ACTIVE WETLANDS

Title: ACTIVE measures on WETLANDS for decreasing nutrient load in the Baltic Sea

Summary: Agriculture is an important sector in both Estonia and Finland. However, active use of land, soil erosion, and nitrogen and phosphorus-leaching exerts a negative impact on the environment. These create problems like eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, erosion of arable land and inefficient use of valuable plant nutrients. The ACTIVE WETLANDS project has identified possible solutions for how to reduce agricultural nutrient load by enhancing nutrient retention in the watersheds.

Constructed wetlands are recognised as a powerful tool to reduce nutrient run-off from arable land to the Baltic Sea. Such wetlands preserve soil and nutrients from incoming water and increase biodiversity by creating plant and animal habitats different from neighbouring fields. During the project, Estonian and Finnish farmers, rural advisors and decision makers learn more about how wetlands can be used to reduce the nutrient load from agriculture. By establishing small pilot wetlands, the project finds practical designs and methods to increase the efficiency of agricultural wetlands.

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