systems and since it mainly originates from urban areas it can contain high levels of heavy metals, nutrients and oil etc. Polluted storm water is currently treated by different methods such as wet ponds, constructed wetlands and filter strips. This study investigates these methods, which in earlier studies have shown to give varying results regarding their treatment efficiency.This thesis has been written on commission of SWECO VIAK and was aimed at studying those parameters that may affect the treatment efficiency of nutrients and heavy metals in storm water treatment facilities (STF:s). Through literature studies the dominating treatment processes in ponds and wetlands were examined.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and fluxes in forest ecosystems are influenced by natural and human disturbances. In the tropical regions the highest impacts on disturbance in forest C cycles are related to human activities such as conversion of natural lands to cropland and pasture areas and to forest plantations. The disturbances in the forest C cycles will release CO2 emissions to the atmosphere triggering global warming. In this study the focus was set in subtropical soils in Brazil, south extreme region of Bahia. The aim of the study was to investigate whether reforestation of Eucalyptus plantations under former pasture areas will help mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration.

As a result of my fascination for nature I have chosen to study the possibilities to introduce natural environments on schoolyards. Too many schoolyards are lacking vegetation and many of them look like sterile asphalt deserts. The master thesis consists of two parts. The first part is based on literature studies and the second part in which findings from part one are put into practice. Five examples are presented; four schoolyards in Malmö; Kryddgårdsskolan, Kirsebergsskolan, Rörsjöskolan and Lindängeskolan and one in Kalmar; Åbyskolan. Malmö Naturskola has been working with the chosen areas on the schoolyards in Malmö.

A large part of Sweden?s green, urban landscape is covered by lawns. Approximately 80 000 ha of maintained grass lawns are part of public courtyards, schoolyards, parks, golf courses, sport fields and traffic environments. Beyond this figure, the lawn is also an essential element in most private villa-gardens. Lawns have become a universal phenomenon through the dispersion of landscape aesthetics from the Western world.

All over the world the waste from human society is causing problems. In developing countries, large cities are polluted through huge amounts of wastes and people are forced to live very close to open deposits. Lima, capital of Peru, is no exception. The countryside in Peru has also a great challenge to face concerning the waste issue. Children and adults suffer from infectious diseases and contamination of the nature occurs as well. One solution to handle organic waste is to compost, which means a controlled decomposition of organic waste under aerobic conditions at certain temperatures.

SummaryIn the area to the east of Hue city, in Vietnam, lays Tam Giang lagoon, one of Asia's largest lagoons, with an area of 22,000 hectares. This lagoon is suitable for aquaculture. One reason for this is because the salinity differs from sweet to salty in different parts of the lagoon. The Vietnamese Government advocates an increase in environmentally-friendly aquaculture and the fish Siganus guttatus (Rabbit fish) is a candidate for this. This fish eats mainly algae and can be cultivated in a polyculture.

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.

Allanblackia is a genus of trees that grows in the rainforests of West, Central and Eastern Africa. Its big fruits contain seeds very rich in oil which has been used by local communities for cooking and making soaps. The native stands are threatened by overexploitation and the demand for the oil is much greater than the supply. Domestication programs, aiming at introducing the trees to small holder agroforestry systems, have been started for some of the species. The main aim of this study was to investigate the soil requirements of Allanblackia stuhlmannii in terms of chemical and physical parameters, as revealed by the soil conditions in native stands. Another aim was to see if these varied along an altitudinal transect.