Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and fluxes in forest ecosystems are influenced by natural and human disturbances. In the tropical regions the highest impacts on disturbance in forest C cycles are related to human activities such as conversion of natural lands to cropland and pasture areas and to forest plantations. The disturbances in the forest C cycles will release CO2 emissions to the atmosphere triggering global warming. In this study the focus was set in subtropical soils in Brazil, south extreme region of Bahia. The aim of the study was to investigate whether reforestation of Eucalyptus plantations under former pasture areas will help mitigate climate change through Carbon sequestration.

Carbon sequestration through restoration of degraded pastoral soils is an advocated way of mitigating global warming, and simultaneously alleviating poverty. An often proposed rehabilitation strategy is fencing of pastures, a method that was introduced to the farmers of Chepareria by the Vi-Agroforestry organization in 1987. The landscape of Chepareria changed from eroded, over-grazed grasslands, to a mixture of open-grazed commons, pastoral enclosures and cultivations. The aim of this study was to investigate (1) if the soil organic carbon (SOC) is higher inside the enclosures than on the open-grazed commons, (2) if SOC is affected by duration of fencing and (3) what effect cultivation of pastures has on the SOC. Estimations of vegetation cover and deep profile (100cm) soil sampling was performed on six clusters containing; (1) open-grazing (OG) (2) 1-5 years of fencing (FENCED(1)), (3) 7-10 years of fencing (FENCED(2)), (4) 15-23 years of fencing (FENCED(3)), (5) maize from OG (A(OG)), (6) maize from fenced pasture (A(FENCED)).

To curb greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change is one of the biggest challenges human society face today. Carbon dioxide (CO2) has accumulated rapidly in the atmosphere as a consequence of burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The aim of this study is to explore two methods to store carbon dioxide in geological formations and biological sinks. The aim is also to discuss the two mitigation options from a sustainable perspective and whether it can lead to a better environment and benefits for local and global societies. The research questions are: Which method to store carbon dioxide, geological or biological, is the most effective? Which method to store carbon dioxide, geological or biological, has the greatest potential to promote sustainable development for local communities?The method used is a comparative case study and presents four case studies that explore the potential for CO2 storage offshore in Norway and Brazil; and in tropical forests in Mexico and Brazil.

In times of increased flooding, enhanced by climate change, polluted stormwater poses an increased threat to the environment through contaminated water entering waterways. Bioretention utilizes natural processes in soil and vegetation to treat pollutants and combat this threat. Biochar produced through pyrolysis, has a high cation exchange capacity (CEC) and could therefore increase treatment in bioretention systems. This research applies a literature review, interview, and a model to explore the benefits and disadvantages of biochar in order to specify a soil-mix through an understanding of the production process and preferred application rate. High purification through CEC, increased water holding capacity, and Carbon sequestration being the benefits discussed.

Carbon offsetting means to offset those greenhouse gases that are caused by our actions. The purpose of this paper is to examine how companies are working with carbon offsetting. The focus of the research is how travel agencies and companies that provides carbon offsetting. The writers also highlight the problems carbon offsetting is facing. The study was performed with qualitative methods through interviews with three companies working with carbon offsetting.

To curb greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change is one of the biggest challenges human society face today. Carbon dioxide (CO2) has accumulated rapidly in the atmosphere as a consequence of burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The aim of this study is to explore two methods to store carbon dioxide in geological formations and biological sinks. The aim is also to discuss the two mitigation options from a sustainable perspective and whether it can lead to a better environment and benefits for local and global societies. The research questions are: Which method to store carbon dioxide, geological or biological, is the most effective? Which method to store carbon dioxide, geological or biological, has the greatest potential to promote sustainable development for local communities?The method used is a comparative case study and presents four case studies that explore the potential for CO2 storage offshore in Norway and Brazil; and in tropical forests in Mexico and Brazil.

Glulam is a product that was engineered to make use of timber in a more efficient way. Bychoosing timber of similar quality and discarding natural defects during production, thedevelopment of a stronger cross-section is achieved.Carbon fiber is a relatively new material with a high tension capacity. This feature is used toexamine how the bending capacity of the beams improve by adhering carbon fiber laminateson the lower edge of the beamsThe strength of the material is tested with three experiments: carbon fiber on the bottom of thebeam (a), carbon fiber attached to the lower sides of the beam (b) and carbon fiber in thebeam, covered with a layer of wood (c)The results show that the first case, where the carbon fiber is attached to the bottom of thebeam, gave the best result with an increase in capacity of 59 % compared to the nonreinforcedcontrol. The other two cases also show an improvement in capacity, beam-type 3had a capacity increase of 47% and beam-type 4 increased with 25 %Tests were also made with glulam beams reinforced with fiberglass, but these tests were notanalyzed in depth because the purpose was to compare the capacity to carbon fiber. Thisbeam improved its capacity by 40.3%.The tests show that carbon fiber as a reinforcement material for glulam is a good choice whenthere is a requirement for stronger cross-sections in both new production and renovation ofold buildings.

