The freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) is threatened throughout its range. There has been a substantial decline of the species and one major reason is habitat degradation. We investigated how the substrate composition of the bottom floor affects the regeneration of the mussel by analyzing data from the Västerbotten County Board?s inventory of the freshwater pearl mussel. The results implied that fine material such as fine sediment and sand might be detrimental to regeneration whereas gravel and boulders and in particular stone seem to be beneficial.

This thesis is my exploration of the immaterial heritage that is the craft of bending of ?dn?ris? out of spruce. It?s a broken tradition that is scarcely described, mainly through Yngve Ryd?s report T?ltk?tor (1999) that contains interviews with two knowledge keepers, Nilas Tuolja and Johan Rassa. Yngve Ryd?s report went against the earlier opinion by the mid 20th century ethnologist Ernst Manker who claimed that they were only made exclusively out of mountain birch that has curved growth. As a background, I discuss the special importance of heritage conservation, both material and immaterial, in a S?mi context as being an indigenous people.

This is a 15 hp (10 p) thesis in biology at the programme for Horticulture Management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp. In this literature study we have processed, reviewed and arranged facts and research, to make it more available for those who want to know more about establishment or cultivation of mosses. Our client is Fredriksdal?s Museums and Gardens in Helsingborg who are planning to establish a moss garden. The information is meant to be used by Fredriksdal and other similar facilities.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss clinch-nails found at an excavation at terrace II in the Garrison of Birka, on the island of Björkö in Sweden. This type of clinch-nails is common in Viking age Sweden and is usually interpreted as coming from boats. The study will try to show that these types of nails could have been used in several kinds of wooden constructions. It will also show how the nails were made and what kinds of tools were used by the Viking smiths. The study has shown that this type of nails were used in several different types of wooden constructions such as boats, sleds, cart bodies, coffins, Birka's ramparts and buildings.

?The trees importance to the street? discusses just that, the trees importance to the street. The purpose of this paper has been to examine what influence the trees have on streets. By writing about good examples of how trees can add good qualities to a street I wish to inspire to more use of trees in future city-planning. I have examined three streets in Malmö and three streets in Berlin and analyzed the trees influences there through the help of literature by three authors: Great Streets (1993) and The Boulevard Book (2002) by Allan B. Jacobs, Trees in Urban Design (1993) by Henry F.

Urban farming can be viewed in several contexts. The first part of this work brings up the beneficial effects of farming on our physical and mental health, knowledge as well as on social life in cities. The introduction of gardening in schools can contribute to an increased awareness on both agricultural practices and importance as well as ecological processes. It can also be used in teaching of other subjects. Farming can also contribute to improving the household economy, and the economy on a municipal or national level.

Sweden has had laws protecting nature for about a hundred years. In this paper the views of nature and the values that serve as a rationale for protective measures are analyzed as results of a social process characterized by the dialectic relationship between institutions and discourse. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is used to study this relationship and the discursive practices used by institutions, which reproduce or reshape views of nature that define the relationship between society and nature. Institutional design contributes to shaping discourse in the field of nature protection, while being originally shaped by discourse. In Sweden, the national park is an institution that reproduces a view of nature as the wild and untamed opposite of society, and the natural reserves reproduce a view of nature as holder of a multi-faceted set of values intertwined with society.

Baled silage has become one of the most important conservation methods in Sweden. Because we take our grass as silage we get the quality and the good hygenic that we would like to have. Silage has become a big buisiness also in the horse feeding where many of the breeders have changed from the hay to the hay-silage. The difference between regular silage and haysilage is that the hay silage is dryer (60-70%DM). The hay-silage has also put higher demands on machinery and wrapping material since the grass gets sharper and harder to press together real hard. The main reason for the test was to compare two different systems for wrapping, the new Cross Pac and conventional.

Reduced tillage has increased in Sweden during several years, primarily to decrease costs andincrease efficiency in crop production. Despite this, mouldboard ploughing is still the mostcommon primary tillage method on most farms. The aim with this thesis was to compare theuse of pesticides and the occurrence of weeds on ten farms in Skåne and ten farms inMälardalen that use different soil tillage systems. The object of the study was also to clarifywhy the farms had chosen their specific soil tillage system and the consequences it has had onweed occurrence and use of pesticides. The result showed a slightly higher use of pesticideson the farms that use reduced tillage.

Today?s community requires an increase in food production. Animals are today bred so that they produce more than their ancestors did. Production has been the most important and breeds with the highest production levels have therefore become popular. Many of the old local breeds have become extinct or are about to become extinct because of this trend.

Through wing pattern, posture and movement, a harmless moth of the family Brenthia imitates an eight-eyed jumping spider. When an octopus of the species Thaumoctopus mimicus sense danger it can alter its appearance to that of a venomous sea snake. They are both drawing attention to themselves. Nevertheless, and because of this, they are protected. The mechanism is called mimicry.

Large areas have been ditched in Sweden during the past 100 years to improve the forest production. Ditching and also maintenance of old ditches are operations having mainly negative effects on water quality, flora and fauna and changing characteristics of soil. The purpose of this study was to suggest a method for inventory of the need for ditching maintenance in old forest ditches that takes biodiversity, water protection and forest production into consideration. Inventory methods from five Swedish and Finnish forest companies, agencies and organisations were compared. Their employees were interviewed about their handling with ditches, forest production and nature conservation.

The purpose of this work, has been to examine how different actors in the Swedish eco movement and the Swedish forest industry looks at Sweden?s forest policy statement, which claims that environmental goals and production goals should be equal in Swedish forestry. By assembling focusgroups with participants from the Swedish eco movement and the Swedish forest industry, we look at if these participants consider the Swedish forest policy goals equal or not. Conflicts do occur between the two forest policy goals, but also between those and others of Sweden?s environmental goals.

In this report listed buildings, according to the Swedish Heritage Conservation Act, have been studied with a focus on cases where economical compensation has been given to the owner of the building and cases where the listing of the building has been appealed by the owner. In order for a building to become listed it needs to be particularly valuable from a cultural and historical standpoint. The listed buildings are protected through a list of regulations that determines which parts of the building can or cannot be changed, what methods and materials should be used for changes and repairs, and how the building should be maintained. These regulations should as far as possible be formulated in agreement with the owner, but a building can become listed against the owners will. To decrease the damage this causes the owner he can in some cases have the right to economical compensation. There is also a possibility for the owner to appeal the listing of the building.

There are several thousands shallow bays along the Swedish east coast. Most of them are disturbed by different human activities, and undisturbed bays can be considered as quite unique. In the sheltered shallow bays water warms up more rapidly than adjacent water favoring the growth of vegetation, which in turns is beneficial to spring spawning fish species like perch and pike. It is nowadays more common that coastal habitats are inventoried to facilitate future preservation and planning. The aim of this study was to investigate the shallow bay Utanåfladen (59° 53`31.38 N 19°00`44.90 E) in the north Stockholm archipelago and evaluate its habitat value.