Related EU Projects

Diffuse losses of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural areas contribute significantly to eutrophication of waterways, lakes, estuaries and coastal zones and water pollution is a growing and serious problem across much of the world. The role of wetlands in improving surface water quality is well known. The capacity of wetlands to improve water quality is dependent on a large number of parameters that have been widely studied, such as vegetation cover or type, water retention time, climatic variables, and also their size and spatial arrangement in the watershed. However, the question where wetlands should be located in agricultural catchments to achieve the most effective nutrient removal at the catchment level has not been clearly resolved.

This project aims to determine the optimal sizing and location for wetlands in agricultural catchments to reduce nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) loads in catchments. The study consists of two parts performed on study areas with different landscape and climatic conditions. Firstly, potentially suitable wetland restoration/creation sites are identified by using high quality data and geospatial analysis techniques. Secondly, evaluation of the effectiveness of wetland nitrogen and phosphorus removal from surface waters at various potential locations indicated by the geospatial analyses under different hydrological regimes and land use scenarios will be done by using modelling with CLUES (Catchment Land Use for Environmental Sustainability model) and SWAT (Soil and Water and Assessment Tool). Using and integrating different datasets and modelling approaches also plays an important role in the study.

Uuemaa, E.; Palliser, C.; Hughes, A. Tanner, C.(2018). Effectiveness of a Natural Headwater Wetland for Reducing Agricultural Nitrogen Loads. Water, 10 (3), 1−17.w10030287.

Kmoch, A.; Uuemaa, E.; Klug, H.; Cameron, S. G.; (2018). Enhancing Location-Related Hydrogeological Knowledge. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 7 (132, 4).10.3390/ijgi7040132.

Pärn, J.; Henine, H.; Kasak, K.; Kauer, K.; Sohar, K.; Tournebize, J.; Uuemaa, E.; Välik, K.; Mander, Ü.; (2018). Nitrogen and phosphorus discharge from small agricultural catchments predicted from land use and hydroclimate. Land Use Policy, 75, 260−268.10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.03.048.

Uuemaa, E.; Hughes, O. A.; Tanner, C. C.; (2018). Identifying Feasible Locations for Wetland Creation or Restoration in Catchments by Suitability Modelling Using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Water, 10 (4), 1−15.w10040464.

Mõisja, K.; Oja,T.; Uuemaa, E.; Hastings, J. T. (2017). Completeness and classification correctness of features on topographic maps: An analysis of the Estonian basic map. Transactions in GIS, 30(5), 954-968, DOI:10.1111/tgis.12257  

Aavik, T.; Talve, T.; Thetloff, M.; Uuemaa,E.; Oja, T. (2017). Genetic consequences of landscape change for rare endemic plants – A case study of Rhinanthus osiliensis. Biological Conservation, 210,125−135, 10.1016/j.biocon.2017.04.016. 1.1. 

Uuemaa E., Oja T. (2017) Mapping the Abstractions of Forest Landscape Patterns. In: Remmel T., Perera A. (eds) Mapping Forest Landscape Patterns. Springer, New York, NY, doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7331-6_6

Mõisja, K.; Uuemaa, E.; Oja T.(2016). Integrating small-scale landscape elements into land use/cover: The impact on landscape metrics’ values. Ecological Indicators, 67, 714−722,10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.03.033.