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A regular consumption of food contaminated with heavy metals can pose a threat to the general health of the human population. The contents of these toxic metals in crops depend on several different factors including the acidity of the soil as well as the addition of contaminated fertilizer. In this study, health risk assessments for broad beans (Vicia faba) were made for six different growing cond
In this thesis work the potential of compost as a sustainable alternative to peat as soil amendment was investigated. Peat extraction has substantial negative environmental impacts, but concerns exist about potential contaminant accumulation in compost. Four soil amendments, one sourced from a Scanian municipality and three commercially available, were analyzed for the presence of 10 metals, 35 PF
Plastics play a central role in our society today and are omnipresent. Compost frommgarden waste is used in gardening as a soil amendment. This circular use of plants, branches and other green waste is a way to reduce the use of linear resources for soil amendment, such as peat. A problem that can arise when using compost is the spread of plastic particles from the garden waste to the environment.
The European Union (EU) aims to increase the overall carbon sink through the 2030 climate and energy policy framework, which includes the newly reviewed instrument and regulation of Land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF). The regulation is considered an important component in the EU climate mitigation strategy which aims to manage and track the greenhouse gas emissions and removals in sec
This study has been conducted to show the meaning of how background factors and attitudes affect the usage of chemical products in urban gardens in Lund. This was performed with the use of a questionnaire that was sent out to two Facebook groups, Lunds Trädgårdssällskap and another private group oriented towards people who live in or come from Lund. From an environmental perspective, this study is
The sport of disc golf has grown rapidly during the last five years, meaning a rapid increase in production of discs, and therefore also in the use of virgin plastics. The discs are usually produced with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or thermoplastic elastane (TPE). The disc golf market is dominated by a handfull of brands that all have one thing in common, their work on sustainability is eithe
The forest industry has big problems with the bark beetle attacking trees. This results in that they must log the damaged trees, which leads to an economic loss. For a tree to be able to stand against a big populations of bark beetles, it needs to have a strong defence or be surrounded by other trees via associational resistance. Furthermore, natural enemies to the bark beetle can also act as a de
Bioenergy derived from agricultural biomass has potential to phase out fossil energy sources while strengthening the bioeconomy. To estimate the agricultural sector's potential to meet the rising demand for renewable energy sources, it is crucial to understand what motivate farmers to sustainably increasing agricultural feedstock production. Through eight semi-structured interviews, and online
In this study an evaluation of the ways in which the shopping mall NOVA Lund can improve its current waste management practices was conducted. This was done because NOVA plans to upgrade their waste management system. A survey was conducted where the staff of the 68 stores and 7 restaurants were inquired on the current system. The stores were asked to rank what kind of waste they encounter the mos
The growing mountain of electronic waste is a threat to human health and an unsustainable handling of our finite natural resources. With the aim to decrease the creation of waste, including electronic, the EU have decided to separate resource use from economic growth by supporting the transition to a circular economy. The inclusion of the private sector in the financing of this transition is cruci
Clean drinking water is often taken for granted. However, the lake that supplies the greater part of southwestern Scania with drinking water has severe environmental problems regarding the chemical and ecological status. The organization Fokus Vombsjön has now taken it upon themselves to develop a water management plan for the lake, with the goal to improve its overall status. The aim of this s
Today the future supply of seafood is threatened due to human activities which, among other things, has led to overfishing. However, more environmental friendly initiatives of producing seafood have emerged, such as Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RASs). By analyzing the sensitivity analysis from six different Life Cycle Analysis (LCAs) on RASs, eight different factors that influence the enviro
This study was done to gain an understanding of the importance of 12 water sources that are in the Vomb biosphere reserve. To do so, an ecosystem services analysis that included the four following types of ecosystem services: provisioning, supporting, regulating, and cultural services, was conducted. The ecosystem services analysis was done by using indicators for each service. A final score base
Shoreline protection is, along with general habitat protection, the only directly applicable conservation act for shorelines in Sweden. The purpose of shoreline protection is to safeguard the public’s recreational access to shoreline areas and protect flora and fauna. Sweden has had general shoreline protection since 1975, and in many municipalities the shoreline protection is extended. Svedala mu
The purpose of this study is to investigate how and to what extent four different sustainability certifications set standards for conserving or promoting biodiversity. This is of importance since there are a large number of certifications of different kinds on the market and as a consumer it can be difficult to navigate among these. How these certifications favor biodiversity is important to inves
Food production is a major driver of climate change and environmental degradation. There is a political will to use public procurement as a strategic tool to promote more sustainable practices in the food industry. There are many aspects of sustainable food consumption, and one aspect that is getting increased attention is locally produced food. This study aims to examine how municipalities in the
The decline of bees, such as bumblebees, over the last decades raises concerns as they are key pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. One proposed cause for the decline of wild bees is competition for food resources with managed honeybees. Detrimental effects of competition can result where co-existing species exhibit a high degree of shared resource use (i.e., niche overlap). Th
The question of the degree to which participation by civil society contributes to environmental decisions in post-conflict societies has received little attention. This study sheds light on the extent to which degrees of participation contribute to environmental decision-making in the Puntland State of Somalia using questionnaire surveys. We found that active participation has the highest contribu
Dispersal ability is key to species persistence in times of environmental change. Assessing a species' vulnerability and response to anthropogenic changes is often performed using one of two methods: correlative approaches that infer dispersal potential based on traits, such as wingspan or an index of mobility derived from expert opinion, or a mechanistic modeling approach that extrapolates displa
Almost all countries in the world are party to the Rio Conventions. This entails a number of responsibilities, including reporting periodically on aspects of environmental health and national implementation of the convention. These reports can cover hundreds of pages, so completing reports is often a significant undertaking. Since countries can be party to numerous Multilateral Environmental Agree
