WAMBAF – Good Practices for Ditch Network Maintenance to Protect Water Quality in the Baltic Sea Region

These good practices for ditch network maintenance (DNM) were prepared within the WAMBAF project (Water Management in Baltic Forests); project period from 1.3.2016 to 28.2.2019, which was initiated to tackle the problems relating to water quality after forestry operations in the Baltic Sea Region. The main aim of these good practices for DNM to protect water quality is to give background information and an overview of available water protection measures that can be used in conjunction with DNM on peatlands and paludified mineral soils to reduce the export of suspended solids (SS), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and methyl mercury (MeHg) within the Baltic Sea Region. The good practices for DNM also deal with the suitability of DNM for peatlands and paludified soils by presenting tradeoffs between its benefits and detrimental impacts on water quality, as well as the planning of water protection measures to avoid or reduce transport of SS and nutrients to the receiving water bodies. In this document, we (i) describe the aims of DNM and give an overview of the existing scientific knowledge of the effects of DNM on tree growth, soil properties, hydrology and soil hydraulics, and drainage water quality, (ii) present factors for assessing the suitability of DNM, and (iii) present the principles of DNM planning and water protection for the reduction of the exports of SS, N and P to the water bodies in the Baltic Sea Region.201

WAMBAF – Hyvät käytännöt kunnostusojituksen vesiensuojeluun Itämeren alueelle

Lyhennetty versio.Tämä "WAMBAF – Hyvät käytännöt kunnostusojituksen vesiensuojeluun Itämeren alueelle" on lyhennetty versio laajemmasta raportista "WAMBAF – Good Practices for Ditch Network Maintenance to Protect Water Quality in the Baltic Sea Region", joka julkaistiin englanniksi (Finér ym. 2018) ja valmisteltiin WAMBAF -projektissa (Water Management in Baltic Forests). WAMBAF projektia toteutetaan metsätalouden vesiensuojelun edistämiseksi Itämeren alueella ajanjaksolla 1.3.2016–28.2.2019. WAMBAF keskittyy kolmeen teemaan, jotka vaikuttavat merkittävästi pintavesien laatuun: suoja-vyöhykkeet, kunnostusojitukset ja majavat. Hanke tukee EU:n vesipolitiikan puitedirektiivin (2000/60/EY) täytäntöönpanoa.201

Hyvät käytännöt suojavyöhykkeiden muodostamiseen vesistöjen varsille Itämeren alueella – Käsikirja

Lyhennelmä (4.12.2018)Tässä lyhennelmässä tiivistetään tärkeimmät seikat, jotka on hyvä ottaa huomioon muodostettaessa suojavyöhykkeitä vesistöjen varsille. Lyhennelmä pohjautuu laajempaan englanninkieliseen raporttiin "Good practices for forest buffers to improve surface water quality in the Baltic Sea region” (Ring et al. 2018). Molemmat raportit on tuotettu WAMBAF –hankkeessa (Water Management in Baltic Forests), joka on saanut rahoitusta EU:n Itämeren alueen Interreg –ohjelmasta 1.3.2016–28.2.2019. WAMBAF ̶̶hanke perustettiin kehittämään metsätalouden vesiensuojelua ja tarkastelun kohteena ovat olleet erityisesti ravinteiden, kiintoaineen ja elohopean huuhtoutuminen vesistöihin. Suojavyöhykkeet voivat olla monimuotoisuuden kannalta arvokkaita elinympäristöjä. Tässä raportissa keskitytään kuitenkin siihen, miten metsäisiä suojavyöhykkeitä voidaan käyttää vesistöjen veden laadun suojelemiseen. Tämä raportti on pääpiirteiltään samansisältöinen kuin julkaisu Ring ym. (2018), mutta ei sisällä viittauksia. Julkaisu, joka sisältää myös täydellisen viiteluettelon on seuraava: Ring, E., Andersson, E., Armolaitis, K., Eklöf, K., Finér, L., Gil, W., Glazko, Z., Janek, M., Lībiete, Z., Lode, E., Małek, S. and Piirainen, S. 2018. Good practices for forest buffers to improve surface water quality in the Baltic Sea region. Skogforsk Arbetsrapport no. 995-2018, 59 s. https://www.skogforsk.se/english/news/2018/good-practices-for-forest-buffers-to-improve-surface-water-quality-in-the-baltic-sea-region/201

Wetland restoration

In spite of increased attention to wetland conservation following the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, the peat-harvesting industry in many countries is still interested in the further exploitation of peatlands. In some of the most industrialised countries, all natural peatlands have already been lost. In others, only small areas of native peatland remain. Among other possible uses for cut-over peatlands, peatland restoration is one: there is an urgent need for the development of measures for regenerating peat accumulation processes. The redevelopment of a fen or bog peat landscape is a long-term process, which will probably take centuries. The restoration of any peatland may therefore be considered successful if the outcome is the development and growth of plant communities able to produce peat. The renewal of the hydrological regime of such areas is a major factor which determines the re-colonisation of cut-over peat fields by peat-forming plants. The aim of this paper is to give a brief survey of wetlands, and especially of peatland restoration options, for use in terminated peat-cuttings. It aims to show how peatland management may be made sustainable by means of existing and tried methods and principles, with the goal of returning cut-over peat fields to their former peat-accumulating state. A glossary of peat and peatland terminology is included

