<p>Considering water quality, landuse and reducion of wetland area in the watershed of Tidan, areas witch are in need of constructions to improve the water quality are identified. Constructions are suggested to be located within the smaller streams in the watershed, so that the water is treated before it reaches the stream Tidan.</p>

<p>Lakvatten har varierande föroreningsgrad och karaktär. Det bildas då regnvatten perkolerar igenom en deponi. I en deponiverksamhet är lakvattnet den huvudsakliga påverkan på den omgivande miljön. För att begränsa föroreningshalten i naturen behöver lakvattnet samlas upp och omhändertas. Olika tekniker har utvecklats för att rena lakvatten lokalt. En teknik är att använda ett naturligt material som torv för att i första hand reducera mängden metaller och organiska föreningar. Vid Stena Metall AB:s anläggning i Halmstad sker rening av vattnet i den lokala reningsanläggningen. Reningen består av luftning och sedimentering samt ett biofilter bestående av aska och torv (SB).</p><p>I detta examensarbete har urlakning av ett antal olika filtermaterial gjorts genom att skaka materialen i 24 h. Även en reningseffektivitetsstudie av filtermaterialet SB har gjorts. Filtermaterialet används i dag som en biobädd och fungerar som det sista reningssteget utav lakvattnet på Stena Metall AB:s anläggning i Halmstad. </p><p>I urlakningsstudien skakades varje filtermaterial i 24 h med kranvatten. Några gränsvärden för lakvatten finns inte i dag. ”Ny föreskrift om deponering och mottagande av avfall vid deponier” träde i kraft 2005. Föreskriftens gränsvärden för icke-farligt avfall har används som jämförvärden i denna studie. Resultatet visar att det är en stor skillnad på de olika materialens urlakning. I urlakningen är det endast Bark och Metallbark som överskrider DOC-värdet.</p><p>Reningseffektivitetsstudien utfördes genom att skaka SB med fem olika koncentrationer av koppar-, fenol- och PCB-lösningar. Fenol- och PCB-analyser ryms inte inom detta arbete utan presenteras i ett annat arbete inom projektgruppen. I studien har lakvatten och kranvatten med de fem olika koncentrationer använts parallellt och därefter jämförts mot varandra. Materialet har skakats i 24 h. Resultatet visar en god reducering av koppar i både kran och lakvatten. Det sker en reducering av ammoniumkväve i lakvattnet medan det ökar i kranvattnet.</p>

<p>To create multifunctional buffer strips along a watercourse in an economically sustainable way requires consideration of many different factors. In this plan we have selected pollutant reduction as the main purpose of the buffer strip. We have also strived to achieve minimal income loss due to reduced production, increased biological diversity, good game preservation that leads to higher income from hunting, aesthetical satisfaction and possibility to profit from available subsidies. This is done mainly to make landowners/farmers more interested in creating buffer strips along water courses.</p><p>As sand is the dominant type of soil in the area, the water course is less affected by surface runoff compared to if the soil would be clay or some other finer texture. Game preservation and subsidies have therefore been the main factors when establishing the width of the strip, because these require wider buffer strips in some cases. Most of the buffer strips have been left as fallow fields and multilayered vegetation systems have been strived for. This means combined tree, bush and grass/herb zones. To</p><p>be allowed to plant bushes on a fallow field and also receive subsidies we suggest that perennial energy plants should be planted in some parts of the buffer strips. Perennial energy plants have several benefits, such as income when harvested and game preservation. In addition we have suggested planting and self rejuvenation of the local trees and bushes.</p>

