The wide distribution range of our boreal pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) provides a great variation in growing conditions and climate/weather factors that influence the wood development of the trees. A great number of extensive studies have been conducted over the years in order to clarify growth trends of this and other species over more or less wide-ranging areas. In this thesis effects of weather factors were instead compared between different forest stands from the about same geographical location. The effects of precipitation, temperature and frost on the year ring characteristics of pine were studied in the research forest of Svartberget Vindeln, in northern Sweden. The stands differed in site index and silvicultural treatment; fertile ? high stem density, fertile ? low stem density, poor ? high stem density and poor ? low stem density.

Forestry and forest products are vital components of the Swedish economy but the forest is also important for recreation, hunting, out-door life and conserving biodiversity. The Swedish Forest Act has two equally important objectives, production and environmental protection. Polytax is the Swedish Forest Agency´s inventory programme which monitors progress toward the two objectives in connection with regeneration fellings. It includes data on environmental protection measures taken in connection with regeneration fellings. 30 § of the Swedish Forestry Act and related regulations specify the demands for conserva-tion of nature.

VAV (Variable Air Volume) system has been studied in a newly constructed office-building. The goal for the study has been to evaluate how the ventilations system work in practice, if adjustments can be made to achieve an more energy efficient system and to evaluate if other alternative ventilation systems is to be preferred in the further.The degree project has been executed at Helenius Engineering Firm who is working with the environment, media systems, HVAC and energy in buildings. The building that has been studied is owned and operated by Akademiska hus.Literature studies, visits at site, inventory, review of system documentation, energy analyses, interviews, key figures, LCC, sand energy- and indoor climate simulations has been made to study the building. Where appropriate some tools from Six Sigma have also been used.How to achieve an energy efficient system and a pleasant indoor climate is studied with human health and well-being as base for the indoor climate requirements. Technical support systems such as ventilation systems have to be designed so that an acceptable indoor climate can be achieved.

According to recent statistics the construction industry is responsible for the largest waste discharges of both dangerous and non-dangerous waste, when disregarding the "non-dangerous" amount of granite waste produced by the mining industry and the waste produced by the pulp and paper industry. Preventive work within waste management is an ongoing practice so to be able to reduce negative environmental effects. One of the most common actions for the companies to take is to separate the different kinds of waste from one another at the construction site. Although by working with the problem in earlier stages of the process a large amount of the waste could already have been reduced.Companies in the construction business that are actively working to decrease environmental impact in their operations often use an EMS (Environmental Management System). By using environmental management as method the company can manage their environmental work so that actions can be taken where they are needed the most.

Food insecurity is a great problem worldwide and Ethiopia is one of the sub-saharan countries that are suffering from poverty and food insecurity and a large part of the population are living in a state of undernourishment. To reduce these problems, a successful horticulture production can be an important factor. Compared to other crops, fruit production in Ethiopia has not been a large part of the agricultural sector. However, the demand on the domestic market is increasing as well as the production for avocado and mango. To increase food security it is important to focus on ways to decrease post-harvest losses of food products and not only have the productivity of agriculture in focus.

Discharge of untreated wastewater leads to unnaturally high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in rivers, lakes and the sea, which results in unbalanced ecosystems with eutrophication and lack of oxygen. Part of the phosphorus in surface waters is coming from on-site wastewater treatment from scattered households with unsatisfactory purification. Blast furnace slag is a by-product from iron production, and has in laboratory trials showed good phosphorus binding capacity. To test blast furnace slag as a reactive filter media for phosphorus separation in a full scale experiment, a wastewater treatment plant has been built behind the picnic area at Ångersjön alongside the road E4 in central-eastern Sweden. The plant contains two parallel lines, one with blast furnaces slag and the other with Filtralite-P as phosphorus sorbent. Both filters have showed decreasing phosphorus purification effect with time in spite of a low wastewater load.

Power Systems-HVDC på ABB i Ludvika jobbar med kraftstationer som används för att transportera el långa sträckor med mindre förluster. I dessa kraftstationer monteras ofta högspänningsapparater på speciella stålstativ av olika anledningar. I grund och botten har samma stålstativ används i flera decennier och det är mycket som behöver ses över med hanteringen av dessa stålstativ i dagsläget.Stativen finns inte som standard i företagets CAD-system och de är inte anpassningsbara till olika apparattyper. Av denna anledning kopieras ofta stålstativ och ritningar från äldre projekt vilket ger upphov till otaliga kopior och artikelnummer för i stort sett samma konstruktion. De ursprungliga stålstativen var designade med en stålkvalitet som är sämre än den som finns tillgänglig idag.

This master thesis has been a pilot study preceding a forthcoming project of a larger scale with the long term objective to separate the direct effect of added nitrogen on soil processes from indirect effects via trees. The aim of this study has been to investigate the allocation of nitrogen following direct injection of liquid solutions into the xylem of 40 year old Norway spruce. The field site is located at Flakaliden (64°07?N, 19°27?E), approximately 60 km northwest of Umeå, Sweden. A total of 18 trees were selected for treatment, equally divided between three treatments, potassium nitrate, glutamine and water (control).

