The sun is essential to life on earth and no matter where you are, there is a constant need ofenergy. Nearly 800 000 years ago man learned for the first time to use fire in a controlled way.Since then, fire has given us the opportunity to inhabit places despite a cold climate. In Swedenthe resident sector accounts for a major part of the total consumption of energy. In a time whenenvironmental issues and greenhouse effects are increasing, we also see a future of rising energyprices. With this perspective, we have in this bachelor thesis in the Building Environment at theRoyal Institute of Technology, KTH, in Stockholm decided to focus on the renewable energysource, solar energy.The energy from solar radiation is a free resource and does not have any negative effects uponthe environment.

The organic farmland is increasing all the time and the goal is that 15 % of the Swedish farmland will be in organic production in year 2010. The organic production needs new and more effective ways to control weeds, and there is the row harrowing coming as a good complement to the conventional weed harrowing. In this experiment is weed harrowing whit different row spaces and row harrowing with a spacing of 25 cm compared. Then are the weed picked and the weight taken of them. The yield is compared in the 7 different ways of treatment. The results is not showing any significant differences in yield even when the row spacing is 25 cm instead of 12,5 cm. Even the spring wheat that is a sensitive crop and has bad tillering is doing well in this experiment. Now with modern technology where the row harrow is controlled by a camera that making the row harrow to follow the rows is it the soil coverage of the crop that is the limit for the speed. With wide machinery is the very good coverage even with a row harrow..

In this degree project we wanted to investigate if there are any possibilities to get a higher income from grain growing by giving the grain to hens instead of selling it. We were also wondering if the manure has any value or if it only cost the egg producer money. If the egg producer cultivate his own grain and is able to store it in layer is there quite much money to earn. Expensive pasture makes it profitability to pay up to 1,35 Swedish crowns for a kilo of wheat. In our calculating we?ve used calculation from the company Lantmännen.

Oilseed rape is an important crop in Sweden and is grown on about 90000 ha today. The interest in oil seed pro-duction is increasing because of growing demand and high prices for oil seed both in Sweden and Europe. However, an increased intensity in the oil seed production can bring higher risk of yield losses due to fungal diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate what different fungi are associated with oilseed rape under field conditions and if their incidence is correlated to crop establishment problems. This study was carried out in three parts: 1) investigations on fungal community structure in roots and rhizosphere soils from young spring- and winter rape plants sampled in failed respectively good establishment patches in four fields, 2) investigations on the pathogenicity of fungi isolated from oilseed rape in controlled environment and 3) investigations on the effect of different fungicide seed treatments on germination and early plant development in a field soil naturally infested with damping off- and Verticillium wilt pathogens. The studies on community structure using a combined approach of standard fungal isolation techniques and DNA based methods revealed a high fungal diversity in three out of four studied fields of spring rape and winter rape. For some unknown reason, very few fungal species were identified from the fourth field.

Humanity stands before a huge challenge to lower its emissions of carbon dioxide and its use of energy at the same time as the global population is rising and the developing countries are being industrialized. A lot of newly built buildings are due to this challenge, designed to be more energy efficient but also use renewable energy resources instead of pollutant fossil fuels .Solar energy is one of the purest forms of energy that exists in abundant amounts, which is why it is most likely that it could come to play a major part in the future energy market. The main purpose of this report is to investigate the possibility to implement a sustainable energy system with solar thermal heat and  heat storage as main sources of energy in the neighborhood ?kvarteret Lagern?, which is the area where the old football stadium ?Rasunda Stadion? was located. New developments within different heat storage techniques have opened up new approaches to enable buildings an all year round heat supply from solar energy. This report will focus on heat storage in boreholes. At the present here is only a preliminary plan of how the neighborhood is supposed to be designed.

Many invasive species propose a big threat against the native fauna in the area that they colonise. Today the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is speeding from Finland over the border in to northern Sweden. A project to stop the spread and eliminate the individuals that already have established was initiated in the autumn of 2008. To investigate areas that might be interesting for raccoon dogs and to confirm sightings, cameras with auto triggering mechanisms are used. To get the raccoon dog in front of the camera some kind of lure is used. In this study three kinds of different lures was tested against each other?s.

