The intention of this final thesis is to examine how to create a schoolyard that inspires children at the age of 6 ? 12 years to play and give them possibility to develop. To get a lot of knowledge in this subject, I have combined studies of literature with practical studies at Hosjöskolan in Falun. During my practical studies I have done interviews, walks in the area with the children and visited other schoolyards. I have based a design proposal for the schoolyard of Hosjöskolan on these studies.

Municipalities in Sweden are responsible for physical planning by developing a general plan. This plan contains intended land and water use for the area. This study aims to investigate the level of integra­tion of environmental issues in the general plan of Arboga municipality and also how well adapted the municipality is for climate change. Further on, the study intends to examine the focus of the gen­eral plan and at what rate the national environmental strategies are implemented in the local physi­cal planning of Arboga municipality. Methods used for this study are interviews and reviewing of the general plan itself and other key documents.

During thousands of years, reindeer have adapted to living under harsh conditions with large seasonal variations in climate and forage availability. This adaptation implies that body functions and nourishment needs are strongly bound to the season. In the summer the reindeer has to maximize food intake to build up fat and protein reserves for the winter. More than 200 different plant species are included in the reindeer diet, but since reindeer have an unique ability to use the nourishment in lichen, different lichen species make up a large portion of their winter diet in many areas. Fundamental for reindeer husbandry is access to natural grazing during most of the year.

This work is a part of the project ?Våtmarker i odlingslandskapet ? uppföljning av miljömålen? (Wetlands in arable land ? following-up of the environmental goals). The main objective with this project is to study nitrogen and phosphorus retention in a constructed wetland by using mass balance calculations. Continuous measurements of nutrients and water flow through the inlet and the outlet of the wetland are made. However, substantial amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus were assumed to reach the wetland with a drain-pipe transporting wastewater from nearby houses (10 persons).

Botanist Kjell-Arne Olsson inventoried the plant fen ragwort Senecio paludosus 1983 in Scania andfound a big number of locations within Biosphere Reserve Kristianstad Vattenrike. In 2012, a reinventoryof the 1983 survey was carried out to study whether there has been any change in the fenragwort population in Kristianstad Vattenrike since the last inventory. The results show that therehas been no overall change in the number of fen ragwort in Kristianstad Vattenrike, on certainpremises they have increased in number while in others they have fallen. However, the inventoryshows that almost half of the locations with fen ragwort have disappeared during the same period.The main reason for this is that fen ragwort did not manage to competitive with other vegetation,taking in consideration this has been smaller premises with young plants. In addition to competitionother factors such as prolonged high water, grazing and caterpillars from Tyria jacobaeaecontributed to the decrease.

Stormwater run-off from surfaces such as roads or rooftops is often polluted with heavy metals and nutrients. Many of these substances can cause great damage in biota if they end up in the recipient. In Sweden constructed wetlands and ponds for treatment of stormwater are frequently used, since research has shown that these treatment ponds are reducing stormwater pollution considerably to a low cost. The knowledge of these pollutant removal mechanisms and how follow-up and assessment of the ponds should be performed is still limited.To determine the pollutant removal efficiency of the stormwater ponds it is recommended that flow-weighted water samples are collected from both the inflow and the outflow of the pond. This method demands considerable resources of time and money for installations and analysis.

Cattle used for meat production can be held outside all year round and due to the legislation they should have access to shelters or other buildings for protection against the elements giving them a dry and clean bedding. There are different opinions concerning their need of protection and the question about necessity of shelters for cattle is of current interest due to a less profitable economy in meat production and the investment costs for shelters. The aim of this study was to acquire more knowledge about the natural behaviour of cattle concerning their use of shelters. The basis of the study was a series of questions regarding when animals choose to stay in shelters, if shelters were used less when they had access to protecting vegetation, how temperature and weather conditions affected the use of shelters and the influence of distance between shelter and feed. Behavioural studies was conducted at five different farms where six groups of suckler cows and heifers of following breeds and crossbreeds were observed; Aberdeen Angus, Charolais, Hereford, Scottish Highland Cattle, Simmental and the Swedish breeds SKB and SRB.

This essay is about the hamlets´ older boundaries, i.e. boundary lines (?rågångar?) and boundary markers in the form of rocks, and an own survey of two hamlet boundaries in southeast Sweden. Many of the boundary rocks were subjected to unintentional damage or destruction that arose during forestry activities, the excavation of ditches, or road construction. Boundaries between hamlets sparsely populated areas were not clearly defined from the beginning, but were established initially in the form of boundary zones, that often consisted of wetlands, watercourses, or mountain heights.

Vi har i detta examensarbete valt att lägga fokus på utomhusmiljön vid fyra förskolor i Mellansverige och hur den används som ett pedagogiskt verktyg samt ur ett utvecklingsperspektiv hos barn i förskolan. Det finns mycket forskning kring inomhusmiljön och dess betydelse för barns utveckling och lärande men väldigt lite kring utomhusmiljön och hur barn kan stimuleras till sin egen utveckling i utomhusaktiviteter, vilket vi nu valt att undersöka och diskutera i detta examensarbete. Vi menar att det finns potential att utnyttja utomhusmiljön på ett liknande sätt som den miljö som finns inomhus på förskolan. Vårt syfte är att ta reda på förskollärarnas tankar kring den utomhusmiljö som idag finns på den förskola de arbetar på och hur den används. Vi diskuterar olika fenomen som påverkar barns utveckling och vi vill därmed lyfta olika begrepp och som är relevanta i sammanhanget.

