Denna studie om nollalternativ i en miljökonsekvensbeskrivning utgör ett examensarbete inom masterprogrammet i Miljövård och fysisk planering på för naturgeografi och kvartärgeologi vid Stockholms universitet. Examensarbetet har även tagits fram i samarbete med WSP Samhällsbyggnad. I dagsläget tycks det saknas en entydig samsyn över hur nollalternativ i en MKB ska formuleras och hanteras. Med anledning av det har syftet med denna studie varit att utforska vilka förhållningssätt som finns till nollalternativet i en MKB samt att försöka ge en ökad förståelse för hur nollalternativet i en MKB bör hanteras. Därför redogör denna studie för vilket syfte och funktion nollalternativet fyller i en MKB tillsammans med de aspekter som bör beaktas vid hanteringen av nollalternativ i en MKB. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av fyra olika metoder som gemensamt bör kunna besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar. För att bidra med en ökad förståelse kopplas den erhållna empirin till teorier om förutsägelse, osäkerhet och scenarier i en MKB. Resultatet i studien visar att syftet med nollalternativ i en MKB är att sätt den tänka planen eller projektet i en kontext och fyller därmed en betydelsefull funktion. I en MKB är det viktigt att belysa den osäkerhet som råder i de förutsägelser som görs om framtiden och ligger till grund för de bedömningar som görs. Detta gäller även för nollalternativet. Med anledning av osäkerheten är det även nödvändigt att överväga ifall det i alla lägen är lämpligt att nollalternativet utgör ett referensalternativ i relation till de övriga alternativen i MKB:n. I miljöbalken finns det även två definitioner av nollalternativet, beroende på ifall det är en plan eller projekt som ska miljökonsekvensbeskrivas. Denna skillnad är däremot inte alltid synlig i praktiken. Under studiens gång har det framkommit att det finns en efterfrågan om råd och rekommendationer för hantering av nollalternativ i en MKB. En förhoppning är därmed att denna studie ska generera en ökad kunskap om hanteringen av nollalternativ i en MKB. / This study of the zero alternatives in an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) constitutes a thesis in the Master's program in Environmental Management and Physical Planning at the Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology at Stockholm University. The work has also been produced in collaboration with WSP Civils. In the current situation, it seems to lack a clear consensus over how the zero alternatives in an EIA should be formulated and managed. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes towards the zero alternatives (or the no-action alternative) in an EIA and try to give a better understanding of how the alternative should be managed. Therefore, this study describes what the purpose and function of the zero alternatives have in an EIA, together with the aspects that should be considered when dealing with zero alternatives in an EIA. The study was conducted using four different methods that together should be able to answer the study's purpose and issues. To provide a better understanding the empirical data was connected to theories of prediction, uncertainties and scenarios in an EIA. The results of the study indicate that the purpose of the zero alternatives in an EIA is to put a plan or a project into context, and therefore fulfill an important function. It is important in an EIA to illustrate the uncertainty that exists in the predictions made about the future, which are the basis for the assessments that are made. This is also important for the zero alternatives. Regarding the uncertainty, it is also necessary to consider whether it in all circumstances is appropriate to use the zero alternatives as a reference alternative in relation to the other alternatives in the EIA. The Swedish Environmental Code also has two definitions that describe the zero alternatives, depending on whether it is a plan or a project the EIA should describe. This distinction is unfortunately not always visible in practice. During the study, it emerged that there is a demand for advice and recommendations for dealing with zero alternatives in an EIA. One hope is that this study will generate a greater knowledge of the handling of zero alternatives in an EIA.

Weathering on rocks is an important component of the world’s geomorphology. One way to measure weathering on rocks is to analyse rock hardness. This is a study conducted in the northern hemisphere on granite rocks in Uppsala, Sweden. A Schmidt hammer is used to create a correlation analysis between the aspects on three glacial erratic boulders and rock weathering. Statistics from the Schmidt hammer were then collected and analysed. The results showed a difference between the aspects of the rocks. Although only small differences between the rocks were found, the south and south-east aspects of the rocks were softer and suffered from a more dynamic rock weathering than the north aspects of the rocks. The reason to the more dynamic weathering on the south facing aspects is suggested to be because of a more dynamic thermal stress weathering. The same reason caused the north aspect to have a steeper slope and a more dense lichen cover.

