Themes & Topics

Themes and Topics

Contributions are solicited according to the following themes, themes A through I.

Themes

A.. Increasing our understanding of ‘systems function’: research, tools and methodologies to increase understanding and improving modelling of the hydro(geo)logical, geochemical and biochemical processes

B.. Water quality monitoring: improving the effectiveness and increasing the added value of monitoring – use of new sensor techniques, remote sensing, improved (meta)data management, analysis and interpretation, modelling and generalisation of observations, and assessment of status and trends

C.. Impact of weather variability and climate change on water quality: assessment of impact on land use, groundwater and surface water quality

D.. Assessment of national or regional policy: effectiveness of programmes of measures on water quality on a regional and national scale

E.. Improving water quality by farm management practices: research (monitoring and modelling) at plot, field and catchment scales to quantify the effects of farming practices and changes in land use

F.. Improving water quality by establishing eco-technological mitigation measures: development, testing, implementation and operation at plot, field and catchment scales to quantify the effects of structural measures

G.. Managing protected areas for water supply and nature conservation: risk assessment techniques, monitoring and modelling of water quality and quantity for the protection of (a) water resources for drinking water supply, and (b) groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems

H.. Decision-making on Programmes of Measures: the role of stakeholder input and science in policy decision-making

I.. Implementation of Programmes of Measures: social and economic incentives and regulatory mandates that drive implementation (carrots and sticks), catchment officers, etc.

Special Sessions

In addition to Themes A through I it is also possible to submit abstracts to three Special sessions, namely:

Session S1.. Special Session on Monitoring, modelling and mitigating effects of the green shift on water and nature
Session S2.. Special Session to review current approaches and measures for protection of drinking water resources against nitrate and pesticide pollution in the EU (FAIRWAY)
Session S3.. Special Session on Real-time water quality monitoring: From scientific play tool to applications in real-life world of water quality management

For details on Special Sessions refer to webpage Special Sessions

Topics per theme

The topics listed within a theme are intended as an indication for the subjects relevant for a theme, without the intention to be limitative for a given theme.

 

A.. Increasing our understanding of ‘systems function’: research, tools and methodologies to increase understanding and improving modelling of the hydro(geo)logical, geochemical and biochemical processes.

Tools and methods to describe and increase knowledge about processes (water and mass flux, and chemical and biological reactions of pollutants) are a pre-requisite for sound and effective monitoring, modelling and predicting the effectiveness of programmes of measures on water quality.

A.1

Transport and transformation of nutrients, pesticides, other agrochemicals and heavy metals in groundwater, unsaturated zone, surface waters; field to catchment scale.

A.2

Slow response (time lag) of natural systems (soil, groundwater, surface waters) – the influence of historical pollution linked with long travel times will lead to delayed future water quality improvements and lack of acceptance for measures.

A.3

Groundwater–surface water interactions; field to catchment scale.

A.4

Effect of changes in groundwater quantity on groundwater and surface water quality.

A.5

Source apportionment of inorganic compounds; contribution of agricultural, natural, and other sources of nutrients, and heavy metals.

A.6

Source apportionment of organic compounds; contribution of agricultural, natural, and other sources of pesticides and other organic substances, and other xenobiotics.

A.7

Biological, hydrological and physical interactions and water quality management options.

A.8

Denitrification – spatial and temporal variability in denitrification capacity and impact on concentration of solutes (e.g. nitrate, sulphate, trace metals) in soil, groundwater and surface waters.

A.9

Groundwater – terrestrial ecosystems interactions, impact of nutrients, pesticides, other agrochemicals and heavy metals, and water abstraction by agriculture.

A.10

Microplastics and other agricultural land use related emerging contaminants and the water environment – source, loads and risk for transfer of contaminants to groundwater and surface waters.

A.11

Leaching potential of various fertiliser types, including comparison between animal manure, processed manure and chemical fertilisers.

A.12

Swapping of nutrients when introducing new management measures on agricultural land.

 

B.. Water quality monitoring: improving the effectiveness and increasing the added value of monitoring – use of new sensor techniques, remote sensing, improved (meta)data management, analysis and interpretation, modelling and generalisation of observations, and assessment of status and trends.

