To guarantee protection of our drinking water, water catchment protections are established. These are divided into three different zones and in the first zone it is most likely that an activity, such as agriculture, will contaminate the water resource. Hence the activities are strongly regulated or banned. The EU communion is working towards a sustained water quality through several directives; Nitrate Directive, Waterframwork directives and Sustainable use of pesticide directive. The main purpose is to regulate the diffuse pollution from agriculture.This thesis is about how Denmark, Germany and France are working towards a sustainable agriculture within water protection areas. Sweden is also discussed but mainly about two different methods applied in Linköpings and Ljungbys municipalties.How the different countries work is mainly the same due to the directives. However, there are some interesting water management methods to observe such as voluntary agreements between water companies and farmers. Moreover, the sustainability perspective is approached in a larger scale where you and I as consumers also contribute via consumer-pays-principle. Therefore, we are, by our demand for water, the problem but also the solution and together we can contribute with good social, economic and ecological conditions for ourselves and the farmer.
Four bioassays were used in this study for the hazard assessment of sediments from sediment traps and several ponds in a treatment wetland for landfill leachate at Atleverket, Sweden. In the 6-day solid phase microbiotest with the sediment-dwelling crustacean Heterocypris incongruens both acute and chronic effects were observed with a gradual decrease and loss of toxicity with treatment in the wetland system. Some samples showed a low toxicity in porewater and only one sample was weakly toxic in the whole sediment test when assessed with Aliivibrio fischeri (Vibro fischeri). No genotoxicity was detected in the umu test. The toxicity response in the H4IIE- luc test evaluating the presence of dioxin-like compounds was considerably higher in the samples from the sediment traps. The hazard of the sediment therefore appears to be highest in the sediment traps and pond 1 with the methods employed. The result indicates that the wetland system has a design supporting the concentration and sequestration of toxic substances in the first part of the wetland. Based upon the results we suggest that hazard assessment of sediments from other treatment wetlands for landfill leachate should be conducted. (c) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
High anthropogenic modification like infrastructural development, drainage, eutrophication, dumping garbage, is a threat to biodiversity of smaller water bodies in agricultural landscapes. However, smaller water bodies have historically been constructed for drainage, waste treatment and other purposes. Further, new small water bodies are now being constructed in agricultural areas in Sweden, mainly to remove nutrients and to improve landscape biodiversity. This creates two different age classes (old and new) of smaller water body habitats. I sampled aquatic insects in 27 smaller water bodies of varying types and ages in Halmstad region and related insect biodiversity, species richness, composition structure to environmental variables. I partitioned the region into two locations (Northern and Southern) for easy data comparison and due to difference in topography. The data was analysed using a Canonical Correspondence (CCA) and regression analysis. The CCA results show a difference in the species composition between old and new sites. The most important variables in explaining species assemblage structure was age of the aquatic water bodies. The species richness decreased with increase in nutrient concentration (total phosphorus) according to regression analysis. Species composition and diversity were related to Vegetation and tree cover in and around the water body. The results of my study shows that the older the water bodies the better for specific species like Aeshna cyanea and the new water bodies tolerate more specimens. My results suggest that, as there is need to facilitate plant growing, protecting vegetation and trees to better mimic natural conditions of water bodies, creating new water bodies while protecting aged water bodies is important for conservation of biodiversity.
Cut flowers are products that have become a symbol of joy, sorrow and wealth. However, consumption contributes to various environmental problems, such as greenhouse gas emissions and leakage of nutrients and pesticides. This study aims to investigate the environmental impact of outdoor-grown cut flowers from a sustainability perspective in Sweden. The questions answered are which aspects of the cut flower lifecycle have the greatest environmental impact, what the cut flower growers think of the cut flower industry and its sustainability and how their work can become more sustainable. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with eight businesses that grow field-grown cut flowers and a literature review focusing on the environmental impact of cut flowers from a life cycle perspective. The results from the literature review show that the main environmental and climate aspects from a life cycle perspective are transport, heating through fossil fuels and the use of fertilizers and chemical pesticides. The results from the interviews show that challenges with the cut flower industry are origins of seeds, lack of knowledge and behavior and consumption patterns. Opportunities consist of growing demand, good quality and being able to offer a more sustainable product. Swedish field-grown cut flowers can be considered a sustainable alternative to imported ones due to shorter transport and the difference in the use of nutrients and chemicals. Although, more transparency, knowledge and collaboration will be needed in the industry for long-term sustainable development. Measures that can be implemented to promote the production and consumption of Swedish sustainable cut flowers are political incentives and possibly a certification or labeling.
