An increased global food demand requires an increase in agricultural land use, which in turn affects the hydrologic cycle. A central process in this regard is infiltration of rainfall through the land surface. While there are standard values available for different soil types, land cover also has a documented influence on infiltration rates. This makes infiltration highly variable acrosss patiotemporal scales and as such, difficult to measure in field, thus selection of an appropriate measurement technique is important to consider. Therefore, this study aimed to establish a method for robust infiltration measurements and compare rates from various crops (rice andmaize) and soils (sand and clay) to see if there is consistency between physical controls on infiltration and farming practices. The study area is located near the town of Ifakara in south-central Tanzania. Data were gathered during eight weeks (October- November) using variousring infiltrometer set-ups. The results from 12 comparative infiltration measurements indicated that a smaller ring implies less measurement precision. Precision was improved by using a doublering setup and/or a larger single ring. Infiltration measurements from the nine agricultural fields corresponded well to estimations from the Horton infiltration equation (correlation coefficient >0.98). The results from all 36 measurements indicated a statistically significant difference between crop types as well as between soil types. The significance was, however, higher for soils compared to crops. Part of the inconsistency of infiltration rates could be explained by the cultural factor where traditions are important for crop choice and farming. Further, the measured infiltration confirmed the large spatial variations of infiltration rates both within and across fields, with implications for large scale agricultural development.

No description available.

Climate change is expected to lead to increased rainfall and higher temperatures, among other things. This will have a major impact on our cities. Floods can lead to property damage as well as damages to human and animal health. Higher temperatures will increase the frequency of heat-related health risks and premature deaths. The consequences of climate change will be particularly large in our cities because of the city's morphology with a high amount of paved surfaces and buildings that affect the natural processes in areas such as drainage and absorption of solar radiation. Because of this, it is of great importance to adapt our cities to the effects of climate change so that we are well prepared and can avoid risking peoples health and socioeconomic damages. One way to climate adapt an urban area is by using green and blue infrastructures. This study addresses possibilities and obstacles in the physical planning in climate adapting the dense city by using green and blue infrastructure. It shows possible planning tools and demonstrates practical examples from Malmö city about the way that they work with green structure planning and climate adaptation. Methodology in form of a case study on the city of Malmö was made, and data collection was done with the help of the qualitative methods of reading literature and documents and performing semi-structured interviews. The study shows that green and blue infrastructures can be a good way to climate adapt a city but also that it is very important how these structures are designed and the need for more research on this topic. Multi-functional areas can be a way to take advantage of all the positive features that green infrastructures have, and also be a way to make room for green areas for climate adaptation, even in a dense city. The study also shows that spatial planning has a big responsibility to optimize the climate adaptation of the city because of its abilities to design and locate the green and blue infrastructures and multifunctional areas in the city.

Wind power is becoming an increasingly important source of energy. There are several national and international goals set to increase to amount of renewable energy, and in order to meet these goals, the wind power production plays an important part and the establishment of new wind power farms are required. The Swedish national project Riksintresse Vindbruk has appointed areas in Sweden suitable for wind power, mainly when looking at the physical wind conditions of the area. In this study, I aim to define suitable areas for wind power establishment in Norrbottens län. In order to reach this goal, a critical regional method was developed and completed using GIS. The method can be divided into three parts. First, defining criteria’s for suitable areas for wind power production and create a excluding layer for each in GIS. The Nine criteria’s that were defined includes wind conditions, minimum area, distance to buildings and urban areas, areas with water, areas under protection, slope, security distances and distance to roads. The criteria’s were formulated using Riksintresse Vindbruk, Miljöbalken and previous studies. Second, combine the layers and compare it to an excluding layer showing areas with appropriate wind conditions. Third, calculate the area of the polygons that resulted from step 2 to exclude areas that does not fit the size-criteria. The study identified 18 areas that are suitable for wind power establishment according to the criteria’s of this study. The vast majority of the 18 were situated in Piteå kommun, in the southeast of Norrbotten. 0, 18 % of Norrbottens area was defined as suitable for wind power establishment using the developed method. The method developed in this study could be considered too critical and that more areas in Norrbottens län are suitable for wind power establishment. However, the 18 areas identified could be considered a good starting point when looking for areas for wind power establishment.

Kok Haal-Tau i centrala Tian Shan påverkas som resten av världens glaciärer av klimatförändringar. Avrinningen från glaciärerna påverkar vattenflödet i Tarimbäckenet, i och med glaciärernas koppling tillklimatförändringar riskeras vattenflödet att ändras. Genom fjärranalys av området avgörs hur förändringen har sett ut mellan 1990 och 2013. Den uppmätta glaciärarea i området har ökat kraftigt samtidigt som dess tungor har dragit sig tillbaka. Skillnaden mellan uppmätt area och tillbakadragande tillskrivs olikheter i snötäcken mellan åren samt förekomst av supraglacialt material. Förändringen i Kok Haal-Taus glaciärer tillsammans med ökad nederbörd har en trolig påverkan på vattenflödet i Tarimbäckenet, detta kommer sannolikt att leda till svårigheter i vattentillförsel i framtiden.

