Dead wood is important for many species. The amount of coarse dead wood (diameter >10 cm) is much lower in managed forest than in unmanaged forests. Stumps constitute the largest proportion of the volume of coarse dead wood in managed forests. Since stump harvest for biofuel may increase, the amount of dead wood will decrease even more, which may threaten biodiversity. The first aim of this study was to compare the amounts of fine woody debris (FWD, .

Today's Swedish large-scale forestry uses almost exclusively computer-aided bucking. It allows the harvester computer, using an optimisation price list (steering price list), to maximize the value of each tree. The optimisation price list can be adjusted so that the industry gets the raw material it demands from the forest. There are various simulation programs that can be used when constructing a optimisation price list. The simulation program merchandise a database of stem shapes using a given price list and mimics a harvester's work. To get the demanded raw material for the industry it is important to use a well-adjusted optimisation price list.

Montagu´s harrier (Circus pygargus) is a diurnal, Eurasian raptor, which migrates from its northern breeding grounds to winter in sub-Saharan Africa. In Sweden, its core breeding area is centred on the island of Öland, with a stable breeding population of approximately 40 pairs. The province of Uppland is on the northern end the distribution range, where 4-8 pairs have regularly bred since the 1980s. In Sweden, the Montagu?s harrier is classified as an endangered (EN) species. This classification is partly due to a lack of preferred nesting habitat, such as shrub-lands or dense wetlands with Claudium spp.

The predominant forestry harvesting method is based on the harvester-forwarder method, theharvester folds, branches and cuts trees, and sorts the logs into piles, while a forwarder transportsthe logs to a landing area.This master thesis work is about realization of a dynamic forwarder simulation model, and itspurpose is to provide an integrated forwarder simulation model in MATLAB/SimMechanicswhere the forwarder is based on a concept using pendulum arms to connect wheels and chassis.Active suspension control is developed and implemented into the simulation model, and finallycompared in simulation with passive suspension.In a first step, an integrated forwarder simulation model is developed, containing a simplifiedforwarder model, a tire-to-ground interaction model and a test track model. The simplifiedforwarder model is based a rigid multi-body system with a spring-damper suspension of thependulum arms. The tire-to-ground interaction model calculates the reaction forces, friction fromthe ground and applies the propulsion force. The test track model is a simplified version of thereal test track in Skogforsk. The propulsion wheel torque control is used to regulate theforwarder speed.

Dagvatten har kommit att anses som den största föroreningskällan för sjöar och vattendrag i närhet av städer och tätorter. I syfte att skydda känsliga recipienter och upprätthålla en hög vattenkvalitet är rening av dagvatten centralt. Dagvattendammar är en kostnadseffektiv åtgärd och en väl använd metod för reducering av dagvattenföroreningar i Sverige. StormTac är en dagvatten- och recipientmodell som används för beräkning av föroreningstransport och dimensionering av dagvattenreningsanläggningar. EU:s ramdirektiv för vatten är ett nationsöverskridande samarbete som ställer krav på medlemsländerna att upprätta god vattenkvalitet för samtliga vattenförekomster till år 2015.

Interference in an ecosystem means a disturbance. When harvesting, forest roads have to be build to cope with heavy duty vehicles. Crossing brooks can not always be avoided. In this case bridges or culverts have to be built. There are many different kinds of culverts and depending on what type you choose and how you place the culvert, the watercourse and the water organisms can be harmed in different ways.

The market for biofuels from the forests have had a positive development and the job initiators for this master´s thesis wanted to examine the profitability of a method for harvesting forest fuel, which was unfamiliar to them. The method was the ?long tree tops-method?, here called the LT-method. The LT-method is characterised by the fact that timber is harvested as the only roundwood assortment while the rest of the stem, which in other cases would become pulpwood, is harvested as forest fuel together with the logging residues. The method is based on the assumption that advantages in handling of the forest fuel assortment such as increased load weights for forest hauling and truck transportation, should compensate for the lower price for pulpwood when sold as forest fuel. The aim of the study was to compare the profitability of the LT-method with the GROT-method (harvest of timber, pulpwood and logging residues) and conventional logging without any harvest of forest fuel, and aslo to try to identify factors affecting the profitability of the different methods.

