Livestock animals affect their environment in a number of different ways, mostly through grazing and trampling. This study focused on the effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest structure and diversity, and the impact on ground cover. To compare the fenced and grazed area with a reference area outside the enclosure a number of transects were used. The study showed that there was no significant difference in Height structure and diversity between the compared sites; however, there were a significantly higher proportion of damaged trees inside the enclosure. The ground cover variables showed a higher amount of bare soil, plant litter and wood-rush (Luzula sp.) inside the enclosure whilst grass was more frequent in the reference area.

It has been shown that moose can affect plant community composition and structure. Selective browsing with other damages of large herbivores on tree species with different tolerance to disturbance could reshape the tree layer in both managed and natural forests. Rowan Sorbus aucuparia is widely distributed throughout Sweden and Europe. Research has shown that browsing by moose may prevent rowan from reaching browsing safe heights. The goal has been formulated that, where rowan is indigenous, it should have a good competition status and be able to reach tree level.

The purpose of this report was to investigate if there are any correlation between spruce medium height in young spruce stands and the number of birch stump shoots. The purpose was also to investigate if there are any correlation between the spruce height growth after clearing and the mean height of birch stump shoots. The reason for this investigation is that the problem with birch stump shoots after clearing can be expensive if there must be additional clearings before the first thinning. The study provides no apparent association and therefore no special clearance height is recommended. In the final stages of the work there are given some comments on the study´s weaknesses. Finally topics for further research are suggested..

Topping is a precommercial thinning (PCT) method where secondary stems are cut higher above the ground compared to conventional PCT. The secondary stems continue to live for a period and are supposed to compete with the main stems and promote their quality.The objective of the study was to compare the effect of PCT on height and diameter growth between topping and conventional PCT. The study also analysed the relationship between height and diameter growth and the number of stems after PCT.Nine topped stands and six conventional precommercially thinned stands were visited between February 28th and March 5. One sample plot per hectare was laid out in the investigated stands. In every sample plot the number of stems was counted and five main stems were measured for height, height growth since PCT, diameter and diameter growth since PCT.The results showed significantly higher effect on height growth after topping as compared to conventional PCT but no significant difference in the effect of diameter growth between topping and conventional PCT.

The interest in harvesting wood fuel in conflict stands has grown in recent years as a consequence of the increased demand for biofuel. Conflict stands are young forests that have not been cleaned and have a large number of stems ha-1with a great height and diameter distribution. This means that traditional field measurements in conflict stands are difficult and very time consuming. Therefore, the forestry sector is in need of new, more efficient inventory methods. In this study, the Lidar data from Lantmäteriet?s (the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authorities) new national height model was used in combination with plots from the Swedish national forest inventory from 2009 to create functions for; height, volume, diameter and number of stems.

This report is an assessment of the feasibility of using aerial photographs to estimate number of stems per hectare in young forest stands, used together with upper height to determine the need for pre-commercial thinning or ordinary thinning cutting. Aerial photo-interpretation was conducted in 2007 on assignment of Stora Enso Skog AB. A mean height function based on stand age produced with data from Bergvik Skog AB?s 2006 forest inventory assessment was used as a proxy for upper height and used together with photo-interpreted number of stems per hectare to determine the need for thinning cutting according to Bergvik Skog AB?s definitions. The test area is located north of Falun on Bergvik Skog AB?s land.Flight altitude was approximately 900 m above ground and the aerial photos were taken by L&L Flygbildteknik AB.

Multilayered woodland types are an important part of the urban forest. The knowledge how to establish and maintain such plantations are not as deep as other knowledge fields concerning forestry. Therefore this study has looked upon how to achieve multilayered structures in young nature-like woodland plantations. As a theoretical base for the study three different major knowledge culture have been studied that concerns the subject, ecology, forestry and landscape management/design. This three theoretical framework concludes that many natural processes strive in the opposite direction of multilayered structures in their youth.

