Background: Infectious Diseases Institute points out that the potential of various viraldiseases possibly can block each other. It is said that the virus that causes common cold,Rhinovirus, may have saved many people from the flu. If this assumption proves true, itwould explain why some viral diseases in some countries have been slow to take off and pointto a new way to struggle influenza. Objective: The main purpose of this study, based onreported cases of RSV and influenza type A, type B and H1N1, investigate whether viraldiseases can block each other, i.e. difficult Season of flu may delay and / or mitigate thespread of RSV in Sweden.

Nematodes are perhaps the most common animals in the world. Nematode populations can reach densities up to several millions per square meter in the soil. There are many factors which affect nematode communities in arable soil with respect to diversity and population size. Factors like tillage, crop, fertilization, nutrient status and moisture in the soil all have an impact on soil biology and in this way also have effects on the nematode community. This study is based on three different parts, soil samples taken in March 2012 and March 2013, soil samples taken monthly during the growth Season of 2013 in bare fallow plots and a pot experiment.

Along with other European farmland birds, the skylark (Alauda arvensis) has declined rapidly since the 1970?s. Between 1975 and 2003, the Swedish population of skylarks declined with 64 %. In Britain, the decline is often explained by alterations in farming practices in general and the shift from spring-sown to winter-sown cereals in particular. The dense vegetation structure of winter cereals is limiting the number of breeding attempts possible, causing the entire population to decline.

Grasslands which have been actively managed for a long time and which in modern times have not been subject to cultivation such as fertilization are called semi-natural grasslands. These rare and species-rich areas hold an ecological, biological and historical value and if the management stops these areas will likely diminish. More effective agricultural systems and a declining number of grazing animals have in Sweden, among other countries, made semi-natural grasslands less valuable as foraging areas. Shrubs and fast growing plants rapidly colonize abandoned semi-natural grasslands, threatening biodiversity. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of breed and Season on diet composition, with special reference to four competitive species found in wet areas ? in cattle grazing heterogeneous semi-natural grasslands ? and thereby contribute to improved management of these areas.

Higher demands of competitiveness and efficiency have led to increasing sizes of farms, with more land, more capital and more comprehensive logistics. The aim is to gain benefits of scale economies that reduce the production cost per unit. However, a greater extent of the business exposes the farm of increased risk where small deviations rapidly can erase the benefits. A modern dairy farm thus put high demands on the farmer?s ability to coordinate, plan and manage the forage production through the whole process until storage to obtain silage of the desired quality and quantity at the right price. The objective of this study was to design a simple model, i.e.

ABSTRACTThe principal aim of the study was to compare the feeding behaviour of cattle, sheep and goats on pasture and explain any differences between speices. Furthermore, I compared foraging behaviour between dry Season and the beginning of the rainy Season, in order to see any relationships between weather and behaviour.The study was carried out in Shompole in southern Kenya. Behavioural data were collected by observing herds of cattle, sheep and goats on pasture. The livestock were herded on pasture during the days and kept in bomas, where people live, during the nights. The weather in Shompole is characterized by high ambient temperature and low, bimodal rainfall.

This study was an assignment for the company Holmen which is located in the region of Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The study was focusing on the responsibilities of a forestry planner during the planning Season. The study was investigating about how much time the planner spent in the office, in the car and out in the forest. Any other issues that would cause delays were also identified. To be more effective and to increase the number of objects to a district bank, a better preparation in the planning stage (for thinning?s or clear cuts) is needed as well as faster transition on to the next area.

Sub-lethal doses of neonicotinoids have been shown to negatively impact the health of honeybees. However, most studies to date have exposed bees only artificially to these pesticides under laboratory conditions. There have been just a few well designed and replicated studies of the impacts of realistic neonicotinoid exposure on honeybees foraging under field conditions. In order to close this knowledge gap, and to test the influence of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on honeybees, we used a study system of 16 paired, spatially separated (>4 km) spring oilseed rape fields in the south of Sweden. The fields were paired according to land use, the surrounding landscape and geographical proximity, using GIS.

