During the summer of 2007 I was employed by Högestad Christinehofs Förvaltning AB. My main task was to make an inventory of Giant trees at the estate. Högestad and Christinehof,which with their total possession of 13 000 ha of land is the biggest estate in Scania. A giant tree is a tree with a diameter in breast height more then 1 meter. Trees of these dimensions are registered by Swedish authorities. Landowners with a giant tree on their property can receive a subsidy for cutting trees that are in competition with the giant tree.(Levenskog, 2007) Giant trees are important for biodiversity in the landscape and there are important habitats for different insects, birds, bats, lichens and funguses.

The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is listed as an endangered species and scientific litterature concerning its biology and behaviour is scarce. The current study observed a group of three giant otters in a Swedish zoo. First the otters normal behaviour was recorded. Then the aim of the study was to see if the otters behaviour changed when given blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Furthermore the aim was to see if the otters displayed any tool-using behaviour when given mussels.

This report is a thesis work for a B.Sc. in Forestry exam at the School for Forest Engineers, SLU. The work was an assignment from Sydved and the aim of the work was to investigate the economical output of removing understorey trees before first thinning. Four treatments were studied. - no cleaning before thinning - cleaning of all trees less than DBH 5 cm before thinning - cleaning of all trees less than DBH 7 cm before thinning - cleaning of all trees less then DBH 9 cm before thinning The result shows a decrease of the cost per m3 for the harvester with about 38% if all trees less than DBH 9 cm was cleaned before thinning compared with the un-cleaned area. At the same time the total net revenue increases with about 22%. .

Trees of Bergvik apple (Bergviksäpple) planted between 2001 and 2007 have shown varying harvest. This study investigates why some trees gets low or no harvest while others get significantly higher harvest. The aim is to identify some reasons why fruiting differs between the trees and if possible suggest and/or enlighten the tree owners what can be done to improve fruiting. The study includes 25 trees, mostly located in Hälsingland, Sweden. The tree owners have answered two questionnaires, first in the spring with questions regarding flowering and the second in the autumn, regarding harvest.

This bachelor's thesis is a study of operative approach and attitude to espaliered fruit trees in home gardens. Through qualitative interviews the informants give their view of problems which might arise, and to some extent how the problems can be solved. In addition, which benefit can be obtained from growing these different types of trained trees and for whom they might be suitable. Thematic analyses were used to find themes and patterns for deeper understanding. The conclusion was that these kinds of trees would be beneficial to use to a greater extent than is done today you can use more species and varieties, fit more trees in a small garden, and enhance the trees esthetical appearance.

The aim with this study was to investigate mortality in older respectively younger beech stands (Fagus sylvatica), the different types of dead wood in the forest and the availability of coarse woody debris (CWD). The research was carried out in previously managed and seminatural stands in Biskopstorp and Frodeparken, located north of Halinstad in Halland,Sweden. Data were collected from 22 stands with at least 50 % beech and with a minimum age of 5 1 years, ranging in size from 0,67 to 19,9 ha. A transect was placed in each stand, in which the diaineter on both dead and living trees with a minimum diameter of 50 mm was recorded. On seven to 13 dead trees, depending on the size of each stand, decomposition stage, primary and secondary cause of death, amount of fungi and the type of the dead wood was noted.

In this investigation has an attempt to find out whether so called transplanting shock depends on the moving and transplanting of trees, to other conditions, or if it is due to the imbalance between the root to shoot ratio. Seventy trees of Prunus avium have been part of the investigation and these trees have been divided into four different groups depending on methods of production, untouched on the field, trees still on the field but with root pruning, trees moved and planted into Root-Control-Bag, trees moved and planted into Spring-rings. To be able to answer the question, measurements of the length of the terminal shoots and the lateral shoots and the dimension of the stem growth have been done and also has a visual judgment of the trees vitality been performed. The result shows that it is not only the move of the trees that gives them transplanting shock, but rather the loss of roots which gives an imbalance between the root and crown..

