Expediency of the reconstruction of drainage systems

Abstract

In Lithuania, originally wet and swampy lands cover about 3.5 million hectares. By 2011 2.98 million hectares of wet and waterlogged lands, of which 2.58 million ha are agricultural lands, were drained in Lithuania. Lately, because of social, demographic and economic reasons, significant areas of drained lands were no longer used in agricultural production, they became neglected and drainage systems became unsupervised. Around 7% of drained areas in Lithuania are of poor reclamation condition because of defective drainage systems. The major investment is necessary for their reconstruction therefore it is so important to define the expediency of restoration. Areas, where it is appropriate / inappropriate to restore drainage systems (depending on the economic benefits derived from agricultural production and rural development strategies), are set out in the paper.

Drainage reconstruction in the zone of excessive moisture during the cultivation of blueberries on poorly water-permeable clay soils

“…In Ukraine, as in a number of other countries [5], [6], a significant number of drainage systems are operated, which, due to climate change, failure of individual drainage elements or a change in the purpose of the territory, do not fully provide drainage functions. With limited funding or in other cases, for example, if there is a desire to preserve perennial plantings, only part of the drainage system may be reconstructed.…”

“…Therefore, for the successful use of the territories with built, but faulty drainage, it is necessary to carry out restoration work, which will ensure the optimal water regime of soils, and, accordingly, agricultural production at the required level. The issues of expediency of carrying out the reconstruction of drainage systems from an economic point of view are described in [5], and the use of systems with selective drainage in the reconstruction of drainage in the zone of Ukrainian Polissya is given in [6]. In addition to economic benefits, the reconstruction of drainage systems is often necessary to preserve the natural environment, in particular, from the negative factors of waterlogging in the drainage system itself and in the territories adjacent to it.…”

Delineation Lithuanian agricultural land for agro-ecological suitability for farming using soil and terrain criteria

“…According to Jarašiūnas and Kinderienė (2016), also Jarasiunas (2016), agricultural land suitability for farming in Lithuania is determined mostly by soil properties and topographical terrain features. The suitability of the territories for agricultural production is one of the most important criteria for the selection of measures necessary for the differentiation of the justification of the development of rural areas (Gurklys, Kvaraciejus, 2013;Kuyvenhoven, 2004). Comparatively, poor natural conditions for agriculture guarantee lower farm incomes and may force them to abandon farming (Rudow, 2014;Jarašiūnas, Kinderienė, 2015).…”

Improvement technology of water regulation and methods of calculating the parameters of modular drainage systems on the lands of the humid zone

“…Climate change must also be taken into account. So, the current state of water management systems in the humid zone requires new effective approaches to both construction and reconstruction [1][2][3][4], as well as to the design of regulatory drainage networks [5].…”