Soils in permafrost regions hold substantial amounts of carbon, much of which has accumulated due to processes that are related to cold temperatures. A warming climate will alter the dynamics governing the fluxes of carbon within a system and consequently the pools of carbon therein. Of particular concern is whether previously stored carbon will be released to the atmosphere contributing to the pool of greenhouse gases and creating a feedback effect. At the moment the International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) does not include carbon dynamics of the Arctic in their forecast models due to a lack of adequate scientific understanding in the area. Understanding the controls which govern the fluxes of carbon between the land, the atmosphere and the aquatic systems is important in evaluating the transient state of the carbon cycle. This study investigates the potential relationship between terrestrial soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in streams observed at the beginning of August 2012 in the Abiskojokka catchment in the sub-arctic region of northern Sweden. The results show that soil organic carbon pools could tentatively explain between 24 % and 44 % of the variation in DOC concentrations in streams. This is only a fraction of the variation explained compared to regions where peatlands are the single most important indicator of DOC concentrations. In the absence of peatland, which covers less than 2 % of the Abiskojokka catchment area, heath vegetation and the associated soil forming processes were shown to be an important indicator of stream water DOC concentrations.

This study was performed because of the potential vulnerability to climate change of the Australian continent. For example, global warming may increase the frequency and severity of drought [McAlpine, C.A., Syktus, J., Ryan, J.G., Deo, R.C., McKeon, G.M., McGowan, H.A. & Phinn, S.R., 2009: A continent under stress: interactions, feedbacks and risks associated with impact of modified land cover on Australia’s climate. Global Change Biology 15, 2206-2223]. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate spatial and temporal patterns in temperature, rainfall, and solar radiation and how native vegetation (represented by NDVI) and land-use correlate with these climatic parameters. The correlations are investigated during the 1982-2006 period across the Australian continent. To meet this general aim, three objectives are implemented: (1) to identify how these variables vary spatially and temporally; (2) to investigate whether spatial variations in these variables correlate; (3) to investigate whether temporal variations in these variables correlate. Using GIS software, maps are produced that show how the selected parameters vary over the study period across the Australian continent. During winter there is a trend of increasing temperature, solar radiation, and vegetation density and spatial distribution during 1982-2006. It is likely that the climatic variation over the 1982-2006 period is forcing the observed change in winter vegetation. The systematic variations of the trend indicate that winter is the key season over the 1982-2006 study period. Decreased winter rainfall over 1982-2006 across all of Western Australia, along with a trend of increasing summer rainfall displayed over the same period, indicate a negative outcome for this part of the continent. This is because there is more water runoff to streams and soils in the winter, because of low evapotranspiration and cool temperatures. The strongest correlation between spatial variations in vegetation distribution and climatic parameters during winter seasons 1982-2006 occurs between vegetation and temperature. During summer seasons over the same period, the strongest correlation occurs between vegetation and solar radiation. Correlations between expansion of selected land-use areas and spatial variations in climate during 1992-2005 show ambiguous patterns and could possibly be random. These findings are also unreliable because the land-use data has some significant errors, e.g. in estimated agriculture areas. During 1982-2006, the strongest correlation between temporal variations in vegetation density-distribution and climatic parameters occurs in the summer vegetation-temperature relationship (mean R² = -0.53). Vegetation density displays over 1982-2006 negative correlations with temperature and solar radiation, and positive with rainfall. Relationships between temporal variations in climate and selected landuse areas over the 1992-2005 period indicate a specific pattern. Areas of water, conservation, and production from relatively natural environments show, in general, higher mean values in all climatic parameters (except for winter rainfall) than other land-use areas. Because these land-use areas are mainly distributed in hot and arid Australian climate zones, the climate is unsuitable for agriculture, which might explain their higher mean values in the climatic parameters than, for example, croplands. The findings of variations (trends) and correlations in the present study, together with previous predictions, indicate that the future for Australia might be challenging because of increasing frequency of droughts and forest fires. Therefore, the potential vulnerability to future climate change of the Australian continent is of great concern.