Monitoring networks provide data essential for the evaluation of programmes of measures. Monitoring is inherently conservative as changes in set-up – such as changes in number and place of locations and sampling frequency – or changes in methods of sampling and chemical analysis may lead to misleading results or the loss of the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of programmes of measures. However, tightening budgets and new policy issues require monitoring networks and programmes to be adapted. New techniques may contribute to a more efficient monitoring system as well as provide data needed to address new issues. Good data management and data quality assurance and control (QA/QC) are an indispensable integral attribute of monitoring.

B.1

Sensor techniques, e.g. on-line sensors for high frequency or high-density monitoring and supportive modelling of nutrients in surface water and groundwater.

B.2

Use of models for improving monitoring programmes.

B.3

Remote sensing (RS: drones, aircrafts, satellites) of farm management practices to improve water quality (RS information on soil coverage, tillage intensity, cover cropping, fertiliser application, etc.) and the potential of RS to monitor the implementation of programmes of measures and to provide geospatial information to landscape models.

B.4

Drones – for remote sensing of water quality, e.g. as algae biomass and soil erosion.

B.5

Data management – storage, quality assurance and control (QA/QC), analysis of monitoring data, data trends, load calculation, etc.

B.6

Strategies for adapting monitoring and supportive modelling to developments in political measures and objectives (monitoring networks, parameters, frequencies, etc.).

B.7

Monitoring efficiency, requirements for efficiency and cost reductions – How to do more with less. How to sustain monitoring quality during times of reduced funding.

B.8

Valorisation of water quality monitoring data: development of data analysis methods and strategies to show effect of farm management practices data of monitoring networks, as a cost saving alternative to labour intensive field / plot studies.

 

C.. Impact of weather variability and climate change: assessment of impact on the quality of groundwater and surface waters.

Trends in water quality depend, in addition to agricultural practices, on two major factors, namely weather variability and climate change. These factors may result in change of land use (different crops, acreage of agricultural land, etc.). Though weather variability and climate change are important and will also be considered in LuWQ2021, the primary focus of LuWQ2021 is on the effect on water quality, on all scales, including the global, national and local scale. Effects from changes on land use due to climate change or climate change mitigation policies can interfere with water quality protection measures and/or their effect on water quality, especially due to changes in crop patterns.
Also year-to-year variability in weather may mask improvements in water quality as a consequence of policy actions, while climate change may hamper or strengthen water quality improvements achieved due to programmes of measures. These effects can lead to wrong conclusions about the effectiveness of the programmes of measures or challenge the choices of measures.
To arrive at sound conclusions, models should be able to distinguish between effects caused by human activities and effects due to weather variability. In addition, well-founded knowledge on the effects of climate change on water quality is essential for making science-based predictions of the effectiveness of programmes of measures.

C.1

Assessment of climate change effects on transport and biochemical processes of nutrients, pesticides, other agrochemicals and heavy metals in groundwater and surface waters.

C.2

Assessment of climate change effects on changes in crop growth and organic matter (carbon cycle) and their impact on water quality.

C.3

Distinguishing between human activities and climate change/hydrological/weather variability, when analysing trends in water quality and water quantity vis-à-vis water quality issues (focus is on how to identify the impact of human activities).

C.4

Risk and vulnerability assessment of climate change, hydrological/weather variability and extreme events (drought, floods) on water quality.

C.5

Mitigation and adaption strategies to minimise effects of climate change and hydrological/weather variability on water quality.

C.6

Impact of the interaction between climate change and land use changes on environmental flows, i.e. on ‘the quality, quantity, and timing of water flows required to maintain the components, functions, processes, and resilience of aquatic ecosystems which provide goods and services to people’ (World Bank).

C.7

Possible impacts from increasing carbon sequestration on water quality – such as preserving organic rich peat soils by establishing natural hydrology.

 

D.. Assessment of national or regional policy: effectiveness of programmes of measures on water quality on a regional and national scale

Mandates have been promulgated that require governmental agencies to monitor and model water quality in order to assess the effectiveness of regulatory Directives and required River Basin Management plans, regarding nutrients, pesticides and other agriculture-based pollutants, on both regional and national scale. In addition, assessments on international scale are made for evaluation and renegotiation of international policies. This theme focuses on the discussion of methodologies and approaches for surveillance and operational monitoring, modelling for underpinning monitoring results, modelling to forecast future evolution of water quality (including integrated modelling) and the need for additional information.