Restoration of water quality and biology in two rewetted cut-over peatlands

Restoration of wetlands is of high priority in Europe. After-use of peat excavation areas, including rewetting, is one such measure and has been investigated at two sites in Sweden. Water quality changed after rewetting with fairly stable or higher pH and concentrations of base cations. Nutrient concentrations were initially high but decreased after a number of years. Oxygen contents in water were similar to ordinary small lakes, also with occasional depletion in bottom layers at stagnation periods. The colonization of vegetation was rapid at Västkärr site but slower at Porla site, also with start of Sphagnum colonization. The bottom fauna consisted of high numbers of species and individuals the very first years after rewetting. After a few years the bottom fauna decreased to lower levels but is now slowly rising

Impacts of rewetting on peat, hydrology and water chemical composition over 15 years in two finished peat extraction areas in Sweden

Restoration of wetlands is a high priority world-wide. Peat extraction areas can be restored by rewetting, however affecting the environment. It could be expected to turn the drained peat-cutover area from a source to a sink of most elements. This study examined effects of such rewetting on peat, hydrology and water chemistry over 15 years at two sites in Sweden; the nutrient-poor Porla peatland and the nutrient-rich Vastkarr peatland. Rewetting caused minor changes to peat chemistry, but at the Vastkarr site ammonium concentrations increased in superficial peat layers while nitrate decreased. In terms of hydrology, rewetting of the Porla site decreased annual runoff and both high and low discharges. Water pH at the Porla site stayed fairly stable, but at the Vastkarr site pH, after an initial 4 years dip, gradually increased to higher values than before rewetting. Water colour and organic matter content were fairly stable, but slightly lower values were found after 15 years than in initial 4-5 years. The concentrations of base cations and of inorganic N were lower after rewetting, while total P was higher. However, these impacts could change from an initial phase as the wetlands in the long-term perspective develop into mires

Coordination of water policies for quality and quantity : experiences from Nordic and Baltic countries

Highlights •In this paper, the coordination of work with two EU directives in Nordic and Baltic countries is studied. •The potential for synergy effects is reached with varying success in the studied countries. •National legislation and organization of work affect the rate of success with coordination. •Our results confirm conclusions made by the European Commission. Abstract The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive is of paramount importance for water management. According to the legal text, coordination with other directives like the Floods Directive is imperative and motivated by potential synergy effects. In this paper, the degree to which such coordination is achieved is evaluated for five Nordic and Baltic countries. The evaluation is based on legal documents, management plans, as well as on organizational structure in the five countries. The results show that the coordination between the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive (or flood management for Norway's case), have been successful for Estonia and Lithuania, whereas Norway, Finland, and especially Sweden need to improve more

Indices of sediment connectivity: opportunities, challenges and limitations

Indices of connectivity are critical means for moving from qualitative to (semi-)quantitative evaluations of material (e.g., water, sediment and nutrients) transfer across the building blocks of a terrestrial system. In geomorphology, compared to closely related disciplines like ecology and hydrology, the development of indices has only recently started and as such presents opportunities and challenges that merit attention. In this paper, we review existing indices of sediment connectivity and suggest potential avenues of development for meeting current basic and applied research needs. Specifically, we focus on terrestrial geomorphic systems dominated by processes that are driven by hydro-meteorological forcing, neglecting seismically triggered events, karstic systems and environments controlled by eolian processes. We begin by setting a conceptual framework that combines external forcings (drivers) and system (intrinsic) structural and functional properties relevant to sediment connectivity. This framework guides our review of response variables suitable for sediment connectivity indices. In particular, we consider three sample applications concerned with sediment connectivity in: (i) soil studies at the plot scale, (ii) bedload transport at the reach scale, and (iii) sediment budgets at the catchment scale. In relation to the set of response variables identified, we consider data availability and issues of data acquisition for use in indices of sediment connectivity. We classify currently available indices in raster based, object or network based, and indices based on effective catchment area. Virtually all existing indices address the degree of static, structural connectivity only, with limited attention for process-based, functional connectivity counterparts. Most recent developments in indices of sediment connectivity deal, to some extent, with different styles of anthropogenic and hydro-meteorological forcings and with the temporal variability of sediment connectivity, by incorporating additional variables and parameters in existing indices. We believe that, in order to use structural connectivity as explanatory or predictive tool, indices need to be interpretable in relation to geomorphic processes, material properties, and forcing styles and magnitude-frequency spectra. Improvements in this direction can be made through studies shaped to constrain structural-functional correlations across a range of hydro-meteorological scenarios, for example employing field-based techniques such as particle tracking and sediment provenance analysis, as well as numerical simulations. We further consider existing indices in relation to spatial and temporal scales. The latter have immediate implications on the distinction and application between indices and models of sediment connectivity. In this context, we suggest that sediment connectivity over millennial or longer time scales should be dealt with models, as opposed to indices