REPORT

Meeting COST action 832: Working group 2

Greenmount College, Antrim, N. Ireland, June 15 & 16, 1998

 

Participants.

Eder

Austria

Violante

Italy

Strauss

Austria

Barberis

Italy

Hens

Belgium

Schoumans

Netherlands (Chairman)

Vanderdelen

Belgium

Chardon

Netherlands

Grant

Denmark

Lundekvam

Norway

Heckrath

Denmark

Gil Sotres

Spain

Hartikainen

Finland

Torrent

Spain

Tattari

Finland

Ulen

Sweden

Meissner

Germany

Stamm

Switzerland (Report)

Deumlich

Germany

Haygarth

United Kingdom

Tunney

Ireland

Folley

United Kingdom

Morgan

Ireland

 

 

  

Agenda.

 

Monday 15th June

09.00 - 9.30

Registration

09.30 - 10.00

Plenary session - Introduction to COST 832 (President)

10.00 - 12.30

Working group sessions - group objectives
introduction of participants

12.30 - 14.00

Lunch

 

Afternoon: working group discussion on four topic areas, after an introduction given by an invited speaker.

14.00 - 14.40

(Fysico-)chemical and biological soil processes
Prof. Dr. Helinä Hartikainen

14.40 - 15.20

Transport Processes, part I. Erosion / surface runoff
Dr. Helge Lundekvan

15.20 - 15.40

Tea break

15.40 - 16.20

Transport Processes, part II Leaching and sub-surface runoff
Prof. Dr. Ralph Meissner*

16.20 - 17.00

Critical load concepts and hydrological risk
Dr. Phil Haygarth*

*A summary of the presentations given by Meissner and Haygarth can be found on this web-site: click on Meissner or Haygarth.

 

Tuesday 16th June

09.00 - 10.00

Working group sessions - development of workplans

10.00 - 12.00

Plenary session - presentation of workplans, final discussions

12.15

Lunch

 

Before the meeting, a short inquiry was made among the persons who had shown interest in WG2. One of the questions was: What are, in your opinion, the most important research questions with respect to measuring and modelling phosphorus losses from agricultural land on a field scale. Based on the answers received, and the discussion on the afternoon of June 15, the following four topics were accepted as the main subjects that should be adressed in this COST action by our working group:

- Soil-P processes

- Erosion and surface runoff

- Leaching

- Critical loads, risk assessment

For each of the four topics, the group agreed on more specific problems to be discussed in more detail in the future (discussion on June 16). To prepare the future discussion in our working group an organization commitee was set-up for each main topic. These commitees will summarize the state-of-the-art for each topic and communicate it in an appropiate form to the rest of the working group. This step is necessary given the diverse scientific background of the group members. Furthermore, the commitees will prepare the discussions on the problems specified for each topic. Below, these problems and the schedule for the work by our group will be summarized.

 

Topic 1: Soil-P processes

Coordinator of the organizing commitee: Maarten Hens
Interested persons: Violante, Barberis, Hartikainen, Vanderdeelen, Torrent, Gil-Sotres, Turner (student working with Haygarth)
Working group meeting for this topic: Spring 1999.

Objectives:
- Summary of the state-of-the-art concerning processes governing the pool of mobile P in the soil.
- Recommendations on how to measure the different P pools in the soil to allow for international comparisons of results.
- Clarify the role of organic P for P losses (this was one of the questions that was discussed most controversily in the group).

 

Topic 2: Erosion and surface runoff

Coordinator of the organizing commitee: Peter Strauss
Interested persons: Folly, Lundekvam, Deumlich, Morgan, Tattari
Working group meeting for this topic: Autumn 1999.

Objectives:
- Evaluate existing (empirical) erosion models with respect to describe P losses.
- To determine the importance of:
* Incidental P losses
* Erosion on grassland
* P losses from "hot spots" in fields.
- Questions that should be adressed together with working group 3 are:
* How to scale up from the field to the catchment scale?
* What is the relevance of in-stream processes?

 

Topic 3: Leaching

Coordinator of the organizing commitee: Ruth Grant
Interested persons: Chardon, Eder, Stamm, Meissner, Ulén, Kurz (student working with Tunney)
Working group meeting for this topic: Autumn 1999.

Objectives:
- Evaluation of models to describe water and P transport in soils at the field scale.
- To assess the relevance of preferential flow for P losses
- To assess the role of backfill material for P losses into subsurface drainage systems
- To make recommendations on how to measure P leaching at the field scale.

 

Topic 4: Critical load & risk assessment

Coordinator of the organizing commitee: Phil Haygarth
Interested persons: Heckrath, Haygarth, Schoumans, Tunney
Working group meeting for this topic: Spring 2000.

Objectives:
- To discuss advantages and disadvantages of different critical load concepts at the field scale. This should be carried out in contact with working group 4.
- To assess the risk for P losses due to different flow processes under different soil and management conditions.