<p>Hässleholms Renhållare AB är ett avfallsbolag som innehar en oljebehandlingsanläggning på deras centrala avfallsanläggning i Vankiva. På oljebehandlingsanläggningen tar de emot slam från oljeavskiljare och bilvårdsanläggningar samt i mindre mängd förorenade massor. Från behandlingsanläggningen utgår det en vattenfas som leds via ett avloppssystem vidare till det lokala behandlingssystemet för lakvattnet. </p><p>I bolagets tillstånd för Vankiva avfallsanläggning har det föreskrivits att varje delflöde till den lokala behandlingen av lakvattnet måste kontrolleras för att inte fastställda gränsvärden för olja och tungmetaller ska överskridas. </p><p>Under våren 2006 kompletterades avloppssystemet från oljebehandlingsanläggningen till lakvattenbehandlingen med en filterbrunn. Filterbrunnen innehåller en torvabsorbent som suger upp olja och tungmetaller från vattenfasen. Genom att reducera olja och tungmetaller från vattenfasen kommer bolaget att minska en stor källa av föroreningar till deras lokala behandlingssystem för lakvatten. </p><p>Rapportens mål var att undersöka filtermaterialets reningsförmåga på vattenfasen från oljebehandlingsanläggning dels vid laborativa försök och dels vid fältundersökning. </p><p>De laborativa försöken bestod av ett urlakningstest och en studie på filtermaterialets absorptionskapacitet. Resultat från urlakningstestet visar att torvsorbenten släpper mangan och järn i större mängd och sänker urlakningsvätskans pH. Resultat från filtermaterialets absorptionskapacitet visar att materialet effektivt adsorberar undersökta metaller. Ett utläckage av arsenik sker från filtermaterialet. För olja och dess biprodukter sker en mindre reduktion. </p><p>Fältförsöket visar att filtret reducerar metallkoncentrationen i utgående vattenfas men absorption av olja uteblir vid hög belastning. Lakvattnet får tillskott av metalljoner från vattenfasen av aluminium, koppar, järn, mangan, nickel, bly och zink, då metallkoncentrationen är högre för vattenfasen än för lakvattnet. </p><p>Kontroll av basflödet, som har ett konstant mindre flöde igenom filterbrunnen, visar resultat på låga metallkoncentrationer i ingående basflöde, som består av vatten från området tvätthall och avloppsvatten från kontoret. När basflödet passerar filterbrunnen urlakas arsenik, kvicksilver, nickel och zink från adsorberade metalljoner i filtermaterialet. </p><p>Vid fältstudien visar resultaten på att filterbrunnen fungerade som en buffert. Filtermaterialet sorberade föroreningar i ingående vattenfas från oljeplattan och släppte metaller när basflödet passerade filterbrunnen. Detta kan medföra att det inte blir några stötbelastningar till lakvattnet av befintliga föroreningar från vattenfasen men tungmetaller kommer för eller senare ut i behandlingssystemet för lakvattnet.</p>

<p>This article deals with the woodlands as a biological cultural heritage and how it is taken care of in the protected woodlands in Skåne, in the south of Sweden, especially the deciduous trees which is dominated by beech. High biological values have emerged as a result of grazing and different kinds of forestry. The protected woodlands have been ripped of its cultural influences which changes the biological values on which the original reasons for protection was founded.</p>

Beauveria bassiana isolate 11-98 is entomopathogenic, endophytic in tomato, and has biocontrol activity against Rhizoctonia solani on tomato. The objectives of this study were to determine 1) if B. bassiana is endophytic in cotton, following seed treatment; 2) if B. bassiana can protect cotton against seedling pathogens; 3) if different conidial rates, applied to seed, alter effectiveness of B. bassiana; and 4) mechanisms of biocontrol used by B. bassiana against plant pathogens. Cotton ‘Delta Pine 436’ seed was inoculated with isolate 11-98 conidia, sown in a gnotobiotic system, and then isolated from surfacesterilized seedlings on selective medium. Using scanning electron microscopy, hyphal penetration of epithelial cells was observed. Using ITS primers, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and electrophoresis of PCR products, 11-98 was detected (single 421-bp band) in a dilution series of fungal and plant DNA, and from cotton seedlings endophytically colonized by 11-98. Biocontrol of B. bassiana against R. solani, Pythium myriotylum, and Thielaviopsis basicola was examined using several seed treatment rates (log 5 to log 11 CFU). Disease was suppressed and plant growth was increased in potting mix with B. bassiana at log 7 and log 9 CFU/seed, and in sandy loam soil at log 7 CFU/seed. With low disease pressure from P. myriotylum, seed treated with 11-98 or BotaniGard isolate GHA increased plant growth. Assays with T. basicola were inconclusive. Beauveria bassiana was evaluated for induced systemic resistance in cotton against Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. malvacearum. Root drench treatments were B. bassiana at log 5, log 7, and log 9 CFU/ml, untreated, 2,6-dichloro-isonicotinic acid (INA), and untreated without Xanthomonas. After 13 days, primary leaves were wounded and challenge-inoculated with Xanthomonas. Treatment with B. bassiana (log 7 CFU/seed) had less disease than untreated controls and was as effective as INA. In antibiosis assays, Beauveria bassiana out-competed T. basicola on cotton agar, however no clear zone of inhibition was observed; B. bassiana was outcompeted by R. solani and P. myriotylum, however it maintained its original colony diameter. Beauveria bassiana hyphae coiled around P. myriotylum hyphae in parasitism assays; no coiling was observed with R. solani; results for T. basicola were inconclusive.