The beach-dune system constitutes a dynamic system in which several natural processes interact, both at short and long time scale. Beaches are important because are the source of sediment for the dunes that form at the limit of the shore and that create barriers that protect the mainland from the high energy waves and from floods. However dunes are quite fragile features because susceptible to erosion and for this reason they need particular attention and management, tasks not always easy to carry out since the factors involved are numerous. Along the Cantabrian coast, northern Spain, extended dune fields are present in correspondence with estuarine environments. In the last few decades they have experienced erosion due to natural agents such as winds, superficial water currents and river discharge and due to the anthropogenic influence, which after the Second World War started to increase, until the present. Additionally, intense erosive events such as storms occur seasonally, causing eventually damages to the infrastructures; the last remarkable events happened precisely in January and February 2014. The objective of this work is the analysis of the evolution of the surface and limits of four representative dune fields in the region of Cantabria in the northern Spain, describing first the main factors involved. The study is based on nine sets of aerial photographs and orthophotos ranging from 1956 to 2014 for each site, overlapped and elaborated through the software ArcGIS; the digital work allowed the calculation of the rates of migration for each interval of time along with the computation of the surface extent of each dune field. The results indicate that as general trend the coastline has retroceded in the last 58 years at average rates of 0.7m/y, but still exist, even within same dune fields, different behaviors, making of each site a complex dynamic system. The interpretation of the results led to the recognition of a rough conceptual model of evolution for each dune field: three out of four respond mainly to natural forces, while the other one migrates because of the anthropogenic pressure. The study here presented constitutes a rough attempt to examine the different processes that are implicated in the formation of large dune fields and, even though 58 years are not enough to delineate a precise evolution trend, it can be useful for future researches about coastal management / Stranddyner utgör ett dynamiskt geomorfologiskt system där flera naturliga processer samverkar, både på kort och på lång tidsskala. Stranddynerna är viktiga då de skapar barriärer som skyddar fastlandet från hög energi vågor och översvämningar. Men dynerna är utsatta för konstant förändring eftersom de är känsliga för erosion och det är av denna anledning som dynerna behöver särskild uppmärksamhet och förvaltning. Uppgifter som inte alltid lätta att genomföra eftersom faktorerna är många. Längs den Kantabriska kusten i norra Spanien finns flera dynfält i samband med flodmynningsmiljöer. Under de senaste decennierna har dessa dynkomplex upplevt erosion på grund av naturliga faktorer så som förändringar i vindar, ytliga vattenströmmar och flodmynningar och på grund av antropisk påverkan som började öka efter andra världskriget och fortsatt fram till idag. Många av förändringarna sker i episodiska intensiva händelser, som stormar, vilket kan skada viktig mänsklig infrastruktur i området. De senaste anmärkningsvärda händelserna inträffade just i januari och februari 2014. Syftet med detta arbete är att analysera utvecklingen av formen och utbredningen av fyra representativa dynfält i regionen Kantabrien i norra Spanien, genom att först beskriva de viktigaste faktorerna som är inblandade. Studien är baserad på nio uppsättningar av flygfoton och ortofoton som sträcker sig från 1956 till 2014 för varje plats. Genom att digitalisera dynernas utbredning i bildmaterialet tillåts beräkning av migrationen av dynfältens gräns och av ytomfattningen för varje tidsintervall. Resultaten tyder på att som allmän trend så har kusten genomsnittligt gått tillbaka 0,7 m/ år under de senaste 58 åren, men variationer förekommer, även inom samma dyn fält, olika beteenden vilket tydliggör att det är ett komplext dynamiskt system. Tolkningen av resultaten har lett till en en grov konceptuell modell av evolution för varje dyn fält där tre av fyra påverkas främst av naturkrafterna, medan den fjärde migrerar på grund av det ökade antropiska trycket. Studien som presenteras utgör ett första försök att undersöka de inblandade processerna i bildandet och utvecklingen av dynfälten, dock är 58 år är inte tillräckligt för att beskriva en tydlig trend, men det kan vara användbart för framtida undersökningar om kustförvaltning.

