Drainage in Sweden -the past and new developments
Land drainage in Sweden has been regulated in various laws since the Middle Ages. The lowering of lake surfaces and the ditching of wetlands has been considered a valuable task to gain cultivable land, and more recently, to promote forest growth. However, in recent years the debate surrounding drain...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B, Soil and Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2019.1586991 |
| Summary: | Land drainage in Sweden has been regulated in various laws since the Middle Ages. The lowering of lake surfaces and the ditching of wetlands has been considered a valuable task to gain cultivable land, and more recently, to promote forest growth. However, in recent years the debate surrounding drainage in forests has been a matter of considerable discussion. The dry and hot summer of 2018 has awakened new views on the subject. Monitoring has shown an exceptionally low groundwater levels countrywide. Especially the islands of Öland and Gotland have faced groundwater shortages and the groundwater levels are still low in both small and large aquifers. Drainage within forest land has lacked any scientific basis until rather recently. Still, it has been a supported activity during the twentieth century. However, this has gradually as knowledge on the activity has increased and the ecology of downstream water bodies has been considered. Today, only the rinsing of existing drainage is actively practised, and it is surrounded by a number of recommendations which are still under discussion. |
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| ISSN: | 0906-4710 1651-1913 |