Freshwater ecosystems have long been neglected as an important part of the global carbon cycle. However, research shows that most of the world?s lakes are net-heterotrophic and consequently emitters of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. In many boreal and north-temperate lakes, most of the yearly emissions usually occur in spring, shortly after ice-thaw. The aim of this study was to quantify the flux of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in three boreal lakes, during this annual event.

Sapa Heat Transfer is a company that produces aluminum heat-exchanger strips for the automotive industry. Sapa Heat Transfer wish to chart their emissions of carbon dioxide in order to meet future demands on carbon dioxide reporting. They also would like to examine the meaning of the term ?green electricity? which is marketed as carbon dioxide free, and the sort of electricity that they purchase. This report includes both direct (liquefied petroleum gas and diesel) and indirect (water, process-water, long distance heating, waste) emissions from their company.

The goal with this examination thesis is to investigate the difference in carbon dioxide emissions between a building with a wooden versus concrete carcassing from a life cycle perspective. The huge amounts of carbon dioxide released into air from human activities must be reduced to prevent serious consequences. A way to limit this issue is through performing a comparative study where the result shows which of two products with the same function has the lowest emission of carbon dioxide, whereof the product with the lowest carbon dioxide pollution can be chosen.To be able to perform a study like this an object has been chosen and studies about life cycle analyses have been done. The rental square meter, the thermal conductivity value, the energy requirements and the placement of the building has been set equal in both framework types. There were solely dissimilarities of the two buildings taken into account when this comparison study was performed.The result of the study is that a building constructed with a wooden carcassing has the lowest amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

Total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) are two methods used for measuring organic pollutants in wastewater. Both methods are widely used but the COD method results in production of hazardous wastes, including mercury.The purpose of this study was to validate the method TOC that will replace COD and find a factor to convert TOC to COD. In this study 26 samples were analyzed from four sewage treatment plant in the municipality of Enköping.The results show that the COD method could be replaced by the TOC method.The factor for COD/TOC was between 3.1 - 3.3. Both methods will be used in parallel until 2013 when it will be forbidden to use the COD analysis..

Today, about 15 to 20 percent of Sweden?s total emission of carbon dioxide can be traced to the household sector. By examining apartment blocks in a life cycle perspective, the origin of the carbon dioxide emission has been charted and analyzed. This information has been used to create a computational model that calculates the total emission of carbon dioxide from a specific apartment block. The results from the analyzed apartment blocks indicate that both the use of energy and the emission of carbon dioxide have been reduced since the 1960s. Through the examination of building materials, it is possible to lower the emission of carbon dioxide that origins from the construction phase of an apartment block.

Energy Director is a control and measuring system for energy consumption and is part of the product portfolio of E.ON AG for more efficient use of energy, offered to business customers. As of today, the system has only one parameter of control, namely power, and the objective of this essay has been to investigate whether other ones could be added. The emphasis is on the environmental perspective, which is why carbon dioxide has served as an example for this parameter in question.Parallel with the study of Energy Director electricity on the margin, calculations of carbon dioxide equivalents and also the Swedish trade of electricity have all been highlighted. Results indicate that when reductions in energy are made it is endorsed to omit from electricity on the margin rather than some mean distributed electricity, under certain conditions, and in addition the calculations of the reductions should be modified regarding the efficiency of the power stations fuelled by lignite and bituminous coal. Sweden practices trade with the Nordic countries as well as Poland and Germany.

According to the theory of environmental Kuznets curve there is a relationship between carbon emissions and GDP. The relationship has an inverted U-shape. Carbon emissions rise initially and then decreases once a certain level of GDP is obtained.This essay interprets earlier studies in the field of environmental economics and uses public choice to seek answer on how the population acts on aggregate level. This essay analyses 115 countries in cross-sectional data. The analysis shows that there is a significant relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and GDP that is increasing at first and then decreases for a certain level of GDP.

Climate change has become an increasingly topical subject. Recently debate on how our food affects the environment has flared. It has been shown that how the food we eat is grown and transported could be one the bigger contributors to the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The aim of this study is to see how consumer?s choices of vegetables affect release of carbon dioxide. The results show that emissions of carbon dioxide can be lowered by consuming vegetables that have been grown on open land. Vegetables that have to be grown in heated greenhouses in Sweden should perhaps be exchanged for such that have been grown in unheated greenhouses in southern Europe, even though the transport distance is significant. .