The Societety Park (Societetsparken) of Varberg here in Sweden, established in the year 1883 (1856), is one of the most famous parks in Varberg. Today it is, more or less, only used as a park that you will walk through in the wintertime, under the summer Season though, the park starts blooming and then it is used for public music and singalong evenings. Earlier it was an old health resort park with its fine old traditions.The Societetsparken was a private owned park until 1902 when the town purchased it. On this plot there was already a smaller park and it was established as early as in 1856. It was called Badhusparken (The Public Bath Park) and it belonged to the hot- and cold-bathhouses, and these baths were very well frequented.

Approximately 4000-5000 hectares, of SCA´s forest land area in Västerbotten, are in need of pre-commercial thinning (PCT) every year. Within the management district, the areas annually treated with PCT must increase, in order to decrease the area with an urgent need for PCT. This can be done by employing more forest workers or entrepreneurs, by mechanized PCT or by an extended Season for PCT. Positive experiences from a private forest owner, who started to carry out PCT when the first snow came and then continued for several months, gave an idea to investigate the possibilities to prolong the Season of PCT. The purpose of this experiment was to compare PCT carried out when there was snow on the ground with PCT performed when there was no snow on the ground.

The effect of methyl jasmonate on resistance against the large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) in Scots pine and Norway spruce seedlings. A field experiment was conducted in order to determine the dose-response effects of methyl jasmonate (MJ) on growth and defence to pine weevils in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) and to compare the effect of MJ between pine and spruce. In addition a complementary greenhouse experiment was conducted with the same aims as above and to determine the amount of resin ducts and their correlation to the feeding of pine weevils. The field experiment was conducted on a fresh clear cutting in Garpenberg, southern Dalarna in central Sweden. The experiment consisted of 30 blocks with three kinds of containerized seedlings: 2-year old spruce, small pine (before shoot elongation) and 1-year old pine (already shoot elongated). They were all exposed to 4 treatments 14 days prior to the experiment: control, 25 mM/L MJ, 50 mM/L MJ and 100 mM/L MJ. Data on weevil damage and seedling growth were collected after the first and the second growing Season. The seedlings in the greenhouse experiment were of the same kind and were exposed to the same treatment as the ones in the field experiment.

Today, individual indoor stalls and individual outdoor paddocks are the most common way to house horses in Sweden. The way that we manage, house and feed the horses are not optimal for the species natural basic behavioural needs. However, the awareness of this grows in the context of research and the emergence of alternative housing systems. One of the alternatives to the traditional format in individual boxes is called group housing. Group housing systems allow horses to live in herds and they can choose how they want to distribute the hours of the day between movement, resting and foraging. The purpose of this study is to examine how frequently the young horses in a group housing system use the indoor lying area.

ABSTRACTThe principal aim of the study was to compare the feeding behaviour of cattle, sheep and goats on pasture and explain any differences between speices. Furthermore, I compared foraging behaviour between dry Season and the beginning of the rainy Season, in order to see any relationships between weather and behaviour.The study was carried out in Shompole in southern Kenya. Behavioural data were collected by observing herds of cattle, sheep and goats on pasture. The livestock were herded on pasture during the days and kept in bomas, where people live, during the nights. The weather in Shompole is characterized by high ambient temperature and low, bimodal rainfall.

This study investigated potato growing in beds as an alternative to conventional ridges.It was based on results from field trials on bed-grown potatoes carried out by Halland Rural Economy and Agricultural Society in 2007, studies of literature and interviews with farmers with experience of bed growing of potatoes. Due to their shallow root system, potatoes are one of the most drought-sensitive crops. Potatoes are often grown on sandy soils with poor water-holding capacity. Factors such as total yield, tuber size distribution and quality defects are negatively affected when water becomes insufficient. Wide beds have a more flat top which leads to more uniform water infiltration. Further on, beds have lower soil surface area due to its shape, and therefore, retain water more efficient. In the field trials, which were carried out at the Stjärnarp Estate near Halmstad, potatoes were grown in beds alongside a conventional ridge-grown crop.

In Kenya the Maasai pastoralists have based their livelihoods on dairy production and the production goal is to maintain a sufficient milk supply throughout the year. The pastoral dairy production has two vital characteristics; breeding and milking. Traditionally, breeding is the men?s responsibility, while milking is the duty of women. Depending on this partition of chores between men and women, they also have different management routines, ambitions and strategies regarding the milk production.