The soil acidification and the pH-value of the soil have been discussed for many years. Many observations of the tree species effects on the soil pH have been done. We have discussed the effects on the soil surface pH-value with a birch (Betula spp. L.) admixture in Norway spruce stands (Picea abies L.).We have used data from the Swedish National Forest Inventory. We have also discussed how the wood production and the biodiversity can be increased in mixed stands, in according to the Swedish forestry act Skogsvårdslagen. Our sampling areas are located in Norrland, Sweden. The results show a significant correlation between an increased birch admixture and an increased pH-value of the soil.

The Scanian woodfences has been determined by two mainly elements: Scania's composition of tree species, with a large element of deciduous forest, and the local building tradition which has more in common with the European continent than the Swedish tradition. By examining responses from ethnological question lists deriving from the first half of the 1900s, combined with literature studies, I have been able to deepen and broaden the knowledge behind the various fencing design. In addition I ?ve constructed maps which could illustrate their historical geographic distribution.I have come to the conclusion that there was three main types of woodfences that was most common until the barbed wire was introduced in the early 1900s and later on replaced the elderly woodfences. Common for the three main types is that the base material was made out of Juniperus communis, this largely because of its durability against rot.

American bison (Bison bison bison) is a new species in Sweden and was introduced in the year 2000. In this study the result of an interview and a field investigation is presented. The aim was to investigate the health and parasite status in Swedish bison herds. The most common reason to begin with bison breeding was meat production and/or sale of breeding animals and tourism. The Swedish breeder?s experience of bison is that they in general are healthy.

Fusarium graminearum is one of the most important pathogens on cereals and causes major crop losses around the world. The most cultivated cereal in Sweden is winter wheat. F. graminearum produces both sexual and asexual spores for dispersal. Multiple factors affect the production of these spores.

Opioids are considered the "golden standard" in pain management for both humans and small animals, but is used less often in equine medicine - probably for fear of side effects. Are there any studies that suggest that side effects are a major problem, or is it lack of experience which is the greatest obstacle to use? As early as 1937 it was shown that morphine and morphine derivatives provide analgesia in horses. For species other than horses used opioids often both pre-, intra-and postoperatively. They relieve pain effectively and are often included in the anesthesia protocol.

Semi-natural grasslands have a high biodiversity and host ecologically and economically valuable ecosystems and species. Restoration on these types of land is often done by removing trees and scrubs, mowing, grazing, changing the soil by removing nutrition or changing the structure of the ground. Another way of restoration is planting seeds of common grassland plants. By comparing 18 scientific publications I investigated if the restoration was affecting the plants in a positive way and if the effect was similar for insects. By comparing the publications, time seemed to have an important effect on insects. They needed time to recolonize restored areas.

The purpose of this thesis project is to develop a set of interactive digital solutions designed to enhance the interest and knowledge intake of visitors at Skånes Djurpark (Zoo of Scania) in Höör. The project was carried out in collaboration with Skånes Djurpark and representatives from its visitors. Our thesis is based on academic works in the fields of interaction design, exhibit design and contextual learning. Ethnographical field studies have been conducted at Skånes Djurpark with additional field studies at Tropikariet in Helsingborg, Copenhagen Zoo and Regionmuseet Kristianstad. Existing information signs in Skånes Djurpark are primarily image- and textbased, forcing visitors to divert their attention from the different species of Nordic animals that inhabit the zoological park.