D.1

Methodologies and approaches of monitoring and / or modelling of effectiveness of programmes of measures on water quality in groundwater and surface waters – rivers, lakes and estuaries, including accounting for the time lag between imposed measures and measured effects.

D.2

Analysis of uncertainty in monitoring and modelling of effectiveness of programmes of measures on water quality.

D.3

Assessment of the effectiveness of programmes of measures on water quality in nature conservation areas affected by atmospheric deposition of agriculture-based pollutants.

D.4

Assessment of the influence of a circular economy (agriculture) and/or of greening energy resources on water quality.

D.5

Is there life after 2027? What if the final deadline of the European Water Framework Directive to reach “good status” for all European water by 2027 is not met?

D.6

Developments (progress) in use of models, including conceptual models, for data interpretation of monitoring networks.

D.7

Use of models, including integrated models, for prediction of effects on water quality of on-going and future programmes of measures and for gap analysis.

D.8

Development of modelling frameworks for integrated spatial assessment of environment, production and economic implication of land use.

D.9

Development of modelling frameworks and methods to designate areas where ground and surface waters are vulnerable to agriculture-based pollution.

D.10

Comparison of derogation and non-derogation areas or vulnerable and non-vulnerable zones concerning effectiveness of measures.

D.11

Nutrient balancing (field, farm, catchment scales) as a tool to improve water quality.

D.12

Is there a need for additional information and knowledge to underpin or assess the effect of international, national or regional policy on water quality?

 

E.. Improving water quality by farm management practices: research (monitoring and modelling) at plot, field and catchment scales to quantify the effects of farming practices and changes in land use.

To underpin specific farm management measures, research has to be carried out to show the effects of specific farming practices (use of catch crops; amount, methods and timing of application of fertilisers and manure; grassland renewal; etc.) and changes in land use on water quality. This theme deals with the research perspective, approaches and results of investigative monitoring (Water Framework Directive), field studies and modelling (including case studies) to show the effectiveness of specific farming practices or changes in land use incorporated or to be incorporated in programmes of measures. The scale of the studies is often at the plot or field level, but may include studies at farm or catchment scale.

E.1

Land conversion; quantifying effects of conversion of agricultural land to other land uses on water quality.

E.2

Multifunctional land consolidation (planned readjustment and rearrangement of land parcels and their ownership); quantifying combined economic, environmental (water quality), biodiversity, recreational and rural development effects.

E.3

Crop rotation and soil management; quantifying effects of grassland management, arable crop rotation and different soil tillage strategies.

E.4

The soil-water-plant system, quantifying water pollution as a consequence of use of nutrients, pesticides and heavy metals.

E.5

Non-structural Best Management Practices (BMP) to mitigate the effects of agriculture on water quality, such as, minimal tillage, new fertilisation techniques, various fertiliser types and precision agriculture (improving both water quality and productivity), including the quantification of contaminant losses under BMP.

E.6

Assessment of optimal land use (agricultural use) for water quality protection in relation to environmental (physical and chemical) boundary conditions and/or in relation to the protection of ecosystem services.

E.7

Management and monitoring of agricultural point sources of pollution, for example, farmyard run-off and leaching from temporary manure deposits.

E.8

Prediction of the effects on water quality of crop cultivation for biomass production as source for renewable energy.

 

F.. Improving water quality by establishing eco-technological mitigation measures: development, testing, implementation and operation at plot, field and catchment scales to quantify the effects of structural measures.

To underpin specific management goals for improving water quality in streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs and coastal water, research has to be carried out to show the effects of specific mitigation measures introduced as ‘end of pipe’ control on diffuse losses of sediment, nutrients, pesticides. These include ‘internal measures’ such as controlled drainage as groundwater level management, use of specific types of tile drains for limiting nutrient emissions and saturated buffer zones without loss of land for the construction, as well as ‘external measures’ such as vegetated buffer strips, sedimentation ponds, constructed wetlands of different types, restored wetlands which means the farmer has to give up farmland for construction. It also includes environmental infrastructure aimed at enhancing in-stream values through supplementing flows and levels in water-constrained catchments, such as flow-sharing from irrigation storages and managed aquifer recharge. This theme deals with the research linked to development of new eco-technological mitigation measures, testing of their retention effect for sediment, nutrients, pesticides, etc., their cost-effectiveness (relative to achievement of different policy objectives for water quality) and practical learnings from their full-scale implementation with farmers at field to catchment scale. The scale of the studies is often at the plot or field level, but may include studies at farm or catchment scale.

