Plenary Presentations, Tuesday, June 23Room: Ballroom C/D Tuesday, 8:00 - 9:00 AM |
| 8:00-9:00AM Wetlands in agricultural landscapes: how to combine nutrient retention and biodiversity.
Prof. Dr. Jos T.A. Verhoeven
Introduction by Dr. Chris Craft The nutrient retention service of wetlands in agricultural landscapes has been widely recognized and is supported by good scientific evidence in several parts of the world. Often, the conservation or restoration of riparian forests, flow-through wetlands or pond-ditch systems is driven by the dual purpose of nutrient retention and biodiversity enhancement. Recent studies have addressed biodiversity of such wetlands at different scales (i.e. alpha, beta and gamma diversity) and have combined studies of vegetation, fauna and microbial communities. The results give guidance for the size and density of wetlands in the landscape optimal from a biodiversity perspective. Further relevant issues in this respect include critical loading rates, the role of pulsing and the overall water quality effects in the catchment. |
Room: Exhibit Hall A Tuesday, 6:30-9:00 PM |
| 6:30-9:00PM The Great Lakes Water Wars
Mr. Peter Annin
Introduction by Becky Abel Author Peter Annin, a former Newsweek correspondent, delves into the long history of political maneuvers and water diversion schemes that have proposed sending Great Lakes water everywhere from Akron to Arizona, and even Asia. Through the prism of the past Annin analyzes the future of Great Lakes water diversion schemes, which now rests on the Great Lakes Compact signed by the President in 2008. The Compact, which lays out how much water can be taken and who can take it, is a ban on water diversions from the Great Lakes, with limited exceptions. |