The EU's Water Framework Directive aims to a long-term and sustainable use of our water resources and wants to ensure good water quality in Europe's water bodies. Discharge of polluted stormwater into receiving waters can be a threat to their ecological and chemical status. Municipalities are responsible for supervision of the environmental quality standards (EQS) and therefore need to gain knowledge of current stormwater management, the expected level of pollution emissions and possible appropriate purification steps to ensure that the goal of good water quality is achieved.This master thesis aims to provide this knowledge in the example case of Vallentunas urban area and wants to prepare future oversight so that it can be assessed how much the discharge of polluted stormwater into the local receiving water is a threat to its status. With the help of maps, aerial photographs, site observations and individual discussions those areas are mapped where appearance of moderate to highly polluted stormwater could be suspected. The degree of pollution at the discharge points is determined based on land use upstream and uses standard values according to the administrators assistance "Tillsyn av dagvatten" (MSL 2014).The study identifies 100 areas in need of supervision regarding their stormwater management.

My thesis is a combination of theory and practice, where theory is meant to create a context and a background for my interpretation proposal. I wanted to ?access? the ideas that are always in the background of the reasoning which underlies both planning in a larger scale, and the design of a place. I wanted to make a ?work of ideas.? In the process of shaping the proposal, I wanted to be deleted from the site itself.

Att spara tid och resurser är något som är av stor vikt i dagens byggbransch. Ju snabbare ett arbete utförs desto mer pengar tjänar företaget. I detta examensarbete har författarna tittat på effektivisering av ritningshanteringen i olika delar av byggbranschen. Att kunna hitta bland ritningarna på ett enklare sätt och att slippa sortera ut gamla ritningar när nya kommer in, är något som skulle förenkla ritningshanteringen och snabba upp tempot.Författarna har tittat på programmet DDR ? Databas för Detaljer och Ritningar, som de anser kan förenkla ritningshanteringen.

Det blir allt vanligare i Sverige att företag och organisationer lämnar enskilda kontorsrum för att övergå till kontorslandskap. Tidigare forskning visar att trivseln hos de anställda ofta minskar vid denna typ av förändring och att det kan ge både positiva och negativa konsekvenser för organisationens produktivitet. Det finns enligt tidigare forskning vinster i att anställda blir delaktiga vid organisationsförändringar för att behålla god produktivitet och trivsel. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur trivsel hos kontorsanställda upplevs i kontorslandskap samt om trivsel och produktivitet påverkas på grund av förändrad kontorstyp. Vi har i vår studie undersökt hur produktivitet och upplevelsen av trivsel förändrats hos handläggare och utredare på Försäkringskassans Nationella Försäkringscenter (NFC) i Visby. Denna statliga organisation valdes då de våren 2013 bytte kontorstyp från egna kontor till kontorslandskap.

Pine twisting rust (Melampsora pinitorqua) is a parasitic rust fungus found all across Sweden causing damage resulting in lower quality and reduced tree growth in pine stands. In Sweden, the fungus is dependent on two alternate hosts; European aspen (Populus tremula) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). Pine twisting rust has five different spore stages, two of them (uredinio- and teliospores) on the leaves of aspen. Injures on aspen caused by pine twisting rust is not extensive. On the other hand, when it infects the annual shoots of Scots pine it often results in a bent steam or even a top shoot breakage.

?Rätt avlopp på rätt plats? ? Livscykelanalys av tre enskilda avloppsanläggningarProblemen med övergödning i Östersjön och i Sveriges insjöar är stort och enskildaavlopp pekas ut som en central aktör, framförallt beträffande fosforutsläppen. I Sverigefinns det ungefär en miljon enskilda avloppssystem och nästan hälften av dessa har enså pass bristande vattenrening att de inte uppfyller gällande lagstiftning. Utvecklingenav nya tekniker för rening av avloppsvatten har länge strävat efter att minska utsläppenav övergödande ämnen, detta ibland på bekostnad av andra utsläpp, så somväxthusgaser och försurande ämnen.Det här examensarbetet har därför med hjälp av metodik från livscykelanalys (LCA)utvärderat tre enskilda avloppssystem med tanke på deras utsläpp av växthusgaser,försurande gaser samt övergödande ämnen. Då misstanke också fanns att de lokalaplatsegenskaperna påverkar de enskilda avloppssystemens totala miljöpåverkan,utfördes även en intervjustudie med ett antal av landets kommuner.

AbstractAt Saltvikens copperindustry, which is located in the municipality of Oskarshamn, copper was refined from sulphiteore some hundred years ago. The ore underwent several steps in the process before the final product was received. These steps all had an influence on the environment through discharge of heavy metals. The area where the copper industry was located is today considered to be of specific national interest due to its valuable nature and cultural values, as well as its value for recreational outdoor activities. Therefore, it is important to determine the present level of contamination and if any transport of contaminants have occurred, and to identify the risks that are associated with the site both at present and in a longer time perspective.Thirtynine soil samples and 16 sediment samples have been analyzed.