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is the major form of certification system in Swedish forestry today and its more than 11 million hectares are covering almost half of the total productive forest area in the country. Its regulations prescribe that at least 10 wind firm trees should be left behind after every clear cutting operation. This study have taken place on 30 recently clearcut objects in Bergslagen, Sweden, were an inventory of the standing stock have been made. The research shows that, with 90 % security, the retained trees together contain 9-13 m3sk per hectare. Pine is the dominant tree and it covers more than half the numbers of retained trees and its volume cover 65 % of the retained trees total volume. Spruce is on second place with 30 % of the retained trees, but only 21 % of the standing stock.

The aim of this study was to investigate preschool children's perceptions of trees in and it was done through qualitative interviews. The children were drawing trees and told me what the tree needs to grow and what happens to the leaves in autumn. In a playful way, they learned more about trees and the purpose was also to examine whether they had acquired new experiences and thoughts on the trees, photosynthesis and decomposition. Then the children were interviewed again to see if their answers were different. The results showed that the children gave different answers at the second interview.

Reptiles are animals than have been neglected in the research for all times. Some people have the opinion that these animals have fewer needs and demand less from their caretakers. The Aldabra Giant Tortoise lives on the Aldabra atoll outside the coast of Tanzania. The Aldabra tortoise population has varied throughout the years, but today the population is around 100.000 animals. The purpose of this study was to analyze the enclosure utilization of two Aldabra tortoises, a male and a female, at Parken Zoo in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

Different methods for shelterwood cutting have been used in differ-ent parts of Europe since the middle ages. The use of shelter wood cutting in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) forests in Sweden met a revival in the early 1990s as an alternative for the dominating clear-cutting system when silvicultural costs increased dramatically for the latter. Shelterwood cutting systems involve some possible problems but also a lot of positive effects. Among the problems are increased risk of wind throw and damage of the remaining shelter trees caused by the cutting operation. Positive effects are for example a valuable growth in the remaining trees and increased biological di-versity. This study is based on a total of 79 trees from 4 different treatments in a spruce shelterwood, cut in 1994, in the middle of Sweden (62,4º N).

According to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) shall at least a mean of 10 trees per hectare including riparian zones and other areas with high biological values be left in final felling. In addition large clear areas should not be created and all retained trees with high environmental value shall be spared. To leave trees in final felling means a lower cutting volume and hence a lower income from the cutting, but it also means that the production in the next generation becomes less because of competition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect retained trees have on the production in the new generation of forest, and to investigate if there is any way to lower this effect. The environmental care has also been estimated by the amount left in final felling.

The forests of Sweden are constantly changing. Map studies indicate that the amount of deciduous trees in Sweden has decreased in recent years in favor of the coniferous trees. The National Forest Inventory has since the early 1920s monitored the Swedish forests and in recent years has made the old data digitally available. In the present project, we have investigated how the numbers of stems in different diameter classes have changed for birch and other deciduous trees. The inventory was conducted in the same manner as in the first forest inventory.

?The trees importance to the street? discusses just that, the trees importance to the street. The purpose of this paper has been to examine what influence the trees have on streets. By writing about good examples of how trees can add good qualities to a street I wish to inspire to more use of trees in future city-planning. I have examined three streets in Malmö and three streets in Berlin and analyzed the trees influences there through the help of literature by three authors: Great Streets (1993) and The Boulevard Book (2002) by Allan B. Jacobs, Trees in Urban Design (1993) by Henry F.

The purpose of this work has been to explore what ecosystem services a small green area in an urban environment can offer and whether specific trees can be used to maximize regulatory ecosystem services in a cultural-historical environment. Additionally, it investigates whether there is any difference in ecosystem services depending on whether these trees, or trees that better fit into the cultural-historical environment, are used. Through simulations and comparisons with existing trees in Pommerska tomten, Mariestad, Sweden, a pocket park within a national interest area, different hypothetical tree planting options are analyzed and evaluated. To measure ecosystem services, the website My-Tree, developed by the US equivalent of the Department of Agriculture, was used. By inputting data about the tree, such as location, species, vitality, stem diameter, and solar exposure, My-Tree calculates some of the ecosystem services the tree provides.