The
institute was established in 1950 as the Institute of Land Reclamation of
Lithuanian Academy of Science. From 1966 the Institute was directly
subordinated to Moscow but it returned to the jurisdiction of Lithuania in
1990.
When Lithuania regained its
independence in 1990, many changes occurred in all spheres of life,
including the field of water management science. The Lithuanian Law on
Science and Studies was adopted to regulate activity of scientific
institutions. Besides the Law the Statute of the Institute regulates our
activity.
Activity of the Institute is
under control of the Institute Council, which consist of nine scientists.
The Council of the Institute elects director of the Institute for a five-year
term. After the election the director is to be approved by the University
Senate. The headquarter of the Institute is in Vilainiai, nearby the city
Kėdainiai in the center of Lithuania.
The Institute got its present
name in 2002, when it was transferred to the subordination of the
Lithuanian University of Agriculture. The Institute is legally independent
and its financing depends on scientific production results.
The main scientific production
includes scientific articles in journals covered by the Institute for
Scientific Information (ISI) and transactions of the Lithuanian University
of Agriculture Water Management Engineering as well as international
and local projects. The Institute is considered as an adviser for politic
makers. Besides, the Institute is involved in education and demonstration
of its activity results for students of universities, agricultural
advisors, environmental inspectors, farmers and others.
The
institute lays down the scientific foundations for water conservation and
runoff management in agricultural territories of Lithuania.
Two main scientific departments
(Department of Water Conservation and Department of Land Reclamation)
carry out research. Two priorities can be identified in our scientific
work:
- Researches
on water pollution from agricultural sources and development of water
conservation methods.
- Researches
on the water regime management in soil, determination of the
scientific background for modernization and maintenance of drainage
systems.
1.
Water pollution from agricultural sources.
About 50 % of nitrogen and 20 % of phosphorus run-off (17984 tones
per year of total nitrogen and 195 tones per year of total
phosphorus) has been estimated to contribute from agriculture of the total
annual load to the main Lithuanian river Nemunas. These figures indicate
that the agricultural sector constitutes a major source for nutrient loads
to surface and ground water in Lithuania. There is an urgent need for
measures to be taken against excess nutrient losses.
Researches
on agricultural non-point source pollution are carried out on small
agricultural watersheds (area of the basin to 20 km2) on three
levels:
Besides
nutrient run-off from crop fields, manure handling, storage and
application is another acute problem of new private farms and agricultural
companies with large animal production. Most of private farmers have no
manure storages at all. The main problems of agricultural companies are
small storage capacity, a big amount of manure to be spread on small area,
very poor quality of manure and slurry spreading.
Another
problem to be solved is rural household waste. Most inhabitants (32 %)
live in small towns and villages. Generally, effluents are treated
mechanically. Treated water quite often passes through a sedimentation
pond before reaching water bodies. Such treatment is inefficient in
nitrogen and phosphorus removal from the effluents (only 10-30 % of the
elements are removed). Large amounts of nutrients enter streams and lakes,
causing severe eutrophication problems.
The
main objective of these investigations is to work out methods and means
for the recycling of nutrients from large animal farms and household waste
so that it might be used on agricultural land. In our research we use
natural waste treatment methods -- plant fertilization, filtration through
a biologically active soil layer, biocompost, pond systems and various
techniques of subsurface drainage construction.
On
the basis of researches proposals for the improvement of regulations,
new technologies are transferred to policy makers and land users.
Land
reform in Lithuania provided us a historical chance to change the kolchoz-type
landscape and improve it. It requires to search for virtually new ways of
realizing the concept of land improvement or to adjust the existing
methods. From this point of view, investigations on the landscape
management were carried out and the computer model was worked out for the
determination of the optimal ratio between the agricultural land and the
area of land to be returned to nature.
Studies
of agricultural impact in vulnerable areas of Lithuania.
The delta of the river Nemunas and karst region are two very sensitive
areas of Lithuania from the ecological point of view.
The
Nemunas river delta is a part of the Baltic Sea coastal zone. The total
area of the river delta is about 2000 km2. 662 km2
of it (the right valley) belong to Lithuania, whereas the left part
belongs to Kaliningrad region (Russia).
