Nutrient Management in Agricultural Watersheds
 – A Wetlands Solution

Overview 

Intensification of agriculture over the last five decades has caused both point and non-point source loss of nutrients such as nitrogen (N)and phosphorous (P) from agriculture. Nutrient loss from agriculture has contributed to eutrophicaton of water resources. Prevention and mitigation of nutrient loss from agriculture requires control of source and transportation factors at field, farm and watershed/catchment scales. There is a continuing need to develop and adopt appropriate measures to increase efficacy of nutrient management in reducing loads to aquatic systems. Thus, it is necessary to consider nutrient retention alternatives such as wetlands at a range of scales within agricultural watersheds. Wetland systems have shown that they retain nutrients at field, farm and watershed/catchment scales through both research and operational treatment systems. Thus, wetlands are increasingly being incorporated as components of watershed nutrient management and wastewater treatment systems. 

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Purpose

The Symposium will provide a forum for synthesis and interpretation of current status on the role of wetlands to improve water quality in agricultural catchments. It recognizes the interdisciplinary nature of the topic, the diversity of researchers from scientific and engineering disciplines, need to synthesize research information on current understanding of wetlands, need to transfer basic research information to managers involved in solving applied problems and to identify future directions for design and management of treatment wetlands.  

The Symposium goals include: 

• To synthesize research information and current understanding of wetland functions in catchment management at a range of scales.

• To improve understanding of nutrient dynamics within wetland systems.

• Emphasize the role of wetlands as an integral part of nutrient management at field, farm and catchment scales.

• To identify future wetland research requirements.

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 Structure

The symposium will have invited presentations by international experts and volunteered poster presentations of research conducted on various topics including: current approaches to nutrient management in catchments, function and values of wetlands, wetland biogeochemistry, constructed wetlands (CWs) and their implications for catchment water quality policy and management. Presentations will provide American and European perspectives on the role of wetlands within agricultural catchments. Poster sessions will include volunteered presentations on specific case studies of various aspects and types of wetlands relevant to the goals of the Symposium. A panel discussion during the final session will evaluate extent to which the Symposium has achieved its goals and provide a summary of major findings.  

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Topics

Agricultural Watersheds

• Nutrient inputs

• Current management practices

• On-site remediation

Wetlands – Functions and Values in Watersheds

• Overview

• Wetlands in Europe

• Wetlands in the USA

Wetland Biogeochemistry

• Nutrient dynamics in wetland systems

• Long-term sustainability of wetlands for phosphorus retention

• Water quality

Wetlands in Agricultural Watersheds

• Integration of wetland systems into agricultural watersheds to retain non-point source P

• Benefits i.e. ecological, social and cultural, of integrating wetland systems into agricultural landscapes

Constructed Wetlands (CWs)

• Nutrient management and integration of CWs to treat agricultural wastewater

• Design criteria for agricultural application

• Codes of good practice and management of CW systems

Policy

• European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and potential benefits of wetlands in water quality management at watershed scales

• Water quality policy/legislation and its application to agriculture.

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Who Should Attend?

The symposium is designed to bring together leading international scientists, engineers, managers and regulators to critically summarize and evaluate state-of-the-art research on wetlands for water quality improvement, with special emphasis on agricultural catchments.

Attendee space will be strictly limited to 150.

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Call for Abstracts

Potential Symposium participants are invited to submit abstracts for poster and oral presentations on Symposium topics no later than March 1, 2004. Abstracts MUST be submitted electronically via this symposium web site. 

NOTE: Both oral and poster presenters will be expected to submit an abstract for publication in the symposium abstract book and they will be expected to submit a full manuscript for publication in the symposium book of proceedings.

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Tentative Agenda

Tuesday, 25 May 2004

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Registration Information

Registration Fees
All figures are presented in US dollars ($).

The registration fee, combined with sponsorship funds, provides attendees with one copy of the symposium book of abstracts, a poster session reception, daily lunches, daily mid-morning and afternoon refreshment breaks along with workshop participation.

Proceedings of symposium, which will include manuscripts based on talks and poster presentations, will be published in book format in December 2004 and will be mailed to each participant.

Refund Policy: Requests for registration refunds will be honored if the Office of Conferences and Institutes (OCI) receives written notification of cancellation on or before April 30, 2004. A $50 processing fee will be deducted from all conference refunds. A $25 processing fee will be deducted from all student refunds. No refunds will be honored for cancellations after April 30, 2004.

Special Needs: Participants with special needs can be reasonably accommodated by contacting Teagasc Research Center, Johnstown Castle, Wexford at least 10 working days prior to the conference. Please contact Ms. Eleanor Spillane by phone at 011-353-53-71269, or by fax at
011-353-53-42213.

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Meeting Site

Teagasc, Johnstown Castle Research Centre, undertakes national research on soils and the environment. In addition, it provides the Teagasc Analytical Services Laboratory for soil, herbage, water and general agricultural materials. It has a proven record of more than 40 years, as a major research centre of international status.