This study is concerned with speciation and fractionation of the rare earth elements (REE) and calcium (Ca) in aqueous solutions. The aim is to investigate the chemical states and physical sizes in which these elements can be present. The REE (including neodymium) and Ca have contrasting geochemical behavior in aqueous solutions. Ca is a major dissolved element, while the REE are trace components and highly reactive with aquatic particles. The major interests of the five papers included in this thesis are the following: · Papers I and V deal with the behavior of neodymium (Nd) and its isotopes in the Kalix River and some marine waters. · The diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) method is developed for measuring Ca and Mg in Paper II. · Paper III presents a speciation and fractionation study of Ca in the Kalix and Amazonian rivers. · The rare earth elements and their carrier phases are investigated in the Kalix river in Paper IV. For most elements a detailed study of speciation and fractionation can not be performed using only one method. This is due to the overall heterogeneity of the material, considering both size and chemical composition, which is present in aquatic solutions. During this project the aquatic geochemistry of the REE and Ca has been studied using mainly three methods; cross-flow filtration (CFF), field-flow fractionation (FFF) and diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT). Field work has to a large part been conducted in the Kalix River, in northern Sweden, which is one of the last pristine river systems in Europe. Some field work has also been conducted in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Results from Amazonian rivers are also presented. These are the main conclusions from this work: The DGT technique works equally well for measuring Ca and Mg in natural waters as previously reported for trace metal. A significant colloidal phase for Ca could be detected in the Kalix River and in different Amazonian rivers. This was concluded independently using both CFF and FFF. Variations in REE signatures in the Kalix River suggests two different pathways for the REE during weathering and release form soil profiles and transport in the river. No significant variation in Nd-isotopic composition could be detected in the Kalix River although concentrations varied by a factor of ~10. This suggests that there is one major source for Nd in the river although different pathways for the REE may exist. A study of Nd in the Kalix River, the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean showed that the isotopic compositions in the diffusible fractions were similar to water samples. However, the relative amount of diffusible Nd increased with salinity, probably reflecting the lower concentration of colloidal and particulate material in marine waters.

The purpose of the thesis work has been to develop methods and concepts to aid in the search, detection and assessment of ancient microfossils here on Earth as a guide to the search for ancient life on Mars. The intention has been to identify and characterize environments on Earth that may be considered analogous to Martian environments and in which fossil preservation is expected to be good, and to develop and apply methods to characterize the isotopic and chemical composition of possible traces of life in order to assess their biogenicity and biological affinities. An investigation of the Siljan impact structure, Sweden, demonstrated that niches for thermophilic organisms were created in the associated hydrothermal system. The temperature regimes were favorable for thermophilic life in the outer parts of the structure during the early and main stages of the hydrothermal system, but that these niches moved toward the center of the crater during the final cooling stages. It was demonstrated that the hydrothermal system contains traces of a thermophilic microbial community, represented by fossilized extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Given the presence of water on Mars, similar impact-induced hydrothermal systems were probably generated on Mars as well. These regions, like those at Siljan, may have supported hyperthermophilic microbial communities on the red planet, emphasizing the relevance of searching for impact-induced hydrothermal deposits for evidence of microbial life on Mars. A method for the determination of stable carbon isotopes with high lateral resolution of TEM (transmission electron microscopy) samples has been developed. The method is based on alpha-particle Rutherford backscattering (RBS), it is non-destructive, and therefore suitable for analysis of extraterrestrial and other rare or irreplaceable material. Also, a novel concept to extract fluid inclusions without ablating the sample has been proposed, and a proof-of-concept has been demonstrated. The purpose is to analyze organic biomarkers trapped in fluid inclusions without risking contamination, and also to extract and analyze single fluid inclusions. The minimized contamination risk and the potential to extract single fluid inclusions could make the method a useful tool in the search for organic biomarkers in early-Earth material, and eventually, in samples returned from Mars.