Abstract The purpose of this work is to investigate children?s perception of Swedish birds. Through qualitative questions there were twelve children interviewed. I showed the pictures for the children of different animals that we discussed but with focus on birds. The children could partly distinguish which of the pictures that represented birds and who did not.

This thesis investigates three different surface modifications, and the route to design and synthesize them. The thesis is therefore divided into three sub- projects. (i.) Design and synthesis of a peptide which secondary structure could be controlled by a negatively charged surface. (ii.) Design and synthesis of a cyclic peptide, that would self-organize prior to surface interaction, using the type I anti-freeze protein of a winter flounder as template. (iii.) The use of solid-phase synthesis to make the synthesis of SAM-molecules easier..

This project is about color and light and how it affects the atmosphere in the city. I choseto look closer into the central parts of the city, a place where I often feel a lack of lightand color, especially during the winter season. In the beginning of the project I made ananalysis of how intense colors are used in the city and how we can use color as a tool tocreate effectful spaces. Further into the project I chose to look closer into the effects thatare made by the facades, how the light from the windows affects the room outside when the dark falls. At the end of the project I caught a feeling inspired by the city and applied it into an installation of light..

Feed intake in dairy cows is regulated by a variety of factors influencing hunger and satiety. One of the regulation systems includes the short chain fatty acids produced during feed degradation in the rumen. Starch can be digested either in the rumen where short chain fatty acids are produced or in the small intestine where glucose is the end product. Since glucose does not have the same effect on satiety that short chain fatty acids have, the site of starch digestion might be an important factor that affects feed intake and milk production. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of site of starch digestion on feeding behaviour (feed intake, consumption time, and eating frequency) and milk production. Because feeding behaviour is closely connected to the cows? environment, the study also included observations of behaviour. Three different feed rations were compared.

The aim of this report was to investigate if Sweden can have 100 % renewable electricity production in the year 2050. The conclusion is that it is possible but under certain conditions. For instance wave power must be in commercial use. When wind power and solar power represent a large percentage of the electric production there will be a lack of electric power during the winter but during the summer there will be a surplus of electric power. Both the surplus and the lack of electric power need to be taken into account.

One special feature in the Swedish nature, mainly in the county of Uppland is one distinctive kind of dip, which can be distinguished from its fast and unaccounted drainage. These dips are called ?glupar? and can mainly be found in coarse-grained pebbled moraine under the highest shoreline (HK). During spring, and particularly when snowmelting occur, the wateramliptude fluctuates a lot until late summer or the beginning of fall comes; these dips are then often almost fully drained. During winter however, the waterlevel stands high.

The purpose of this examination work was to make a general description about drying and storage of grain, and a case study with a comparison between brought and home-made feed. The case study was made on the farm Solhem in Hörby, a farm that produces 3870 pigs for slaughter a year. In this project three alternatives have been compared, 1st alternative: own produced grain approx. 400 ton + wet grain 415 ton purchased during fall, 2nd alternative: own produced grain approx. 400 ton + dry grain 415 ton purchased during winter, 3rd alternative: bought feed 815 ton purchased continuously during the year. Considering the price information provided to me the 1st alternative gave the cheapest feed..

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.

Under de senaste decennierna har många traditionella kooperativa föreningar runt om i världen genomgått stora förändringar. Vissa har ändrat sina organisationsstrukturer, vilket innebär att de har kvar delar av den kooperativa modellen, men introducerat individuellt ägande för medlemmarna. Andra har försvunnit genom fusioner eller konkurser. Det finns de som ombildats från sin kooperativa form och andra som avyttrat delar av sina verksamheter till andra investerare och på så sätt blivit en hybridkooperation. Marknadsförändringar, såsom industrialiseringen inom jordbruket, har tvingat de kooperativa företagen att expandera och öka sin förädlingsgrad. Förädling av produkter kräver stora investeringar, vilket kräver kapital.