The predicted increase in atmospheric temperatures is expected to affect the turnover of soil organic carbon in permafrost soils through modifications of the soil thermal regime. However, the tundra biome is formed of a mosaic of diverse landscape types with differing patterns of soil organic carbon storage and partitioning. Among these, differences in e.g. vegetation diversity and soil movements due to freeze-thaw processes are of main importance for assessing potential C remobilization under a changing climate. In this study, we described the storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) and the aboveground phytomass carbon in relation to geomorphology and periglacial features for two areas on Taymir Peninsula (Arctic Russia). An average of 29.5 kg C m-2, calculated by upscaling with a land cover classification, is stored in the upper soil meter at these two study sites. The mean C phytomass storage amounts to ca.0.406 Kg C m-2, or only 1.38% of the total SOC storage. The topography, at different scales, plays an important role in the carbon partitioning. High amounts of soil organic carbon are found in highland areas and within the patterned ground features found in peatlands. The highest amounts of aboveground phytomass carbon are found in deciduous shrubs and moss layers. The large variability in carbon distribution within land cover types among the sites reveals the challenge of upscaling the carbon storage values over the Arctic and thus highlight the necessity to carry out detailed field inventories in this region.

Snö och permafrost är två interagerande komponenter i Kryosfären. Studien undersöker snödjupets representativitet vid marktemperaturmätningar under snötäcket (BTS) för identifiering av permafrost i Tarfala, norra Sverige. Snödjupsmätningar har utfördes i två korsande 20 m transekter i nordsydlig (NS) samt östvästlig (ÖV) riktning utifrån en BTS-punkt. Totalt har 37 BTS (snödjup > 80 cm) med tillhörande snödjupsmätningar registrerats och analyserats. Snödjupet varierar både lokalt kring mätpunkten och regionalt i mättransekter men är ändå ett representativt snödjup för en punkt. Representativa BTS, sett ur ett snödjupsperspektiv, bör registreras på platser med måttlig snödjupsvariation som på platser med homogent markunderlag, vindskyddade områden, lä bakom ryggar och sluttningar vinkelräta mot den dominerande vindriktningen. BTS provplatser bör också ta hänsyn till de mest förekommande klasserna av parametrarna altitud, sluttning och slutningsriktning för att erhålla representativa BTS. Detta baserat på jämförelse mellan två strategier för insamling av BTS genom permafrostmodellering mellan två dataset. Ett BTS dataset från 2011 jämfört med BTS insamlade mars 2013. / Snow and permafrost are two interacting components in the Cryosphere. This study is focusing on snow depth and its influence on bottom temperature of snow cover (BTS) in Tarfala, Northern Sweden. BTS indicate the absence or presence of permafrost if the snow depth > 80 cm. Snow depth measurements were carried out with a resolution of 1 m in two 20 m crossing transects in NS and EW direction around the BTS point. A total of 37 BTS with accompanying snow depths was measured and analyzed. Snow depths varied around the BTS but are representative for the measured 20 m transects. Locations with moderate snow depth variations make out representative probe sites from a snow depth perspective, such as homogenous ground cover, wind protected areas, in the lee behind ridges and slopes perpendicular towards the dominating wind direction. Also to find representative BTS probe site two strategies for collecting BTS have been evaluated through permafrost modeling. One dataset recorded in 2011 focused on covering a big variety of altitude, slope and aspects. The second dataset registered in March 2013 aimed to cover the most frequent classes of the mentioned parameters. The latter strategy is also the preferably method based on the comparison between the two models.

Contemporary a geographical imbalance of where palaeoclimatological studies have been undertaken exists, where the majority of palaeodata is based on studies from the northernhemisphere. Multiproxy analysis was performed on a peat core from Lydenburg, north-eastern Mpumalanga, covering the last 1.600 years. Proxy focus was put on fossil grassphytoliths. A general drying trend can be noted from AD 400 to 1000, followed by moremesic conditions around AD 1200. The increasingly mesic conditions were interrupted by asignificantly drier period between c. AD 1250 to 1350. This part of the Lydenburg sequenceoccurs in the end of a climate event termed “Medieval warm period” (MWP), suggested tohave been warmer and variable but mostly wetter in southern Africa. The results are in lineregarding the increased temperature and suggested variability. However, in contrast withearlier findings, significantly drier conditions seem to have prevailed at the Lydenburg fenat the end of “MWP” as interpreted by multiple proxies. Following AD 1400 increasinglymesic conditions was recorded as interpreted by several of the analysed proxies. Morepalaeoenvironmental studies needs to be performed in the area in order to elaborate on thedriving factors of palaeoenvironmental change in the region, as well as to establish if thesignals from the Lydenburg fen record local or regional changes. The results support earlierphytolith studies suggesting that small rondels should be excluded from phytolithassemblages in tropical and sub-tropical areas in Africa. / People, Land, and Time in Africa (PLATINA) / Bokoni project. This MA thesis is part of a transdisciplinary project involving scholars from Sweden and South Africa aiming to understand traces of pre-colonial terraces found in north-easter Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Geografi är ett tvärvetenskapligt ämne i skolans värld som berör såväl naturen som samhället vi lever i. I Skolverkets ämnesplan för ämnet Geografi på gymnasial nivå framkommer det med all önskvärd tydlighet att såväl exkursioner, fältstudier, laborationer som övningar ska ingå i undervisningen, för att åskådliggöra den mångfacetterade värld vi lever i. I nya rön från Skolverket beskrivs situationen i de högre åldrarna, med avseende på inkludering av praktiska moment i undervisningen, som problematisk. Det övergripande syftet med denna uppsats är att belysa vikten av praktiska moment inom ämnet geografi, på gymnasial nivå, genom att undersöka lärares erfarenheter kring ett praktiskt arbetssätt. För att kunna undersöka detta har vi använt oss av en intervjustudie, där fyra geografilärare (på gymnasial nivå) från fyra olika skolor i tre skilda kommuner agerade respondenter. Resultatet påvisar att eleverna till följd av ett kontinuerligt tillämpande av praktiska moment ges möjligheten att se samband, vilka knyter samman teorin och verkligheten. Utöver detta kan även vissa positiva synergieffekter påvisas, däribland återfinns den sociala faktorn och en förändrad syn på ämnet. Genomgående har vi kunnat skönja att en nyckelterm, för såväl lärare som elever, inom ett praktiskt arbetssätt, är vana.

