The plants in the genus Elatine are characteristic for oligo and mesotrophic lakes. This study focuses on Elatine hexandra one of the four species in Sweden. It is stated as vulnerable by the National Environment Agency and a conservation plan with guidelines to preserve the plant in Sweden is under preparation. There have been a few previous studies investigating this plant in other countries but this is the first one for Sweden. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution, growth and reproduction of E.

The reduction of coarse, dead wood is considered to be the biggest threat to flora and faunain boreal forests. Extensive harvest of logging residues would increase this reduction evenmore. However, the role of dead wood created at final felling for boreal, epixylic species isstill largely unclear. It is therefore of interest to examine whether epixylic species inhabit thedead wood in young, boreal stands, especially species considered to be confined to forests inlate successional stages.The aim of this study was to investigate whether forest-interior species in fact can inhabitearly-successional forests arisen after logging. The study was conducted in young standsbordering dead wood rich woodland key habitats.

Inside the south Swedish national park Dalby Söderskog, wild boars (Sus scrofa L.) have been visiting since 2010. The presence of wild boars has earlier been proven to impact both soil and vegetation characteristics, both positively and negatively. Still, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the rooting effect on the vegetation in deciduous forest within the native range. In this study, I have compared the field vegetation collected before and after the invasion of wild boars in 74 permanent experimental plots. More specifically, the study aimed to qualify the effect of wild boar rooting on cover ratio, species richness and species composition in a temperate deciduous forest.

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.

This study was carried out at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden. The aim of the study was to determine how plant species richness and diversity influence the nitrogen pools and nitrogen fluxes in the soil. Plant and soil samples from a biodiversity experiment in grasslands were used. Thirty plots with 12 grassland plant species (legumes, grasses, and non-legume herbs), combined from 1-12 species were investigated.

In this study, some aspects of communication that are creating problems in a chosen forest conservation case are explored. Focus is on how the manager of a forest experience how he is treated during a formal decision of conservation. The paper also gives introduction to communication theory as well as to present forest policies in Sweden. Explanations of the most common concepts and terms in forest conservation is presented and such a understanding is necessary if the reader is to acquire enlightment from the material and the following discussion. This paper focus on a conflict between the county administrative board, a Swedish regional authority, and a private forest-manager. This is a case where the manager feels that the authority is forcing a sale of land, because the forest is being turned into a conservation area. The problems are not just economical, the manager feels mistreated and left out of the discussion, and the negotiation is long and problematic as shown in the interview and the case study. In the study, an in-depth interview is made with the manager of the forest, and a case study has been made based on the documents in the case attained from the county administrative board.

During the summer of 2007 I was employed by Högestad Christinehofs Förvaltning AB. My main task was to make an inventory of giant trees at the estate. Högestad and Christinehof,which with their total possession of 13 000 ha of land is the biggest estate in Scania. A giant tree is a tree with a diameter in breast height more then 1 meter. Trees of these dimensions are registered by Swedish authorities. Landowners with a giant tree on their property can receive a subsidy for cutting trees that are in competition with the giant tree.(Levenskog, 2007) Giant trees are important for biodiversity in the landscape and there are important habitats for different insects, birds, bats, lichens and funguses.

Questions concerning the Cultural Heritage must be integrated in social planning.Therefore there is a need for adequate methods for cultural environmental analysis, toreceive knowledge that is relevant in an integrated conservation. The thesis is a review ofmethods for cultural environmental analysis and discusses the qualifications necessary fora method in order to receive adequate information as well as it discusses what kind ofinformation to be considered relevant. The thesis also analyzes a specific method forcultural environmental analysis in order to exam if it has got the qualifications concludedas necessary if it is to be used in an integrated conservation. The conclusion is that amethod for cultural environmental analysis should collect information about the entireenvironment (integrated information about nature and culture, in a historical perspectiveand how it is today), about social structures, physical remains (buildings etc) and what thecollected information tell about the history of the studied area, as well as what is importantin the landscape of today. Information about how the environment should be treated in thefuture is also of importance.