Common understory vegetation species such as the ericaceous shrubs bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), cowberry (V. vitis-idaea) and heather (Calluna vulgaris), are key forage plant species for moose and other large herbivores, as well as fulfilling many additional ecosystem functions and services. Here we developed models to predict above-ground biomass of these ericaceous species in coniferous forests, using data on their percentage cover, height, and different stand characteristics. We also built models to understand how the aforementioned variables affect the proportion of the shrubs commonly utilized as forage by large herbivores. We found that the percentage cover of shrubs was the most important explanatory variable when predicting above-ground biomass, explaining 51%, 47% and 71% of the variation (marginal R2) in bilberry, cowberry and heather biomass, respectively. By adding ramet height to the model with percentage cover, the variation explained increased to 77% for bilberry, 75% for cowberry and 87% for heather. The best outcome for candidate models was obtained by adding stand site index and spruce basal area to the model, improving the variation explained in bilberry to 83%, to 81% for cowberry, and 91% for heather. When modelling the proportion of the shrubs commonly utilized as forage by large herbivores, stand site index and spruce basal area often played important roles. Some of the best fitting models for forage biomass explained 51% of the variation in bilberry, 59% in cowberry and 30% in heather. Site location did not have a major role in improving the variability explained in either type of model, which indicated the applicability of the models regardless of study location. Our models therefore have a high potential to be implemented in forestry decision support systems. Their inclusion should provide better large-scale estimations of forage resources, aiding forest management, and thereby taking an important step forward to determine the ecosystem carrying capacity of large herbivores. © 2023 The Author(s)
This article discusses the environmental concerns about heavy metal accumulation in dominant forest mosses and dwarf shrubs. Samples of two different species of mosses, such as glittering wood moss (Hylocomium splendens) and feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi), and two species of dwarf shrubs, that is European blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), were collected from specifically chosen areas with evident anthropogenic pollution (vicinity of an airport and close to heavy road traffic) and from contamination-free, secluded forest areas in Lithuania and Sweden. Instrumental analysis of heavy metals, including cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and zinc, revealed that the selected plant species tend to accumulate zinc and copper the most and chromium the least. Forest mosses, used as indicators of airborne pollution, accumulated less heavy metals than dwarf shrubs, indicating more metal accumulation from the soil. The results also revealed that forest, dwarf shrub leaves even picked from areas with known anthropogenic pollution sources were safe to use. since concentrations of cadmium and lead remained below the maximum permissible level. A multivariate data analysis model with two principle components explained more than 70% of the data variation. The heavy metal content in soil was the most distinctive factor separating the Lithuanian and Swedish sites. Cadmium and chromium soil contents were more significant in the Lithuanian soils, whereas copper, lead, and zinc were more significant in the Swedish soils.
Neonicotinoids, systemic insecticides that are distributed into all plant tissues and protect against pests, have become a common part of crop production, but can unintentionally also affect non-target organisms, including pollinators. Such effects can be direct effects from insecticide exposure, but neonicotinoids can affect plant physiology, and effects could therefore also be indirectly mediated by changes in plant phenology, attractiveness and nutritional value. Under controlled greenhouse conditions, we tested if seed treatment with the neonicotinoid clothianidin affected oilseed rape’s production of flower resources for bees and the content of the secondary plant products glucosinolates that provide defense against herbivores. Additionally, we tested if seed treatment affected the attractiveness of oilseed rape to flower visiting bumblebees, using outdoor mesocosms. Flowers and leaves of clothianidin-treated plants had different profiles of glucosinolates compared with untreated plants. Bumblebees in mesocosms foraged slightly more on untreated plants. Neither flower timing, flower size nor the production of pollen and nectar differed between treatments, and therefore cannot explain any preference for untreated oilseed rape. We instead propose that this small but significant preference for untreated plants was related to the altered glucosinolate profile caused by clothianidin. Thereby, this study contributes to the understanding of the complex relationships between neonicotinoid-treated crops and pollinator foraging choices, by suggesting a potential mechanistic link by which insecticide treatment can affect insect behavior.