Klimatologiska förändringar har en direkt påverkan på glaciologiska system genom att förändra glaciärers termiska struktur. Subarktiska Skandinavien har upplevt en klimatologisk uppvärmning sedan 1980-talet och Tarfaladalen har under samma period uppvisat en ökad vintertemperatur med 1°C. Ökade vintertemperaturer medför förändringar i glaciärers temperaturfördelning, då högre temperaturer ger en längre smältsäsong. Storglaciären i Kebnekaisemassivet i svenska Lappland har en polytermal temperaturfördelning med ett kallt ytskikt i ablationsområdet. Det kalla ytskiktet har förtunnats med 22% sedan slutet av 1980-talet och då ingen ökad sommarablation har kunnat konstateras kan den ökade vintertemperaturen vara en indikator för att isyttemperaturen är styrande för det kalla ytskiktets bevarande. Syftet med mitt projekt är att påvisa förändringar i isyttemperaturen i Storglaciärens ablationsområde mellan åren 2001 och 2011. Förändringarna relateras till mönstret i det kalla ytskiktets tjocklek och dess förändring över tid. I månadsskiftet mars-april 2011, innan vårsmältningen, mättes temperaturen vid isytan vid 46 mätpunkter distribuerade över Storglaciärens ablationsområde. Temperaturen under snötäcket, bottom temperature of snow cover (BTS) är stabil genom vintern under förutsättningen att snödjupet är tillräckligt stort (>0.8 meter) för att isolera isytan från korttidsvariationer i lufttemperaturen. Då den manuella temperaturmätningen enbart ger punktdata, gjordes sedan en interpolering för hela ablationsområdet. De interpolerade BTS-temperaturerna från 2011 visar företrädesvis varmare temperaturer i ablationsområdets nordligaste delar. De uppmätta BTS-temperaturerna från 2011 visar likheter med fördelningen av det kalla ytskiktets mäktighet över glaciären från 2009. Områden med högre BTS-temperaturer sammanfaller med områden med ett tunnare kallt ytskikt, medan ett mäktigare kallt ytskikt är associerat med lägre BTS-temperaturer. Områden med de högsta BTS-temperaturerna 2011 korrelerar även med de områden där uttunningen av det kalla ytskiktet har varit som störst mellan 2001 till 2009. Mönstret av uttunningen reflekteras i BTS-temperaturerna trots att det är andra förhållanden och BTS-temperaturen bör därför kunna användas som en indikator för förändringar i CTS position och det kalla ytskiktets tjocklek. / Climatological changes have a direct impact on glacial systems by altering the thermal structure of glaciers. Sub-Arctic Scandinavia has experienced a climatic warming since the 1980s and the Tarfala valley has showed an increase in winter temperature by 1°C during the same period. Increased winter temperatures result in changes in the glacial temperature distribution, since higher temperatures contribute to a longer melt season. Storglaciären in the Kebnekaise massif in Swedish Lapland has a polythermal temperature distribution with a cold surface layer in the ablation area. The cold surface layer has experienced a thinning by 22% since the late 1980s and, since no significantly increased summer ablation has been noted, the increased winter temperature may be an indicator that the ice surface temperature is a controlling factor for the preservation of the cold surface layer. The aim of my project is to detect changes in the ice surface temperature in the ablation area of Storglaciären between 2001 and 2011. The changes are related to the pattern of the cold surface layer thickness and its change over time. In March-April 2011, before the spring melt, the temperature at the ice surface was measured at 46 locations distributed in the ablation area of Storglaciären. The bottom temperature of snow cover (BTS) is stable through the winter under the premise that the snow cover is sufficiently thick (>0.8 meters) to insulate the ice surface from short-term variations in air temperature. Since the manual temperature measurement only provides point data, an interpolation was made for the entire ablation area. The interpolated BTS-temperatures from 2011 show relatively warmer temperatures in the northernmost parts of the ablation area. The measured BTS-temperatures from 2011 show similarities with the distribution of the cold surface layer thickness of the glacier from 2009. Areas with higher BTS-temperatures coincide with areas with a thinner cold surface layer, whilst a thicker cold surface layer is associated with lower BTS-temperatures. Areas with the highest BTS-temperatures in 2011 also correlate with the areas where the thinning of the cold surface layer was greatest between 2001 until 2009. The pattern of the thinning is reflected in the BTS-temperatures, despite that there are other conditions and the BTS-temperature might therefor be a possible indicator for changes in the CTS position and the cold surface layer thickness.

