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Article

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

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Water Resources Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
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ENV Consulting, Coleraine, Co. Derry BT51, Northern Ireland
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Department of Land Use and Improvement, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague 16000, Czech Republic
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Leisurelands B.V., Arnhem 6825 JC, The Netherlands
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Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency, 26506 Norden, Germany
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Alterra, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen 6708 PB, The Netherlands
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Iain Gordon
Sustainability 2016, 8(5), 440; https://doi.org/10.3390/su8050440
Received: 31 December 2015 / Revised: 21 April 2016 / Accepted: 22 April 2016 / Published: 4 May 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Irrigation and Drainage)
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. View Full-Text
Keywords: ecosystem services; grassland; EU Green Infrastructure; peatland; water management; drainage; irrigation; economics ecosystem services; grassland; EU Green Infrastructure; peatland; water management; drainage; irrigation; economics
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MDPI and ACS Style

Ritzema, H.; Kirkpatrick, H.; Stibinger, J.; Heinhuis, H.; Belting, H.; Schrijver, R.; Diemont, H. Water Management Supporting the Delivery of Ecosystem Services for Grassland, Heath and Moorland. Sustainability 2016, 8, 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8050440

AMA Style

Ritzema H, Kirkpatrick H, Stibinger J, Heinhuis H, Belting H, Schrijver R, Diemont H. Water Management Supporting the Delivery of Ecosystem Services for Grassland, Heath and Moorland. Sustainability. 2016; 8(5):440. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8050440

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ritzema, Henk, Hilary Kirkpatrick, Jakub Stibinger, Hans Heinhuis, Heinrich Belting, Raymond Schrijver, and Herbert Diemont. 2016. "Water Management Supporting the Delivery of Ecosystem Services for Grassland, Heath and Moorland" Sustainability 8, no. 5: 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8050440

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