Agricultural drainage in Lithuania: a review of practices and environmental effects

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of Lithuania, showing the location of the studied rivers and drainage research sites mentioned in the analysis. (Symbols in the legend: 1 – rivers and streams; 2 – lakes; 3 – river water monitoring site; 4 – drainage water monitoring site; 5–8 – percentage distribution of drained agricultural area: 5 – below 65%; 6 – 65%–75%; 7 – 75%–85%; 8 – over 85%).

Figure 2. Overall ditch density in drained area (Povilaitis 2001).

Figure 3. The dynamics of the installation of subsurface drainage systems (Povilaitis et al. 2011).

Figure 4. Land productivity extra points gained due to drainage in different Lithuanian administrative districts (a); and the relationship between common income (black dots) and the income from crop cultivation (hollow dots) against land productivity points (b).

Figure 5. Zones of economic benefit due to land drainage.

Figure 6. Seasonal distribution of mean air temperature (left) and tile-drainage run-off (right) from 1969 to 2009.

Table 1. Average annual leaching of nutrients (kg ha⁻¹) via drainage systems from various cropping systems^a on gleic cambisols between 1995 and 2003 (Bučienė et al. 2007).

	CON		INTG		OB		GR		REF
Year according to water abundance	NO3−N	Ptot	NO3−N	Ptot	NO3−N	Ptot	NO3−N	Ptot	NO3−N	Ptot
Moderate	36.9	0.12	21.0	0.11	20.2	0.09	4.2	0.14	12.7	0.11
Dry	13.6	0.08	14.8	0.06	4.7	0.11	3.1	0.13	3.6	0.10
Wet	69.9	0.44	68.0	0.44	69.1	0.32	4.0	0.44	61.5	0.26

^a CON – conventional (intensive) mineral fertilisation system, INTG – integrated application of mineral and organic fertilisers, OB – organic-biological crop management system with application of manure, GR – perennial grasses with moderate application of mineral fertilisers, REF – reference treatment (zero-input).

Table 2. Studies reporting N and P leaching via subsurface drainage systems from fields receiving slurry and liquid manure.

Study site and period of study	Soil type and texture	Land use/Cropping system	Treatment	Fertilisation rate	Concentration in drainage water or leaching load	Citation
Josvainiai, Kėdainiai distr., A = 76 ha; 55°16′N; 23°49′E1976–1977	Endocalcari-endohypogleyic cambisolsSandy loam	Perennial grasses	Slurry	240 kg N ha^−1360 kg N ha^−1480 kg N ha^−1600 kg N ha^−1	Nmin  Ptotmg L^−1  mg L^−10.84  0.421.30  0.952.51  0.583.89  0.99	Aksomaitienė et al. (1978)
Juodkiškis, Kėdainiai distr., A = 5.5 ha; 55°16′N; 24°1′E1990–1993	Endocalcari-endohypogleyic cambisolsSandy loam	Fodder crops: Barley + VetchWinter cropCloverMaize	Slurry	N160P18K114N80P9K57N160P18K114N200P22K142	NO3−N PO4−Pmg L^−1 mg L^−110–14 0.04–0.11	Stukonytė (1996)
Juodkiškis, Kėdainiai distr., A = 6.46 ha; 55º17′N; 24º1′E1990–1993	Endocalcari-endohypogleyic cambisolsSandy loam	Perennial grasses	SlurryDrain spacing: 20 m15 m10 m	Irrigation rate 200 × 3 m^3 ha^−1	Ntot  Ptotmg L^−1 mg L^−113.9  0.349.8  0.129.9  0.13	Aškinis et al. (1999)
Juodkiškis, Kėdainiai distr., A = 1.62 ha; 55°17′N; 24°1′E1995–1997	Endocalcari-endohypogleyic cambisolsSandy loam	Vegetables	Slurry + min. fertilisers	40+N60P90K12080+N60P90K120120+N60P90K120N60P90K120	Kg Nha^−1 kg Pha^−118–45  0.10–0.3921–33  0.14–0.27	Čizauskiene et al. (1998); Čižauskienė and Misevičienė (2001)
Juodkiškis, Kėdainiai distr., A = 4.86 ha;. 55°17′N; 24°1′E1995–1998	Endocalcari-endohypogleyic cambisolsSandy loam	Sugar beetsBarley + undersowingPerennial grassesSummer rape	Mineral fertilisersLiquidmanure	N232P75K230N44P39K63N0P0K0N66P33K108	Kg Nha^−1kg Pha^−132.1   0.106.2   0.0411.0   0.0526.3   0.10	Aškinis and Misevičienė (2003)
Juodkiškis, Kėdainiai distr., A = 1.62 ha; 55°17′N; 24°1′E1999–2003	Endocalcari-endohypogleyic cambisolsSandy loam	Summer wheat + undersowingRed cloverRed cloverSugar beetSummer rape	SolidManure	N62P29K103N41P16K29N74P32K80N198P74K238N67P56K59	Kg Nha^−1kg Pha^−18.6   0.0128.5   0.044.8   0.0320.60.0300	Misevičienė (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Šukioniai, Pakruojis distr., A = 6.73 ha;55°56′N;23°44′E2008–2012‘Pirmasis ūkis’,Kėdainiai distr., A = 27.1 ha; 55°23′N; 23°49′E2008–2012	Endocalcari cambisolsSandy loam/loamEndocalcari-epihypogleyi cambisolsSandy loam	Maize for feedingMaize for feeding	SolidmanureSolid manure	167 kg N ha^−128 kg P ha^−1169 kg N ha^−129 kg P ha^−1	Ntot  Ptotmg L^−1  mg L^−10.4–200.1–0.243.0–240.02–0.46	Misevičienė (2012, 2013)Misevičienė (2013)

Figure 7. Dependence of sedimentation rate (Δh, diamonds) and sediment organic matter percentage (OM, squares) in ditches on the density of slope woody vegetation (D). ‘Antennae’ mark SE and thin solid and dotted lines mark the confidence bounds of regressions at p = 0.05 (Lamsodis, Morkūnas et al. 2006).

Figure 8. Snowdrift profiles formed in the Pakruostė-4 ditch in 1996. 1–4 – profiles measured on 22 January, 14 February and 6 and 20 March; grey fields mark rough spaces overgrown by trees; stem density averages 1.2 ps. m^–2; height of trees averages 5.4 m over upper edges of slopes (Vaikasas & Lamsodis 2007).

Figure 9. Two views of the same stretch of Graisupis-1 ditch demonstrating: (a) suppressing effect of trees 12 years after planting on growth of bed vegetation, taken in 2005 (photo: V. Poškus); and (b) field shelterbelt formed over ditch channel over 16 years, taken in 2009 (photo: R. Lamsodis).

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