Wetlands play an important role in the ecosystem. They reduce the impact of flow flux in the drainage area, acts as upholder of biodiversity, as an esthetic and recreational component in the landscape and they have the ability to reduce nutrients such as nitrogen, and help preventing eutrophication in costal areas.The number of Wetlands in Scania have, due to the intensified agriculture been reduced to maximize the area suitable for crops.However since the mid 80th the consequences of this has been acknowledged, and many Wetlands have been restored.This master?s thesis aim to see what impact this development have had on Wetlands in Scania over the last 60 years. And also look at some of those factors important for the efficiency of nitrogen removal in Wetlands. During the process a detailed manual for inventories of this sort was created.The material used to execute the inventory of Wetlands where aerial photographs over Scania from the 1940th, 1980th and 2000.

Construction of Wetlands in the agricultural landscape may reduce nitrogen and phosphorus transfer to streams, thereby reducing the eutrophication of lakes and seas. The agriculturalstream Lillån, a tributary to stream Sagån, ends up in Lake Mälaren and is transporting large amounts of these plant nutrients. The aim of this study was to estimate how hypothetical Wetlands of different size and location may reduce nitrogen and phosphorus load from stream Lillån. Estimated nutrient retention in several small Wetlands was compared to retention in a single large wetland based on existing data from the agricultural stream and from a nearby smaller stream. Retention in the stream was suggested to decrease along with the nutrient concentration in the water.

The aim of this study was to examine what impact restored and constructed pounds and Wetlands have on waterfowls in the area of Linköping. The birdlife in five constructed Wetlands werechosen to investigate if specific factors like age, size and vegetation affected the avian diversity in Wetlands. Also, extra focus has been given to the threatened Horned Grebe (Podiceps Auritus), breeding in the studied area. The results showed that the number of species as well as individuals of waterfowl and Horned Grebe changed over time in what might be a result of succession in the Wetlands. Comparing the number of birds to the size of the Wetlands showed a clear correlation. Larger areas inhabited greater numbers of species and individuals.

Many species of amphibians are threatened both in Sweden and globally. The causes are many and a main factor is habitat alterations which often results in populations being isolated. Changes in the agricultural landscape have among other things resulted in small water bodies being filled and dried out and that has severely affected the Swedish amphibians. Swedish amphibians are depended upon small water bodies for their reproduction. Wetlands have been constructed to reduce the impacts of the eutrophication in the Laholm bay.

This study evaluates the retention of nitrogen and phosphorus in four newly constructed Wetlands in the municipality of Falkenberg, Sweden. The four Wetlands have been selected because they have been specifically constructed with the aim to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in farming areas. The process of selecting the specific Wetlands has been done in collaboration with the county administration in Halland. Through field studies in collaboration with the landowners where the Wetlands are sited, the areas that provide the Wetlands with water were determined. The size of these drainage areas were determined in a GIS computer program. The type of land use within the drainage areas was also determined.

This study evaluates the retention of nitrogen and phosphorus in four newly constructed Wetlands in the municipality of Falkenberg, Sweden. The four Wetlands have been selected because they have been specifically constructed with the aim to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in farming areas. The process of selecting the specific Wetlands has been done in collaboration with the county administration in Halland. Through field studies in collaboration with the landowners where the Wetlands are sited, the areas that provide the Wetlands with water were determined. The size of these drainage areas were determined in a GIS computer program. The type of land use within the drainage areas was also determined.

One of the environmental problems today in seas, lakes and streams is eutrophication. This is often caused by nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) that leak from agricultural areas. A measure to partly prevent the nutrient discharge is to construct or restore Wetlands.In order to control the efficiency of nutrient reduction of existing Wetlands in the county, the administrative board in Västra Götaland wants to find different criterias for reference Wetlands. These reference Wetlands should represent other Wetlands and be used in future evaluations of reduction of nutrients and design of constructed Wetlands. According to the administrative board in Västra Götaland the reference Wetlands should have a catchment area of about 50 hectare consisting of at least 70 % arable land, to represent Wetlands created to remove nutrients.