In this study, litho-, bio- and chronostratigraphic investigations combined with RTK GPSleveling have been carried out to reconstruct the paleoenvironment in the central part of theLånghundraleden Trail. The area displays four shallow lake basins of varyingmorphologies. The basins are now covered with peat as a result of infilling and overgrowth.The emergence of the saddle-point, i.e. the highest point of the underlying minerogenicsurface, was estimated to have occurred c. BC/AD. The isolation events of two basins, atc.12.4 and c.12.3 m a.s.l. west and east of the saddle-point, were dated to c.AD 20 andc.AD 30, respectively. By combining these isolation data with six previously investigatedbasins a shore displacement curve for the central part of the Långhundraleden Trail and thesurrounding area, i.e. east of the Ekoln basin was constructed. The curve indicates anaverage regressive shore displacement rate of c.6.2 mm/yr since c. 3200 BC. Around 1500BC, this trend was interrupted by a short period of retarded regression, correlated with theL4 event. The isolation ages of the basins in the Långhundraleden Trail appears relativelyyoung when compared to an average shore displacement rate of 5.6 mm/year in thenorthern part of L. Mälaren, west of the Ekoln basin. As the area is dominated by a fissurevalleylandscape, this discrepancy could be attributed to small-scale irregular tectonicmovements, which caused faster uplift rate, i.e. 6.2 mm/year, east of the Ekoln basin.

In a periglacial environment it is important to know the thickness, orientation and structureof sediments when assessing the landscape and its hydrological pathways. Using a groundpenetratingradar (GPR) I have profiled large areas of the subsurface in a catchment area to alake on western Greenland. Post-processing and calculations of the gathered data has revealedthat the sediment thickness is maximum 15 meters in the valleys. Due to the fact that nocorrelation data is available, such as boreholes or pits, this estimation has large error limits butthe profiles gathered reveals the structure in the subsurface to a great extent.

Local participation in nature conservation has gained more attention over the last decades due to international conventions as well as local and national initiatives. This development can be seen as a reaction to a more expert oriented nature conservation characterized by centralized control and strict preservation of so called "original" nature. The overall objective of this thesis is to contribute to research on new forms of conservation where democracy and local participation is included. The case study focuses on the process of producing a pre-study for a suggested national park in southern Jämtland in the Swedish mountain region, and aims to investigate to what extent local participation was included. The pre-study was led by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the County Administrative Board (CAB) in Jämtland. The thesis is to some extent grounded in a political ecological perspective, which highlights connections between politics, societies and the environment. The methods used are semi-structured in-depth interviews and literature studies. The results show that although the stakeholders interviewed to some extent share views on the process, there are also differences. The SEPA and the CAB are generally satisfied with the result while there is some dissatisfaction among others. However, all stress that respect and dialogue are important and most actors see zoning and channeling within a potential park as part of a solution to past conflicts in the area. How the management structure will take form and to which extent it will include local participation has not been discussed in detail so far, although the Sámi demand to be included in any future management. These questions will be further investigated by the SPEA if they decide to proceed in a national park process. / Bortom konflikter: utmaningar och möjligheter i svenska fjäll