AbstractSurface-water includes different kinds of pollutants from traffic and roads. To prevent these pollutants to reach nearby lakes one can construct surface-water ponds on locations with heavy traffic. At Bergviks shopping centre in Karlstad, two ponds, one smaller and one bigger has been constructed in order to decrease the pollutant pressure from the receiving waters of Kattfjorden. Several heavy metals are essential for plants and animals in low concentration but when they occur in higher concentrations, they become toxic to the organism. The larger pond at Bergviks shopping centre has a sedimentation function so the heavy metals sink to the bottom thereby not releasing directly in to Kattfjorden.

In Sweden today many municipalities and sport clubs chooses to build artificial turfs becauseof the increased period of using the turfs during the year and less maintenance requirementsthan for natural grass fields. What could be problematic with artificial turfs is the rubbergranules used as infill material in the turf matt. The rubber granules are often made fromrecycled tires, which may contain for the human health and the environment, harmful substances.This was the reason why the Swedish Chemicals Agency commissioned a statusreport in 2006 which, among other things, concluded that the environmental and health risksassociated with granules made from recycled tiers in artificial turf fields were small, but thatthere could be a local environmental hazard. The purpose and objective of the risk assessmentwas to identify how artificial turf plans granules can affect recipients in the area closeto the pitches and provide input to reduce the spread of metals and substances harmful forboth human health and the surrounding environment. The work was divided into three parts:(1) the construction of artificial turf pitches and their material content, the spread of granulatesoutside the fields and disposal of artificial turf pitches.

This report is focused on marketing opportunities for small-scale mango farmers in the Nyanza Province in Kenya. Kenya is a large horticultural producer in the world. Horticulture is an important income for a large share of the rural population in Kenya but profitability is low due to inefficiencies in marketing systems and poor infrastructure. The conditions for growing mango in the Nyanza Province are very beneficial and there are two harvesting seasons. Mango offers good income opportunities for small-scale farmers in the Nyanza Province.The aim of this study is to identify marketing conditions that will enable prospering business for small-scale mango farmers in the Nyanza Province, Kenya.

Evaluation of machinery costs is necessary for selecting appropriate farm machinery. Timeliness cost due to untimely operations is an important component of machinery costs. Timeliness costs can be high for crop sprayers, since pesticide application must be carried out within a short time interval. This Master thesis investigated the timeliness cost and the probability of a suitable workday for spraying. Timeliness factors were estimated for four different crops (oats, spring wheat, winter wheat and barley) using historical weed trial data.

Forestry supply chains are a significant part of the Swedish economy. These supply chains are highly susceptible to storms damage. In late 2013 Sweden was hit by multiple storms. This leads to the possibility to research how supply chains react to the shocks that storms cause. The aim of this thesis is to research the costs that storms increase, the actions that are taken within the forestry supply chain, as well as possible benefactors from storms. This thesis bases on previous work on supply chain mapping and cost theories.

Detta examensarbete handlar om Rain Garden. Arbetet vänder sig till dig som har ett intresse för dagvattenhantering. De som söker djupare kunskaper i ämnet kan använda sig av förteckningen över referenser. I framtiden förväntas klimatförändringar med höjda temperaturer och ökade nederbördsmängder som följd. Samtidigt växer städerna vilket leder till att andelen hårdgjorda ytor ökar och den naturliga infiltrationen minskar.

The numbers of natural disasters caused by extreme weather are increasing through out the world. A large majority of the research concerning the climate shows that this is a trend that can be expected to continue. At the same time the urbanisation is increasing more than ever and for the first time in history more than fifty percent of the population lives in a city. How we build these cities will have a crucial importance for our adaption to the new climate. In Sweden, our capacity for an adaption are high because of our economic situation as well as our rather well built society.

The aim with this thesis is to make a comparison between forcing tulips in a hydroponic system and the forcing off tulips that have been planted in soil. The results are mostly based on interviews with six Dutch and one Swedish tulip forcer and the managing director at the Horticultural Research Centre, Proeftuin Zwaagdijke, in the Netherlands. There are benefits and disadvantages with both methods. Tulip bulbs planted in soil seem to get a brighter colour after forcing, compared with those forced ?in water?.