Abstract
Most of the natural wetlands in agricultural landscapes have been drained to gain arable land. This has resulted in a severe loss of biodiversity and nutrient retention in agricultural watersheds. Measures are now taken to counteract this by creating new wetlands in the agricultural areas. This project is designed to produce knowledge that is critical for achieving the expected environmental goals. This project will answer the questions: (1) How are biodiversity and plant composition linked in constructed wetlands in the agricultural landscape? (2) How is ecosystem functioning (specifically retention of phosphorus and nitrogen) linked to biodiversity and vegetation composition in these wetlands? (3) How can ecosystem functioning and biodiversity be optimised in these wetlands? Plant and macroinvertebrate species composition, and microbial diversity, are investigated in 36 constructed wetlands of similar morphology and nutrient load, but differing in age and plant composition. Development of plant species composition and biodiversity will also be followed in 18 experimental wetlands. Ecosystem functioning and underlying biogeochemical processes will be studied in some of the constructed wetlands as well as in the experimental wetlands. The obtained data will be analysed for interactions between biodiversity, plant composition and ecosystem functioning. Guidelines for wetland construction and management will be developed based on the obtained results.
Sweden