42 % av människorelaterade kväveutsläpp kommer från jordbruket av bland annat gödsling och plöjning av mark. Dessa emissioner kan leda till ett flertal miljöproblem som övergödning och syrebrist i närliggande vattenområden. Ett sätt att minska kväveutsläppet från jordbruken kan vara att använda sig av konstruerade våtmarker. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om en våtmark med högre eller lägre djup är mest effektiv på att avskilja kväve. Det ska också granskas om fosfortillsats påverkar kväveborttagningen i både grunda och djupa dammar. Frågeställningarna i studien är: Är djupa eller grunda dammar mest effektiva på att avskilja kväve? Hur påverkar fosfortillsats dammarnas förmåga att avskilja kväve? Vilken typ av damm är mest kostnadseffektiv? För att besvara de tre frågeställningarna utfördes en kvantitativ studie. Metoden delades in i 4 delar: fältarbete, laboratorium, databearbetning och datainsamling. Av dessa 4 var databearbetning den huvudsakliga beståndsdelen i resultatet där NO3 -+ NO2 - koncentrationer behandlades i flera formler för att få fram koncentrationsskillnaden, procentuella borttagningen och areella borttagningskoefficienten. Resultatet som genererades visade att för 2018 och 2019 var de effektivaste dammarna de djupa med fosfortillsats. Fosfortillsats minskade upptaget av kväve för grunda dammar i 2018, men ökade upptaget för både djupa och grunda dammar för 2019. När kväveavskiljningen relaterades till yta och temperatur för 2019 blev skillnaden mellan djupa och grunda avsevärt mindre. Sammanfattningsvis blev slutsatsen i arbetet att djupa dammar med fosfortillsats är effektivast. Från beräkningarna av den areella borttagningskoefficienten kan man se en möjlighet för grunda dammar att bli ännu effektivare än djupa när deras överlägsna vegetation och bakterietillväxt väl etablerat sig. På grund av att skillnaden är minimal mellan djupa och grunda dammar är det möjligt att den mest kostnadseffektiva dammen är en grund sådan.
Healthy, natural pastures is very valuable for biodiversity in the form of both plants and animals. An efficient use of pastures helps to preserve biodiversity, but grazing animals needs to be de-wormed to keep them healthy and to prevent harmful parasites spread on the pasture. The awareness about the environmental impact of the frequent use of deworming agents is low among the public. Some people are unaware that the absorption in horses of anthelmintics is incomplete, which make the circumstances about enviromental effect important to investigate further. The scientific evidence in this area is limited and more studies and trials are needed to deepen the knowledge about the effects of anthelmintics in the environment. Our report includes a compilation of studies conducted on anthelmintics and equine parasites, as well as an experiment which was conducted at the University of Halmstad biogaslaboratory April 2014. Anthelmintics have been shown to have negative impact on the manure ecosystem and especially against manure living fauna. Deworming routines has changed over the years as the equine industry has developed. Nevertheless, there’s still a lack of concrete approach to deworming.
I april-juli år 2010 undersöktes tre studieområden i mellersta Sverige avseende hur fördelningen av vildsvinsbök såg ut i dessa områden. Resultaten visade att vildsvinsbök främst återfanns i miljöer dominerade av tall-och granskog där åldern på träden låg runt 45-90 år, samt med fältskikt bestående av bärris, mossa eller gräs. På två utav de tre lokalerna påverkades inte arealen på bök av faktorer såsom trädartsammansättning, trädålder eller fältskikt men det fanns däremot korrelationer mellan dessa faktorer på en utav lokalerna. Vidare påverkades arealen på bök inte av populationstäthet eller hur lång tid vildsvin förekommit i området.
The treatment of landfill leachate in constructed wetland systems is a common practice in Europe. However, very few studies were made to evaluate their performance over a long period of time. A free surface constructed wetland system consisting of sediment traps followed by 10 ponds connected with overflows was built at Atleverket near Örebro, Sweden in 2001. It receives pre-treated leachate from the municipal landfill. As part of the wetland monitoring programme a large data set on the surface concentrations of 15 metals and 2 metalloids has been collected from different sampling sites within the wetland during the operation period. In this study, the data from inlet and outlet of the wetland were compiled and analysed. The aim of this paper is therefore to estimate the removal efficiency of metals and metalloids using data on concentrations and flow and investigate the effect of wetland age on removal pattern. The elements with the highest removal efficiency were Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, V and Zn ranging from 95% for Pb to 65 % for Ca. The elements with the lowest reduction were B, Co K, Mg, Ni and S ranging from Co 56 % to 40 % for S. It was found that the removal efficiency was not related to inlet concentrations of the elements as the elements with high and low inlet concentrations were found in both groups. Analysis of reduction pattern also revealed that the group with higher removal efficiency showed fairly constant outlet concentrations during the study period, while the elements with lower removal efficiency demonstrated variable outlet concentrations. No statistical difference in removal due to age of the wetland was found. The study results showed that the wetland system has high removal efficiency of metals and metalloids and the removal pattern is not affected by age of the wetland. The influence on reduction due to leachate characteristics, wetland design and retention time will be discussed.