Aquaponics is a food production system consisting of a consecutive cultivation of plants and aquatic animals, fish or shellfish, in recirculating water. The plants feed on the nutritious effluents from the fish tank and bacteria converts ammonia from the fish tank into nitrate that is absorbed by the plants. The plants receive nutrition and the fish gain purified water. The environmental impact of the production of fish meal and fish oil used in conventional fish feed includes a large consumption of fossil fuels with subsequent carbon dioxide emission. The aquaponic system can be made environmentally sustainable and self-supporting if supplemented with a vermicompost/vermiculture for the production of worm protein as a fish feed. Vegetable waste from the hydroponic part of the system can be reused as worm feed in the compost and the protein rich worms can be harvested, dried and grinded and brought back to the aquaculture as fish feed. As a first step in this direction, I have investigated the effect of recycling of vegetable waste in vermicomposts on the growth and number of earthworms (this was evaluated after harvesting). The hypotheses were that earthworms can be cultivated in the vegetable waste and that by adding manure to the vermicompost it is possible to obtain a nutrient content adequate to support a continuous worm harvest, in other words create a vermiculture. Eisenia fetida and Dendrobaena veneta were grown in 20 L bins containing peat mixed with either poultry or cattle manure. The proportions were 70% peat and 30 % manure. Discarded plant parts from lettuce cultivation was added to the vermicomposts (35 g per week) and water was supplied with 0.8 L per week.

Over the past 40 years 600 000 ha of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia (Engelm.) Critchf.) has been planted in Sweden (280 000 ha on SCA's forest land alone which represents about 15% of the company's total forest land area). In the early 70's SCA situated a number of experimental stands in order to investigate different aspects of the exotic tree, primarily growth rate. To be able to compare the two species plots with scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), this species was also planted at the same time and under the same conditions. A number of questions should always be raised when exotic species are introduced in an ecosystem. Invasiveness, the pathogen situation and purely ethical issues should be discussed.

Contortatall (Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia) började planteras storskaligt i Sverige runt år 1970 men det dröjde till 1987 förrän Sverige lagstiftade begränsningar för hur den fick användas i skogsbruket. Detta gjordes bland annat på grund av att det saknades information om dess spridningsförmåga. Contortans spridningsförmåga i Sverige är fortfarande okänd och lagstiftningen är densamma. För att kunna beräkna spridningsförmågan och i förlängningen den potentiella etableringsframgången behövs kännedom om contortans fröproduktion i Sverige.

Animals in zoos live in more barren environments than their conspecifics in nature. In nature, elephants spend more than 75 % of the day foraging and have been observed lying down two hours during night. Stereotypies are common in many different species in zoos. Stereotypic behaviors may constitute up to 50 % of the daily activity budget of zoo elephants. Modern zoos try to reduce stereotypic behaviors by means of environmental enrichment.

The aim of this work is to analyze if a change in the benthic community can be detected two years after a restoration of a small stream. The samples were taken in a small stream at Tinnerö Eklandskap just south of Linköping. In addition to the restored area, two reference sites upstream and downstream of the restored area were sampled to compare to the restored site. The method used for sampling of benthic fauna in the stream was kick sampling. ASPT, Berger-Parker and Renkonen-indices were used to find out if there was any difference between the reference areas and the restored area.

The weather has been extremely rainy the last summers in Sweden. Because of the rain, a lot of harvested straw has been lost since it was too wet to store. When the pig producers couldn?t get enough straw to use as bedding, an alternative was requested. Silage is a realistic alternative to straw but since silage often contains clover, it may not be suitable to use in pig production since clover is rich in phytoestrogens.

Birch is the dominant deciduous tree species in Sweden but only 16 % is found in pure birch stands. The majority of the birch (51 %) is to be found in conifer dominated stands. Swedish forest land comprises approximately of 23 % mixed stands and one problem is that for mixed stands there are few management recommendations. The underlying aim of this thesis was to study the management of mixed forest stands of spruce and birch to achieve good timber quality of birch. The study was based on a literature study and measurement in a field experiment launched in 1998 by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

The ambition of this paper is to study the construction of the categorization between ?us? and ?them? in a religious minority, represented by Jehovah?s Witnesses and a nationalist political party, represented by the Swedish Democrats. This will be done by a discursive psychology analysis of their official publications on each group?s website. By a deductive study using Henri Tajfel?s Social Identity Theory trying to disclose the psychological processes; social categorization, social identity, social comparison and psychological distinctiveness.