This report is a study in voltagelevel in connection with regeneration of brake energy from the tramtype M31 in Gothenburg.In the act of braking, the tram M31 uses electrical braking where the electrical motors generates energy and if possible send it back to the overheadline, where other trams in the nearby can use this regenerated energy for its own driving force. In cases where no other energyconsumers are located in the same section, there is a resistance witch task is to convert this energy into heat. The regulation of this resistance appears to cause an increase in the voltagelevel into far too high levels.Investigations of the trams regulationequipment and its construction have been done. Further have measurements on the overheadline been performed in order to map the voltagevariations during a longer period of time.The result have been showing that the voltagelevel during regeneration often is as high as 880V-920V, more extreme values have not been observed in a large scale. The values are especially high compared to the nominal voltagelevel.

Many tropical rain forests has been lost or degraded as a result of human activities and environmental factors. Since the level of biodiversity is high in the tropics, maintaining these areas is of great importance. Forests like these are often assumed to benefit from forest restoration and rehabilitation. The INIKEA project area in Eastern Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, aims to improve biodiversity and/or species richness in the degraded forest through enrichment planting with indigenous species. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate how different treatments (liberation, gap-cluster planting and line planting) affect the biodiversity of natural regeneration in different forest types in the Rain forest Restoration Experiment, located in the INIKEA project area.

This report is a study in voltagelevel in connection with regeneration of brake energy from the tramtype M31 in Gothenburg.In the act of braking, the tram M31 uses electrical braking where the electrical motors generates energy and if possible send it back to the overheadline, where other trams in the nearby can use this regenerated energy for its own driving force. In cases where no other energyconsumers are located in the same section, there is a resistance witch task is to convert this energy into heat. The regulation of this resistance appears to cause an increase in the voltagelevel into far too high levels.Investigations of the trams regulationequipment and its construction have been done. Further have measurements on the overheadline been performed in order to map the voltagevariations during a longer period of time.The result have been showing that the voltagelevel during regeneration often is as high as 880V-920V, more extreme values have not been observed in a large scale. The values are especially high compared to the nominal voltagelevel.

A growing number of Swedish forest owners are choosing to certify their forestry. However, there appears to be a lack of field surveys which describe differences between certified and non-certified forests concerning the degree of completed environmental considerations. In order to know to what extent certified forests contribute towards improved environmental consideration, we need studies on how large the difference is in relation to non-certified forests.Differences between certified and non-certified forest clearings were quantified through an inventory of the number of retention trees, dead trees and snags. The result showed that the retained number of the investigated parameters varied greatly between individual clearings, regardless of certification status. However, the results suggested that the certified clearings had an average higher incidence ofthe investigated parameters.

The freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) is a large freshwater mussel. Because of its sensitivity to human impact, such as eutrophication, acidification and alterations of hydromorphology, the species is considered as a robust indicator of stream water quality and biodiversity. Moreover, due to the species complex life cycle, including a larval stage on the gills of salmon and trout, and sensitivity of early life stages, regeneration is often used as an indicator. The freshwater pearl mussel is also used in the expert judgement of status classification of benthic invertebrates according to the European Water Framework Directive. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the freshwater pearl mussel as an indicator for Swedish streams. It was made with two types of association analyses.

In southern Sweden, beech (Fagus silvatica) and spruce (Picea abies) are two species with similar demands on soil properties. With increased global warming and high acid deposition the future may bring larger areas were the two species are overlapping, competing for the same soil. The aim of this study was to compare spruce and beech concerning distribution, cultivation and soil properties. From available data comparisons were made between spruce and beech forests in Sweden. Soil analyses were made on samples from beech forest in southern Sweden, with and without natural regeneration of spruce.

The purpose of this study was to develop two types of prediction models for Scots Pine and Norway Spruce. The first type for calculation of the stump diameter under bark the year the tree reached breast height (Dstubh130). The second type for calculation of the annual difference, e.g. the number of growth years between stump height (0.2 m) and breast height (1.3 meters above ground level). The primary thought with these prediction models is to obtain the breast height age in the trees on basis of the number of annual rings at stump.

The society of today is dependent of secure transports and deliveries of electrical power. Interruptions in different activities because of fallen trees cost a great deal of money in form of reparations and claimed damages for transport companies and electrical suppliers. Fallen trees along some railway sections are a severe problem. For instance, to repair the damages of the storm of week 5 year 2002, costed 2 800 000 SEK for the line region of Hässleholm. Today, the Banverket railroad company has no norms in general for how close to the railway the forest is allowed to grow.