Sediments in two aquatic environments have been investigated. Both are anthropogenically affected and polluted. The focus has been on stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, C/N ratios, and heavy metals. The first site is Höggarnsfjärden Bay in the inner parts of the Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden, where a garbage dump releases treated leach water. The effect on carbon and nitrogen in the sediment close to the discharge is large, but 1200 m downstream the effect is diluted by the background discharge of the town of Stockholm and the Lake Mälaren, which drains into the archipelago. The main source of the studied metals is not the garbage dump itself. The sediment close to the discharge shows high enrichment factors due to high sedimentation rate and adsorption, and low decomposition of organic matter. The metal enrichment factors of downstream sites are not higher than the upstream sites. The second site is Lake Verkasjön close to the north part of Lake Vättern, in the county of Örebro, Sweden. River Salaån flows through Lake Verkasjön on the way through a former mining area to Lake Vättern. Upstream of Lake Verkasjön an ore dressing plant site was used in 1877-1881 for extraction of zinc. During that period the sediment of Lake Verkasjön received high loadings of sulphidic tailings. Normal sedimentation after the event has lead to that the polluted sediment is found as a distinct layer at 18-22 cm. The layer is characterized by elevated metal concentrations, decreased organic matter content and increased stable carbon composition. The sediment that has accumulated above 18 cm works as a physicochemical barrier that seals the waste from the overlying sediment. At the time of the event the signal of aquatic production in the sediment changed; the sediment above the layer has an increased proportion of aquatically produced material, implying changed land use in the catchment area.

This thesis is a study of Holocene sapropels from two semi-enclosed seas; the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Sapropels are sedimentary layers with organic C &gt; 2%. The Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have a limited water exchange, and despite differences in water depth and salinity, mechanisms for fluxes and preservation of Corg are principally the same. Primary focus is on biomarkers for increased primary productivity and anoxic/euxinic bottom water. Pigments (primarily from cyanobacteria), δ15N, δ13C, N and Corg have been used for studying increased primary productivity. Presence of the pigment isorenieratene from green sulphur bacteria indicates photic zone anoxia. Zn, Mn and δ34S have also been used to identify different scenarios during sapropel formation. Pigments start to appear at the beginning of both the Baltic Sea sapropel and S1, the Holocene sapropel in the Mediterranean Sea. Cyanobacterial pigments generally increase early in the sapropel, due to fast adaptation to more P-rich conditions. Cyanobacteria are favored by low N/P-ratios and P was probably in excess during the formation of S1 and the Baltic Sea sapropel sediments. Lowering of δ15N and concurrent increase in N in both the Baltic Sea and S1 sapropels is probably caused by cyanobacterial N2-fixation. This most likely increased the N/P-ratio and enhanced overall primary productivity. Both increased primary productivity and enhanced preservation of organic carbon are important mechanisms for sapropel formation. The appearance of isorenieratene in the protosapropel is most likely the result of an environment where even moderate increases in primary productivity could create anoxic conditions. This favours an estuarine water circulation scenario with anoxic bottom waters. δ34S of sulphate and sulphide confirm this scenario, which can be explained by the coexistence of sulphate reducing and sulphur disproportionating bacteria together with phototrophic purple and green sulphur bacteria.