Conditions for Swedish forestry are expected to change in the future due to the climate. Among other things, increased production is expected in a warmer climate, mainly because of a longer growing season. With the changing climate risk of damage by such as insects, fungi and storms are expected to increase. Hence, it is of highest importance for private forest owners to spread these risks in the way they cultivate their forest. In this study a qualitative method was used to examine ten private forest owners with forest properties within Kronoberg county, Sweden in their attitudes and actions to prepare in terms of climate change and if they have been affected by the climate change debate in their forest decisions. The study also examine differences in this between forest owners that have been educated by the swedish forest agency in the subject with those that haven’t. The results indicates a high belief that the forest will be affected by climate change, but the actions taken to prepare for it is lower. The result also shows that the educated forest owners more extensively have taken adaptive measures even if the measures not are taken because of the education. Reasons for action taken are identified as because of the climate change debate, self-interest in the subject, uncertainty in what factors will be most affected or that the forest have been hit hard by storms. / Med ett i framtiden förändrat klimat förväntas förutsättningarna för svenskt skogsbruk framöver inte se ut som de gör idag. Bland annat förväntas i ett varmare klimat en ökad produktion med anledning av framförallt en längre vegetationsperiod. Med detta förväntas även skaderisken för såsom skadeinsekter, skadesvampar och stormfällning öka. Därför rekommenderas privata skogsägare att i större omfattning sprida dessa risker i sitt sätt att bruka skogen. Den här studien av kvalitativ typ analyserar tio privata skogsägares inställning till klimatförändringar och om man påverkats av klimatdebatteni sitt sätt att bruka skogen samt skillnader i detta mellan skogsägare som deltagit i skogsstyrelsens utbildning/rådgivning i klimatfrågor och de som inte gjort det. Samtliga intervjuade skogsägare äger skogsmark i Kronobergs län. Motiv till de val man gör som privat skogsägare har också studerats. Resultatet indikerar att tron på att skogen kommer påverkas av ett förändrat klimat är hög, men agerandet med att förbereda sig inför en förändring är lägre. Resultatet visar också att skogsägare som deltagit i skogsstyrelsens utbildning/rådgivning i klimatfrågor i större utsträckning genomfört klimatanpassningar även om dessa åtgärder inte direkt har gjorts med anledning av utbildningen/rådgivningen. Motiv till anpassning grundar sig i stället i klimatdiskussionen och genom prognoser om framtida klimat, eget intresse, osäkerhet i vad som kommer påverkas mest eller att skogen drabbats hårt av stormar.

Detta arbete har utförts under 10 veckor och har resulterat i en gemensam digital karta över Falun, Borlänge och Säters kommun. För att lyckas komma fram till resultatet har jag utfört en rad analyser av ingående data, och likriktat data så att framställandet av en gemensam karta blivit möjligt. Arbetet har varit indelat i två delar, insamling och likriktning av data samt kartografisk anpassning av data. Den första delen av examensarbetet har tagit upp den största delen av tiden, medan betydligt mindre tid lagts på den kartografiska anpassningen. Data som använts har samlats in från kommunernas primärkartor, Lantmäteriets fastighetskarta samt Vägverkets Nationella vägdatabas (NVDB). Programvaran FME från Safe Software har varit ett mycket bra verktyg för att likrikta data, och har använts i stor omfattning. De rutiner för uppdatering av data som föreslagits, har också tagits fram med denna programvara som grund. För att studera och kontrollera datas utseende har ArcGIS från ESRI använts. ArcGIS har dessutom utnyttjats för den kartografiska anpassningen. Den framtagna kartan gör inga som helst anspråk på att vara topologiskt korrekt, även om topologin i vissa avseenden beaktats. Fokuseringen har legat på att få fram en tydlig och enkel karta, som efter mindre justering skall kunna användas av olika intressenter förutom Räddningstjänsten DalaMitt. Exempel på dessa intressenter kan vara andra verksamheter inom kommunen såsom gatukontoret, eller externa intressenter som önskar en gemensam karta för sin verksamhet. / This project has been carried out during 10 weeks, and has resulted in a common digital map containing the municipalities of Falun, Borlänge and Säter. To reach the desired result I have had to carry out a number of analyses on the ingoing data, and standardize the data to make the completion of a common map possible. The project has been divided into two large parts, collection and standardization of data, and cartographic adaptation of data. The first part has demanded most time, while considerably less time has been spent on the cartographic adaptation. Data that has been used was collected from the municipalities’ primary maps, the Swedish Land surveying’s parcel map and the Swedish National Road Administration’s National road database (NVDB). The software FME from the manufacturer Safe Software has been a very helpful tool to standardize data, and has been used in a large scale. The routines for updating the data that is suggested, has also been developed with the software. To study and control the look of data, the software ArcGIS from ESRI has been used. ArcGIS has also been used for the cartographic adaptation. The developed map doesn’t claim to be topological correct, even though the topology has been considered in some ways. The focus has been to develop a map that is clear and simple, and that after minor adjustments can be used by other actors other than the Rescue Service of Dala-central. Example of these actors can be other activities within the municipalities, such as the street offices, or external actors who wish to use a common map in their activities.