Aspen (Populus tremula L.) and goat willow (Salix caprea L.) are two important tree species in the aspect of nature conservation. Due to the elimination of forest fires, a former negative attitude towards deciduous trees in forestry and a strong herbivore pressure, these tree species have been negatively affected during the last fifty years. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the occurrence of aspen and goat willow could be related to either human impact or to site properties, such as ground moisture and vegetation type. A side study included an inventory of a number of cyanobacterial tree lichens on aspen and goat willow in order to try to relate the occurrence of these lichens species to stand history and stand properties. The study was performed in Hamra State Forest in northern Dalarna. Nature reserves were compared with stands in managed areas.

The purpose of this essay was to develop a conservation program for the outdoor environment at the Zorn House (Zorngården) in Mora, Dalarna, situated in the upper central part of Sweden. In the conservation program the Zorn House garden?s origins and development process has been studied by historical studies of various kinds. As a result a status report also has been made and a description of the garden's values. This has resulted in an objective discussion that provides guidelines for how the garden can be developed in the future.

The objective of this thesis was to investigate what influence nature conservation measures taken at regeneration felling. Factors analysed were the forest owners´ situation and their characters, and information activities from wood-suppliers and the Regional Forest Board (RFB). The inventory was performed with a posted questionnaire followed up by telephone to forest owners and a posted questionnaire to wood-buyers. The forest owners were grouped in three strata, depending on the quality results (D- polytax inventory) of the taken forest conservation measures, and for this investigation forest owners were sampled from the population in the tree groups. In total 73 % (41/56) of the sampled forest owners answered the questionnaire Group A (17 answers): Good judgement Group B (19 answers): Bad judgement Group C (5 answers): This group was formed from the forest owners that were informed, by RFB, about nature conservation measures and culture history consideration before the regeneration cutting.

This report concerns the for Sweden foreign tree species hybrid larch, hybrid aspen and poplar, and focuses on the area Kalmar and Mönsterås municipalities. The report shows that there are not only advantages with these species. The larch, the most common of the alien tree species has the greatest problems due to that its timber is difficult to sell in the area but also the Larch´s poor pulp quality and is more likely to be damaged by wildlife than the spruce is. Hybrid Aspen is much easier to sell and is used like regular aspen for match wood and textile pulp. Its disadvantage is the high cost for plants and to prevent damage from wildlife.

The final thesis ?Hardy palms for scandinavian climate? describes the family Arecaceae both from a general point of view, and with individual descriptions of seven different species that are known for their coldtolerance. The descriptions of each species is brief and the intention has been to give an introduction to some specific species known for their hardiness. Seperate chapters discuss topics as hardiness, pests and other problems and a short instruction for growing palms on open land in scandinavian climate. Finally a short discussion about continued research on this topic and some conclusions ends this final thesis.

Present essay aims to introduce the reader to central topics regarding Rhododendrons of subgenus Vireya. As a result of a donation, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, received a collection of Vireya from a local amateur grower, Kurt Myllenberg. Since the subgenus Vireya is uncommon in Scandinavian horticulture, the study tries to establish conditions for successful growing. The subgenus Vireya differ from the other Rhododendron species through mainly three characteristics: the presence of two tails, attached to each end of the seed; the ovary-style junction is tapering and the pedicels arises directly from a dome-like base and form an umbel and not a raceme. The subgenus is distributed mostly in the islands of Indonesia and New Guinea, but also from Malaysia to Nepal and in Australia. Since Vireya species mainly grows as epiphytes in the tree canopies, they need high drainage and not too much water.

The loss of such great wetlands, which has arose in Sweden the last decades, has created a situation that threats both the function and the biological diversity within the wetlands. Many ecological niches can be found in the wetlands and it is one of the habitats where most different species exist. In the 17th Century people started to ditch damp environments, such as bogs, to create a productive cultivated ground. Further ditches were made when the forestry gave large economical profits. The wetlands were impoverished from both groundwater and nourishment, and this led to a great loss of species.In a corporation with WWF and Skogsstyrelsen in Arvika, the University of Karlstad has participated in the Laskerudproject, a hydrological restoration-project in a forest landscape.