The cultural role of cemeteries is well defined, but the ecological importance of these sites is less recognized. As passively-used permanent greenspace, cemeteries have the potential to sustain biodiversity as surrounding land uses change. Informant interviews were conducted with professionals familiar with cemeteries and the funeral industry, and responses were compared within and between professions. Results of this study suggest that while cemeteries provide significant cultural and environmental benefits, their ecological potential is limited by factors including funding and legislation. In order to enhance the ecological value of cemetery sites, the incorporation of native trees and variable habitat within traditional cemetery designs should be considered to improve the quality of resources available to wildlife. Additionally,amendments should be made to the Provincial Policy Statement to include an independent land use designation for cemeteries and implement regional scale planning of these sites across Ontario.

I takt med att befolkningen i Stockholmsregionen ökar så ökar även exploateringstrycket på grönytorna i regionen. Ekologisk kompensation har pekats ut som ett verktyg som kan användas för att minska förlusten av biologisk mångfald och ekosystemtjänster i samband med att grönområden exploateras. Syftet med detta arbete har varit att studera hur kommunerna i Stockholmsregionen arbetar med ekologisk kompensation samt vilka möjligheter det finns för att utföra kompensationsåtgärder på golfbanor. Utöver det så har även golfbanornas roll i ett eventuellt system med kompensationspool utforskats. Arbetet har främst bestått av en enkät- och intervjustudie som har kompletterats med en litteraturstudie. Sex stycken kommuner svarade på den utskickade enkäten och ytterligare fyra kommuner deltog i varsin intervju. Två stycken golfklubbar har även deltagit och besvarat ett antal frågor. Baserat på resultaten så drar författarna slutsatsen att golfbanor kan, under rätt förutsättningar, vara recipienter för en rad olika åtgärder för ekologisk kompensation. Exempel på åtgärder som utförts på golfbanor för att bland annat bidra till den biologiska mångfalden har identifierats under arbetet, som exempelvis anläggning av dammar för lekande groddjur. Inga säkra slutsatser kan dras om huruvida golfbanor kan delta i kompensationspooler då det ännu är oklart hur ett sådant system skulle se ut i Sverige. / The population growth in the Stockholm region presents challenges for planners, such as increased exploitation pressure on green spaces in the region. Ecological compensation has been identified as a measure to mitigate damages and minimize net loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in urban areas. The purpose of this report has been to study to what extent municipalities in the Stockholm region incorporate ecological compensatory actions as well as to unravel any potential in utilizing golf courses as recipients when ecological compensations are to be done. Additionally, the possibilities for golf courses to enroll in compensation pools has been examined. Primary method for this report has been interviews and questionnaires, and has been complemented with a literature study. Six municipalities answered the questionnaire and four municipalities respectively two golf clubs participated in interviews. Based on the results it is concluded that golf courses could be the recipient of various projects of ecological compensation under certain conditions. Such compensatory actions are then dependent on local circumstances. Cases where golf courses are subjects for strategic ecological improvements are described, e.g. construction of ponds that support local amphibian fauna. No conclusions could be drawn regarding whether golf courses could participate in compensation pools due to legal uncertainties on how such a system could be established in Sweden.

Coastal waters have high biological productivity and provide goods and services with a high monetary value. Coasts are used by many different stakeholders and are often densely populated. These factors put coastal ecosystems under heavy environmental pressure and place high demands on politicians and coastal managers, who need suitable tools to facilitate decision-making. Geographic information systems and predictive mass balance models are two such tools, and the form of coastal areas (morphometry) is an important component of both tools in coastal management. In this thesis it was shown that the form and function of coastal areas are interrelated in a number of ways. Morphometric parameters can be used to identify coastal areas that are more sensitive to pollution, or that potentially have higher ecological value; and morphometric analysis is an essential part of mass balance modeling. New ways of using morphometry for estimation of benthic production potential were presented and tested. It was shown that there are great differences in benthic production potential among Swedish coastal areas and regions. Different morphometric descriptors of openness were developed and tested; these can be used in habitat mapping or for prediction of sediment bottom types. Significant correlation was found between the morphometric properties of coastal areas, the proportion of accumulation bottom areas and the critical depth. Statistical models for prediction of accumulation bottom areas and critical depth were also obtained using multiple regression. Large differences were found in empirical values of bottom dynamic conditions from two different sources. Algorithms from a well tested mass balance model were adapted for modeling salt in the Baltic Sea. This enabled calculation of water exchange between five basins on a monthly time scale, which can be of use in future modeling studies. The study included morphometric analysis for structuring the model and for calculation of input data.