I denna rapport sammanställs och analyseras tidigare mätningar av avskiljning av fosfor och kväve i anlagda våtmarker. Resultaten indikerar hur hög fosfor och kväveavskiljning som kan uppnås i anlagda våtmarker i jordbrukslandskap i Sverige. Resultaten har även använts för att ta fram nya modeller för beräkning av avskiljning av fosfor och kväve i våtmarker där mätningar inte gjorts. Slutligen har dessa modeller använts för att beräkna hur hög avskiljning som kommer att uppnås i våtmarker som beviljats stöd inom landsbygdsprogrammet åren 2007– 2013 och hur mycket transporten av kväve och fosfor till havet kommer att minskas genom att dessa våtmarker har anlagts.
De nya mätresultaten visar att fosforavskiljning underskattats i tidigare mätningar och i modeller som använts i tidigare utvärderingar. I enskilda väl utformade och placerade våtmarker kan 100 kilo fosfor och 1 000 kilo kväve per hektar våtmarksyta och år avskiljas. De nya resultaten indikerar även att man i framtida program för anläggning av våtmarker i jordbrukslandskapet bör kunna uppnå en genomsnittlig fosfor och kväveavskiljning på 50 respektive 500 kilo per hektar våtmarksyta och år, förutsatt att näringsavskiljning kan prioriteras vid placering och utformning av våtmarker. Kostnaden för avskiljning uppskattas till cirka 100 kronor per kilo fosfor och cirka 10 kronor per kilo kväve för sådana våtmarker om 50 procent av kostna derna fördelas till andra ekosystemtjänster och biologisk mångfald.
Modellberäkningar på ett urval av våtmarker inom landsbygdsprogrammet som skalats upp till de 5 261 hektar som beviljats stöd under 2007–2013 visar att transporten av fosfor och kväve till lokala vattendrag kommer att minskas med cirka 25 ton fosfor per år och cirka 200 ton kväve per år. Det innebär att minsk ningen av transporten till havet som åstadkoms genom dessa våtmarker blir cirka 18 ton fosfor per år och cirka 170 ton kväve per år, vilket motsvarar 1,9 respektive 0,5 procent av transporten till havet från jordbruksmark.
Anläggningen av våtmarker inom landsbygdsprogrammet har således haft betydelse för att minska fosfor och kvävetransporter såväl till lokala vattendrag som till havet. En jämförelse av genomsnittlig avskiljning per hektar våtmarksyta mellan landsbygdsprogrammet och den avskiljning som uppnås i individuella våtmarker visar emellertid att effektiviteten skulle kunna höjas betydligt i framtiden genom en bättre placering och utformning av våtmarker i landskapet.
The use of mesophilic anaerobic digestion for treatment of organic wastes is a growing biotechnology for sustainable energy supply. Ammonia inhibition is a major problem in anaerobic digestion mainly when digestion of nitrogen-rich substrates such as livestock wastes and manure occurs. This paper provides a summary of research conducted on ammonia inhibition of the anaerobic process. An experiment with mesophilic digestions of swine manure was conducted in single unit reactors, which were controlled under different ammonia concentrations by addition of NH4Cl in different amounts. From the experimental results, it was shown that NH4Cl could be an effective chemical agent for removing foam and scum in the digester. Methane production was decreased with the increasing NH4Cl addition until a collapse was observed between 11.2 g NH4+-N/l and 13.2 g NH4+-N/l. Contrary to the findings in thermophilic digestion, a dysfunction of acidogenesis was also observed since both gas and methane production was delayed with increasing NH4Cl addition. These findings suggest different ammonia inhibition principles in mesophilic and thermophilic digestion. It was further indicated that methanogenesis could produce a high percentage of methane although gas production was inhibited.