F.1

Development of new methodologies and technologies for targeted emission-based controls and their effectiveness for removal/retention of sediment, nutrients, pesticides, and other substances.

F.2

Experiences with implementation of best mitigation measures on commercial farms – needs for management, renewal of material, etc.

F.3

Comparison of effectiveness/efficiency and cost effectivity of mitigation measures.

F.4

Sharing knowledge on implementation of mitigation measures – potentials and barriers, as well as the perception by farmers of such new mitigation measures including needs for management, information, investment, and land reallocation.

 

G.. Managing protected areas for water supply and nature conservation: risk assessment techniques, monitoring and modelling of water quality and quantity for the protection of (a) water resources for drinking water supply, and (b) groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems.

Water quality monitoring is required for many protected areas. Protected areas include bodies of surface water and groundwater used for water abstraction for drinking water production, and groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems. This theme also deals with problems of classification of the ecological status of waters, in other words, the ecological quality of waters in comparison to reference conditions with respect to the biological quality elements, the hydro-morphological quality elements and the physico-chemical quality elements.

G.1

Drinking water supply areas; observing and predicting quality and quantity – as far as relevant for quality – of groundwater and surface water in abstraction areas.

G.2

Aquatic ecosystems; observing and predicting changes in eutrophication and ecological status of fresh and marine waters (biodiversity), and the development of improved metrics of ecosystem health.

G.3

Chemical water quality as predictor for ecological status.

G.4

Terrestrial ecosystems: observing and predicting water quality in wetlands and nature areas with agriculture related atmospheric N deposition.

G.5

Management options to mitigate effects on water quality in protected areas, including cooperation between local governments, water supply companies and farmers.

G.6

Water quality protection versus water purification for management of nutrients and agrochemicals in drinking water supply areas (safe guard zones).

G.7

Designation and management of protection zones within nitrate vulnerable areas (NVZ) with use of additional measures.

G.8

Modelling delayed effects (time lag) in slowly responding groundwater systems.

 

H.. Decision-making on Programmes of Measures: the role of stakeholder input and science in policy decision-making.

Political, social and economic aspects play an important role in designing new programmes of measures, in decision-making, and in implementation of programmes of measures. Natural and social scientists evaluate programmes of measures based on results of research, monitoring and modelling. However, it is governments and members of parliament that discuss and decide on new measures and tightening of existing regulations. What is the role and the importance of targets groups (stakeholders) and science in this debate in the political arena?

H.1

The influence of science in the political debate; experiences and reflections on the science-policy interface.

H.2

Policy evaluation and development of programmes of measures; difference between countries in ways to abate pollution, examples of national/state policy design and decision-making.

H.3

Pros and cons of involving policy makers and stakeholders in monitoring and research.

H.4

Pros and cons of involving farmers in decision making on programmes of measures.

 

I.. Implementation of Programmes of Measures: social and economic incentives and regulatory mandates that drive implementation (carrots and sticks), catchment officers, etc.

Multiple forces play important roles in the success or failure of programmes of measures to realise the water quality goals set in advance. This theme focuses on different strategies employed by different governing bodies, including case studies of successful and failed implementation strategies. Implementation options can be adaptive and involve farmers and other stakeholders in monitoring, research and adaptive management.

I.1

Socio-economic opportunities and constraints of implementing programmes of measures, successes and failures.

I.2

The relationship between willingness of farmers to implement programmes of measures and the extent of farmer input to science and policy leading to lay down programmes of measures.

I.3

Cost effectiveness of measures (including, for example, the role of EU support schemes for the agricultural sector); costs of implementation and maintenance.

I.4

Use and development of user-friendly conjunctive models (surface and groundwater) for policy makers to analyse water resources and demands.

I.5

Use of ‘carrots’ (voluntary measures, training courses, economic instruments, and governance arrangements for cost-effective water management) or ‘sticks’ (laws, regulations and other mandatory instruments) to reach good chemical status of groundwater and surface waters.

I.6

Experiences and evaluations of successes and failures of decision support, implementation and payment and/or reward mechanisms at catchment, national and cross-national level.