The parallel bars is used in physical therapy and is mainly used for patients who have to train walking and balance after a stroke or an operation. It consists of two long handrails with two legs on each handrail. These legs go down into two ground-plates and are locked at the wanted height with a pin. The parallel bars is an appreciated device and is used on a daily basis in many care units.The main issue with the manual parallel bars is that it is very difficult and heavy for a single person to adjust the height of it. If a larger adjustment of the height has to be done, the legs have to be adjusted one at a time otherwise the they will be locked.

Before the European construction standards were introduced in January 2011, it was mainly themethod in BBK04 that was used for calculating punching capacity in concrete structures, and in lesscommon cases the method in BHB. The method of BBK04 is easy to use and have had the samestructure since the first was published in 1979. The Concrete handbook method (BHB) where usuallyonly used when a higher punching capacity was needed and the cross-sectional height where fixed,calculations using this method entails more work, but will in return usually give a higher capacity. Italso allows the use of shear reinforcement to increase the cross-section capacity. The method ofcalculating punching shear in EC2 differs largely from the methods of BBK04 and BHB.

Every organization goes through the same lifecycle. Through every step in the transformation to a better organization the communication structure changes. In this report there are examples of the communicational disadvantages that is connected to the communicational structure.By choosing to not have a formal communicational design, the manager takes a risk in spreading the information, the interaction, the control and the balance in creativity and constraint.This case organizations problem is that some parts of the organization has made more progress in the communicational structure than other parts. In this case the Collectivity structure has met the Formalized structure.Tha structural differences has came to affect the way of sharing information and it has become a situation where the information about the products is not stored in a safe way from a quality point of view. There is a gap between the two different ways of communicate.In this report I have created a model to identify problems in the communication structure.

Today Holmen Skog finds and selects suitable thinning stands using data on upper height and basal area. These figures are often based on basic forest data that has been updated with the help of growth prediction models. The problem is that these figures are not always correct. The aim of this study was to investigate if a combination of data from a profiling laser and a digital camera for low elevation photography, can be used for collecting data on number of stems per ha, tree species mixture as well as basal area weighted mean height and upper height for stands. The possibility to use these data to assess the need for thinning cutting was also investigated.Laser data and aerial photographs were collected from a helicopter operating at an approximate height of 100 meters.

The purpose of this thesis is to ascertain the main determinable factors of Swedish SMEs capital structure decisions and to investigate whether existing capital structure theories are applicable on Swedish SME financing. We have used panel data to run regressions of various capital structure determinants on three measures of capital structure; short- term debt, long-term debt and total debt. We found that growth opportunities, profitability and age are the most important capitalstructures determinants for our sample. Firm size shows a small explanatory result but the effective tax rate and the asset tangibility do not seem to explain the capital structure at all. Thematurity matching principle is considered significant..

Thinning is one of the most important silvicultural activities in middle aged forests, partly to minimize damages and partly because it leads to earlier harvesting revenues and increases the value of the remaining trees. There are many different indices used to describe stand density and thereby the need of thinning in forests today. Studies have shown that forest variables can be estimated with high accuracy using airborne laser scanning and it is likely that the method could also be used to estimate forest density indices. In this study, the possibility of using the forest density index ?H² to determine and map priorities for thinning operations for a forest area was examined.

The development in photogrammetry has created possibilities for new methods in aerial images acquisition. Remotely-controlled imaging from an unmanned helium zeppelin is a new and relatively unexplored acquisition. The purpose with this degree project is to evaluate the accuracy of this kind of low-height photographing system, a task given from the consultant company WSP, in Sweden. Landbadet in Uddevalla municipality was chosen as a test field for the zeppelin. Seventeen images distributed over three strips were acquired from the flying height of 80 m.

The aim of the study is to describe the state of the forest and changes in the Lindberg nature reserve. The study area is a nature reserve with an old coniferous forest, which has not been touched since 1950. The pines in the area have a very big diameter and are 150 ? 200 years old. The spruces are up to 150 years old.