From
state-of-the-art point of view it is obvious that all the time most
attention was paid to the development of social sector but not enough to
the others. The latest changes in political, economical and other
activities demand for new solutions.
The
main problem is a complex restoration of the territories under polders. 45
pumping stations, 330 km of dams and 1500 km of ditches are constructed
in
polders, 25700 ha are covered with grass and 6000 ha are under arable land.
If
grasslands were used very intensively in the past, today the situation is
different. After the liquidation of state farms the grass powder
production was stopped and large plots of grasslands were abandoned. The
main task now is to rehabilitate polder systems for economical (agriculture,
recreation, tourism, etc.) development, nature protection and water regime
management taking into account geomorphologic, hydrological, nature
protection, sociological and economical conditions.
The
purpose of today's research is protection of the environmentally sensitive
lowland of the river Nemunas without any reduction of agricultural
production. Currently, the Institute investigates water regime and
agricultural runoff in polders in order to predict changes and effects on
the environment. On the basis of the field experiment data the
agricultural pollution in polders is analyzed using AGNPS (agricultural
non-point-source pollution) model. Considering field experiments, the
modeling recommendations restrictions for land use are elaborated for each
polder.
Another
field of interest is the improvement of technical means for environmental
and economical purposes in polders. Screw pumps are implemented to protect
fish in summer polders. Such pumps use much less energy. Automatic water
control for pump stations is developed for the improvement of water
control in polders.
Another
ecologically sensitive zone is the karst region in the northern part of
Lithuania. This region covers a triangular area between the cities Naujoji
Akmenė, Rokiškis and Krekenava. According to up-to-date hydrological and
geological investigations the karst region is divided into five zones;
according to land use restrictions two zones are distinguished. The
intensive karst zone in Biržai and Pasvalys districts occupies 27 637 ha
; a protective zone of active karst in Biržai, Pasvalys, Panevėžys and
Radviliškis districts covers 165 889 ha.
The
intensive karst zone is divided into four sustainable agriculture areas.
There is a certain land using restriction depending on soil type and its
composition in intensive and protective karst zones. This restriction was
worked out on the basis of field trials. Complex monitoring program in
three karst watersheds with glacial-lacustrive, moraine and sandy loam
soils is implemented. This monitoring program agrees with the agricultural
run-off modeling program AGNPS, therefore we hope to summarize and predict
land use impact on nutrients leaching not only in monitoring watersheds
but also in the whole karst region.
2.
Water regime management in the soil. The research on
water regime in the soil was started in the Institute in the early 1950's.
Draining of wetlands was considered as a necessary means to ensure self-sufficiency
in foodstuffs. Thus drainage research work was of great importance. The
main fields of this work were:
The
objective of today's research is to determine the long-term influence of
climate variation on the surface and ground water flow processes. Various
filter materials for drainage pipes, hydraulic and physical
characteristics of soil profile, influence of drainage systems
construction technology on the functionality of subsurface drainage are
investigated too. A new mathematical model developed in the Institute
enables more exact determination of subsurface drainage parameters and
more even draining of soils.
Cultivation
technique with heavy machines has increased the compaction of soils.
Looking for means to improve water flow conditions in dense soils is among
topical research items, too.
The
Institute contributes to the improvement of technologies and equipment for
maintenance of ditches and subsurface drainage. Rules and regulations for
survey, repair and reconstruction of drainage systems prepared by the
Institute are used all over the country.
Land
reclamation legislation is a work of great importance during country
transfer from central planning to market economy. All land reclamation
systems (ditches, subsurface drainage and its equipment) are state
property and all land reclamation works are financed by the government.
Our Institute together with the Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture is
elaborating the new Law for Land Reclamation. The Law regulates
privatization of land reclamation structures, establishment of drainage
communities, involving farmers to the financing of the maintenance of
ditches and drainage systems.
The
period of the integration into western scientific community is still too
short to achieve significant results, but we hope that our work will
accelerate this process and will help to build a bridge between the
agriculture and the environment in Lithuania.