The research programme at Johnstown Castle focuses on managing soils using GIS (geographical information systems), researching strategies to reduce pollution from agriculture sources, establishing databases on heavy metal and micropollutant levels in soil, minimising phosphorus and nitrogen losses from agriculture to water resources, improving efficency of nitrogen use in agricultural systems, and developing agricultural practices that promote farmland wildlife and habitats.

Teagasc Johnstown Castle employes over 90 highly qualified and trained staff. Expertise encompasses soil and plant sciences, agronomy, organic farming, agricultural ecology, analytical, organic and inorganic chemistry. The research centre has a range of facilities. 250 hectares of the estate are devoted to measuring environmental impact of dairy and beef production systems. Resources include fully equipped research and service laboratories, which deal with all major and trace elements, an experimental series of lysimeters, representing major Irish soil types, a mini-catchment where water movement and balances are measured, growth chambers, glasshouses and land resources for design and conduction of small plot to large scale field experiments.

Johnstown Castle was built between 1810 and 1855. Features of the grounds include lakes, woodlands, walled gardens and an Italian Garden. Attractive early nineteenth century farm buildings house the Irish Agricultural Museum where a variety of old horticultural implements are on display.

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Hotel Accommodations

The Talbot Hotel is offering a special group rate of
55 Euro (not US Dollars) per person sharing a room including breakfast. A couple sharing will be 110 Euro inclusive. All rooms have a double bed and a single bed in them. Reservations must be made by January 10, 2004 to receive the special rates. Please be aware that the small block of guest rooms may fill before the deadline, therefore, we urge you to make your reservation at your earliest convenience and state that you are a Nutrient Management Symposium participant.

To make reservations, please contact Maria O'Rourke, Reservations Manager at the Talbot Hotel by email: maria@talbothotel.ie; by phone: 011-353-53-22566 or
fax: 011-353-53-23377. Credit Cards and checks will be accepted. The hotel will not be accepting any online reservations due to the group block setup.

For your convenience the Universal Currency Converter to help with the exchange rate for the Euro can be found at: http://www.xe.com/ucc/

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Post Symposium Field Trip (Optional)

An optional field trip will be conducted on Wednesday afternoon of the last symposium day. The objective of the field trip is to illustrate some innovations in constructed wetland science in Ireland. Various constructed wetland sites will be visited in the Anne Valley, Co. Waterford. Application of constructed wetlands to improve water quality at these sites will range from farm to industrial scales. Other sites will include wetlands constructed as components of riverine ecological restoration within an agricultural watershed. Also some natural wetland sites such as bogs, fens and coastal marshes may be visited.

The symposium registration fees will cover costs of field trip, which includes transportation. All participants should indicate on their registration form if they are interested in attending. If you have additional questions, please contact R. Harrington, National Parks & Wildlife Service, Department of Environment and Local Government, Dublin, Ireland
EMAIL: rharrington@duchas.ie

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Symposium Sponsors

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Organizing Committee

O. T. Carton, Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
  EMAIL: ocarton@johnstown.teagasc.ie

K. R. Reddy, Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida / IFAS, Gainesville, FL, USA
  EMAIL: KRR@ifas.ufl.edu

R. Harrington, National Parks & Wildlife Service, Department of Environment and Local Government, Dublin, Ireland
  EMAIL: rharrington@duchas.ie

E. Dunne, Department of Environmental Resource Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Belfield, Dublin 4, and Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
  EMAIL: EJDunne@ifas.ufl.edu  -or- edunne@johnstown.teagasc.ie 

N. Culleton, Teagasc Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
    EMAIL: nculleton@johnstown.teagasc.ie

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Area Information

- Ireland's best online portal for all accommodations, car rental, flights and ferry reservations.

- Discover Ireland is packed with hundreds of accommodation offers from across the country and invaluable information to help you plan your break.

- The Complete Guide to County Wexford

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Contact Information

Program Information

O. T. Carton
Teagasc Research Centre, Johnstown Castle
Ph: 00-353-53-42888
Fax: 00-353-53-42213
Email: ocarton@johnstown.teagasc.ie

E. Dunne
Soil and Water Science Department
University of Florida / IFAS
Gainesville, FL USA
Ph: (352) 392-1804
Fax: (352) 392-3399
Email: EJDunne@ifas.ufl.edu -or-
            edunne@johnstown.teagasc.ie

K. R. Reddy
Soil and Water Science Department
University of Florida / IFAS
Gainesville, FL USA
Phone: (352) 392-1803, x317
Fax: (352) 392-3399
Email: krr@ifas.ufl.edu

Registration Information

Sharon Borneman
Office of Conferences and Institutes
University of Florida / IFAS
Gainesville, FL USA
Ph: (352) 392-5930
Fax: (352) 392-9734
Email: spborneman@ifas.ufl.edu

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