Water Management Supporting the Delivery of Ecosystem Services for Grassland, Heath and Moorland

Henk Ritzema, Hilary Kirkpatrick, Jakub Stibinger, Hans Heinhuis, Heinrich Belting, Raymond Schrijver and Herbert Diemont
Additional contact information
Henk Ritzema: Water Resources Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
Hilary Kirkpatrick: ENV Consulting, Coleraine, Co. Derry BT51, Northern Ireland
Jakub Stibinger: Department of Land Use and Improvement, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague 16000, Czech Republic
Hans Heinhuis: Leisurelands B.V., Arnhem 6825 JC, The Netherlands
Heinrich Belting: Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency, 26506 Norden, Germany
Raymond Schrijver: Alterra, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
Herbert Diemont: Alterra, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: In the present era, permanent grasslands and other grazed habitats, i.e. , moorlands and heath, are appreciated as avant la lettre green infrastructure (GI) resources, providing a wide range of ecosystem services, the delivery of many of which require water management to be in place. This paper discusses the role of water management and, in particular, that of drainage. We contend that controlled drainage and drainage-irrigation systems can contribute to the sustainable use of grasslands and associated habitats in the European Union. We present examples from a range of habitats in several EU Member States and attempt to identify the contemporary (short-term) costs as well as the short-term revenues covering these costs. Options for enhancing the role of the Green Infrastructure in Europe to achieve sustainable land use by including all “permanent grassland” are discussed.

Keywords: ecosystem services; grassland; EU Green Infrastructure; peatland; water management; drainage; irrigation; economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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