Ändamålet med detta examensarbete har varit att ta fram ett gestaltningsförslag för en cirkulationsplats i Uddevalla i linje med kommunens slogan Hjärtat i Bohuslän. Ett syfte har också varit att utifrån ett Bohuslänskt växtmaterial skapa en attraktiv vägmiljö med mål att minska de skötselinsatser som i dagsläget krävs. Litteraturstudier har genomförts och informationen har legat till grund för platsens utformning. Här är havsstranden den främsta huvudmiljön i förslaget och de vegetationstyper som ansetts mest relevanta för gestaltningen har stått som inspirationskälla. Litteraturen har delats upp och riktats inom de områden som ansetts mest väsentliga för utformningen. Skisser på plats, fotografering och en mindre inventering har genomförts för ökad förståelse av platsen. Resultatet blev en gestaltning med stenblock och svarttall som bas, en naturlik vägmiljö.

När man blir äldre får man svårare att röra sig och blir mer beroende av andras hjälp. Det är vanligt att man med åldern blir mindre aktiv då vardagliga sysslor blir svårare och mer ansträngande att genomföra. Detta leder ofta till att äldre människor vistas mindre ute. Att fysisk aktivitet är hälsofrämjande är allmänt känt, genom aktivitet kan äldres hälsa och välbefinnande påverkas. Aktiviteter och vistelse i naturlika miljöer har positiv effekt på människors hälsa. Faktorer som väder, tillgänglighet till utemiljön, utemiljöns utformning och humör är många gånger avgörande för om äldre personer går ut eller inte.

The purpose with this final thesis has been to study the aesthetics and design of roundabouts and to ascertain important factors that influence the experience of them. The investigation was carried out through literature-, field studies and interviews with persons that in different ways have participated in the formation of roundabouts. Furthermore, six roundabouts have been explored in more depth so that the survey would get a more practical link. These six roundabouts all occur in the rim of a city and do thereby have an important role as a gateway. The environments in such contexts are often complex which adds additional difficulty in achieving a visually appealing design, especially when taking into account the usually high traffic intensity.

Nybyggda parker och grönytor runtom i vårt land designas idag ofta utifrån ett slutgiltigt utseende. Med detta menas att en park som i slutändan förväntas domineras av tio stora ekar, planteras med tio ekar. Här finns det i stället en möjlighet att planera för förändring över tid, en långsiktig designprocess som tillåter andra uttryck att komma fram under vägen mot målbilden. Denna uppsats söker därför utforska hur vegetationsdesign och skötsel kan planeras så att de ger upplevelser kontinuerligt längs denna väg mot målbild. Tyngdvikten i denna uppsats kommer att ligga vid vegetationen under dess nyplanterade och unga år, då de fortfarande är plastiska och formbara. Naturlika planteringar, med Filborna Skogspark som exempel, kommer att undersökas.

In present time, more and more people move into cities. Densification of cities as planning policy together with an intensive urbanization, makes urban planners face with the contradictory task of creating a city that is both dense and green. Façade vegetation has been used for centuries, mainly in the form of various climbing plants that with or without supportive structures have spread over facades to give a green impression to the environment. The development of new technology today allows urban planners to use greenery integrated with façades. Vertical gardens offer a larger variety of plants, and at the same time takes advantage of the technological benefits of vegetation in city planning.

Peat  lands  are  a  great  potential  resource  for  increased  forest  growth  in  Sweden, there  are  approximately  6.5  million  hectares  of  peat  lands,  whereof  around  70% produce less wood than one m3sk/ha and year and are therefore classed as forest waste  land.  There  are  over  200  000  hectares  of  peat  land  that  is  already  drained and  wooded,  and  that may  be  suitable  for  fertilization.  Forest  production  on  peat soils  usually  requires  drainage  and  fertilization.  Dewatering  requires  ditching  the area, so that the roots can have access to oxygen. Nitrogen is often abundant in the peat but other nutrients; especially potassium is in short supply. The  purpose  of  this  work  was  to examine  the effects  of  potassium  fertilization  on the  growth  of  spruces  that  were  planted  on  drained  peat  land  and  how  different amount of fertilizers affects the growth. Potassium deficiency is strongly growth inhibiting, since potassium is important for substance  transport  in  the  tree.  Potassium  is  also  important  for  the  carbohydrate formation, and because increasing the sugar content of the cells constitutes a lower freezing temperature does potassium availability in the soil play a major role in the winter  resistance  of  many  species.  Potassium  is  not  found  in  any  organic compounds in the tree, but is present in cell and tissue fluids. A fertilization trial was started in 1978 in Siljansfors Experimental Forest. The plots in the experiment were fertilized with different amounts of potassium and one plot was  left  without  fertilization.  All  plots  that  were  fertilized  with  potassium  grew considerably better than the unfertilized plot. The difference in production between the unfertilized plot and the plot that received the most potassium was 7.2 m3sk/ha and year. The unfertilized plot can still be classified as waste land. The theoretical production capacity was estimated using a Swedish system for site quality  estimation  of  wetlands  after  ditching  (dikningsbonitering).  The  plot  with most  potassium  produced  after  fertilizationaproximately  in  level  with  theoretical estimations.  Key  words:  Peat  land,  Fertilization,  Ditching,  Growth,  site  quality..