Overview of measures

Last changed: 20 June 2024
Aspects on measures, principle.

Water management measures in the agricultural landscape are central in the progress to reach sustainable development goals. Knowledge on their functionality and effectiveness under various local conditions is needed for cost-effective localisation and implementation.

Water and nutrients are transported from the fields through drainage systems and out to the stream. Therefore, also the landscape perspective is key in water management. Each measure may have limited effect but all together they make difference.

Many types of effects

Beside the effects on nutrient and water retention, many measures also have other benefits as increased potential for biodiversity on land and in waters, for example by the establishment of more surface waters. On the other hand, the same measure could have negative side-effects, for example increased emissions of green house gases. 

An attempt to estimate the various effects of measures is shown in the figure below. The estimations are general and the true effect will largely depend on local conditions, for example the soil type.

 

The measures in the catalogue

At the field

From field to stream (in the drainage system)

Stream

Catchment

Educational material

The 1 page descriptions are also available within a comprehensive educational material produced in Waterdrive. Educational material.

Here you can download the descriptions aggregated into three pdf-files.

Field drainage

Educational material on field drainage planning and maintenance is found here

 

 

Waterdrive is financed by Interreg Baltic Sea region, EU regional development fund and the Russian Federation.