In an attempt to prevent ground damage and to reduce harvesting costs, StoraEnso's districts Värmbodal and Fryken, selected a number of final felling areas where the base roads have been marked by planners in the districts. The parties involved in the experiment are mainly planners, harvester operators and forwarder operators. The purpose of this paper is to determine the findings of this trial and to find cost savings or lost revenue. This has been done with a sample of interviews from the involved parties who logged the chosen felling areas. Literature about the interview process has been used to facilitate data collection, interpretation and analysis of the material. If we look at profitability based on assumed income and expenditure, revenue per MWh would be 63 SEK.

The aims of the silvicultural method natural regeneration of spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) in birch (Betula pendula and pubescens) shelterwoods are to establish a new stand of tree seedl-ings and to protect those from high groundwater levels, frost damages and grass competition during its first life years. The aim of this work has been to (i) describe how shelterwood and stand characteristics influ-ence the results from using natural regeneration of spruce protected by a shelterwood of birch, and to (ii) compare those regeneration results with planting of spruce after soil scarification in clear-cut areas. Totally 17 harvesting sites have been inventoried and 15 of those included natural regenera-tion in birch shelterwoods, and two were subjects to soil scarification and planting of spruce. The sites represented 7-10 year old final cuts and are located in the coastal (eastern) region of the province of Norrbotten in Sweden. In all areas shelterwood and stand characteristics, as well as the number of main crop seedlings and the height of the highest main crop spruce seedling, were estimated and registered in all areas.

Kunskapen kring svensk torvmarksbeskogning är undermålig. En kunskapslucka som till stor del beror på att torvmark tidigare bedömts som ointressant mark i samband med skogsproduktion. Detta beror mycket på det svenska regelverkets restriktioner mot markavvattning och gödsling samt miljöaspekterna som berörs och den aktivare skötsel som krävs. Det ökade behovet av skogsråvara gör att skogsbruket söker nya marker där torvmarken har potential att etableras för skogsproduktion.Studien är en kunskapssammanställning som lyfter fram kunskap kring skogsbruk på svensk torvmark med fokus på föryngringsprocessen. Finland använder torvmarker i skogsbruket på ett sofistikerat sätt.

This case study is made on assignment of Södra, region Öst, as a part of a campaign promoting more active management of the oak forests in the region. Hardwood trees of good quality, especially oak, has a high value due to that the sawn material is highly estimated by the market. It is important that the Swedish oak forests are managed in a proper way in order to meet the future demand. Södra has therefore decided to increase the focus on oak in the Kalmar region and they would like to find out if continues cover forestry (CCF) under certain conditions can be an appropriate management model. The motive is to make use of the existing oak forests more efficient, not just considering well managed forests but also the more neglected oak forests, on poorer soils. Thus, the objective for this study is to examine if CCF is appropriate method in the three stand types; broadleaved mixtures oak forest, oak islet, and oak/spruce forest. Existing management models were surveyed in the literature.

The interest for alternative forest regeneration methods increased significantly during the 1990´s after 50 years dominance of the clear-cutting system (Holgén & Hånell 2000). One reason for this was that clear-cutting was being more and more questioned by different envi-ronmental organizations and because the forest sector for economical reasons wanted to find cheaper ways to regenerate forests. In the beginning of the 1990´s two shelterwood experi-ments were established in a joint effort by Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) and the Dept of Silviculture, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The experiments include various forms of cutting and shelterwood densities and represent productive spruce forests in central and north Sweden (Roggsjön in the province of Medelpad and Skikkis-jöberg in the province of Västerbotten, respectively ). The experiment next to Roggsjön has been reported earlier in three MSc theses, and is also the focus of this thesis.

Sweden has almost 600 000 hectares planted with lodgepole pine, and large areas are soon ready to be clear-felled. The provenances that have been planted are producing high level of permanently closed, so called serotinous, cones. In their natural setting, the Canadian boreal forest, these cones are opened mainly after crown fires when the heat make the resin between the cone scales melt, which releases the seeds. This is viewed as an adaption to the fire regimes that prevail over the natural distribution area of lodgepole pine. Because of the short flame-exposure that occurs in a crown fire, the seeds can survive.

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.