Pharmaceuticals that are found in marine ecosystems are a threatening environmental concern, which is known to harm both animal and plant life. One of the reasons for this problem is that the waste water treatment techniques are not optimized to clear waste water from its pharmaceuticals contain. In this master thesis four Swedish treatment Wetlands were studied, and their ability to reduce numerous pharmaceuticals in waste water. The four treatment Wetlands that were studied were those in Oxelösund, Trosa, Nynäshamn and Eskilstuna. Two ecotoxicological tests and chemical analysis were used.

Pharmaceuticals that are found in marine ecosystems are a threatening environmental concern, which is known to harm both animal and plant life. One of the reasons for this problem is that the waste water treatment techniques are not optimized to clear waste water from its pharmaceuticals contain. In this master thesis four Swedish treatment Wetlands were studied, and their ability to reduce numerous pharmaceuticals in waste water. The four treatment Wetlands that were studied were those in Oxelösund, Trosa, Nynäshamn and Eskilstuna. Two ecotoxicological tests and chemical analysis were used.

During the nineties, ecological handling of urban storm water became very popular in Sweden. Together with Chalmers University of Technology and two Swedish communities, DHI Water and Environment has been doing research of storm water ponds and constructed Wetlands. This thesis work is a part of that research project. The work has been applied at the Bäckaslöv storm water treatment plant in Växjö, Sweden. The plant consists of one storm water pond and a downstream constructed wetland.

The loss of such great Wetlands, which has arose in Sweden the last decades, has created a situation that threats both the function and the biological diversity within the Wetlands. Many ecological niches can be found in the Wetlands and it is one of the habitats where most different species exist. In the 17th Century people started to ditch damp environments, such as bogs, to create a productive cultivated ground. Further ditches were made when the forestry gave large economical profits. The Wetlands were impoverished from both groundwater and nourishment, and this led to a great loss of species.In a corporation with WWF and Skogsstyrelsen in Arvika, the University of Karlstad has participated in the Laskerudproject, a hydrological restoration-project in a forest landscape.

BIOGAS POTENTIAL IN GRASSES FROM WetlandsMarvin MartinsThe purpose of this study has been to survey Wetlands that are suitable for mowing and to analyze the biogas potential in the harvested grasses. A preformed investigation showed that there are suitable Wetlands, which can be harvestable, namely those mowed formerly in traditional haymaking. The practice of traditional haymaking is dying out in Sweden today but there are several good reasons why it should to be reconsidered. Nature- and cultural values are obvious, also the unutilized energy in the grass.The suitable types of wetland that were specifically studied were the productive Wetlands; meadow marshes and wet meadows. These Wetlands are represented in the Swedish meadow- and pasture inventory database; (TUVA) and the Swedish national wetland inventory (VMI).

In ambition to produce more and better harvests, artificial fertilizers are used to produce a better growth of crops in the agriculture landscape. This contributes to leakage of nutrients. Our forests also exhibit a leakage of nutrients. Air pollution contributes to more nutrients. High precipitation with high water flows as a consequence seems currently to occur more frequently in the county of Halland.

Wetlands are important ecosystems and form habitat for both common and threatened species. In Sweden, as well in many other places on earth, there is a lack of Wetlands. There is an expressed will to adjust this lack through restoration of Wetlands with reduced function and through construction of new Wetlands. Follow-ups and evaluations are important steps to optimize these actions. The wetland Vattenparken was constructed 1999 ? 2000 for treatment of surface water.

The last hundred years humans have drastically changed the amount of available nitrogen in nature. Today human activities release twice as much available nitrogen as all natural processes are doing together. We also have degraded nature´s possibilities to take care of nitrogen through the draining of Wetlands and straightening of rivers. In order to regain the potential of nitrogen retention in the water systems there now requires a reshape of the landscape we live in. A planned expansion of the mining activities in Garpenberg, Dalarna, would double the content of nitrogen in the waters below the mine.