**3. Development of ecosystem technologies (ET) in sustainable water management**

In its long history, nature has developed intense self-cleaning and buffering capacities. In the context of ecological sanitation and sustainable water management, the application of technologies that mimic healthy natural ecosystems became vital. These technologies aim to close the loop and return resources back to the source. Their basic characteristics, which can

The AEM are implemented at the national, regional or local levels so that they can be adapted to particular farming systems and specific environmental conditions. Therefore, the agri-environment measures are a targeted tool for achieving environmental goals. The AEM are co-financed by Member States. For the period 2007-2013, the EU expenditure on AEM

In Slovenia agricultural policy started to apply the first measures to support the environment-friendly ways of production in 1999 and after the adoption of the Slovenian agri-environmental programme in 2001. After joining the EU in 2004, the support under agri-environmental programme became part of the Rural Development Programme of the Republic of Slovenia. The area included in the implementation of AEM has been strongly increased after 1999 and in 2008 covered 323,043 ha (gross), or 247,420 ha (net). The share of area with one or several AEM (net) in the period 1999-2008 has increased from 0.6 % to

However, only with adequate water monitoring can the potential impact of mitigation measures under the Water Framework Directive, Nitrate Directive, and AEM is assessed (Iital et al., 2008). Although some national studies regarding the impact of policy on pollutants concentration in waters already exist (Erisman et al., 2001) and some of them has been performed recently (Herzog et al., 2008), there is no international data base that compares the dynamic of implementation of national legislations concerning water quality

In 2009, the European Commission introduced the White Paper on adapting to climate change, presenting the framework for measures and policies to reduce the European Union's vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. The White Paper underlines the need "to promote strategies which increase the resilience to climate change of health, property and the productive functions of land, inter alia by improving the management of water resources and ecosystems." Within this framework, Water Directors of EU Member States adopted in December 2009 a guidance document on adaptation to climate change in water management to ensure that the River Basin Management Plans (RBMP) are climate-proofed. In spite of all these endeavours, the European Environment Agency indicated in its Environment State and Outlook Report 2010 that the attainment of EU water policy objectives is far from certain due to a number of old and emerging challenges. Therefore, the EU policy response to these challenges will be the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe's Water, aiming to ensure good quality water in sufficient quantities for all legitimate uses. The time horizon of the Blueprint is 2020 since it is closely related to the EU 2020 Strategy and, in particular, to planned Resource Efficiency Roadmap. The Blueprint will be the water milestone on the Roadmap. However, the groundwork supporting the Blueprint will take

and the level of water pollution deriving from agriculture in different countries.

**3. Development of ecosystem technologies (ET) in sustainable water** 

In its long history, nature has developed intense self-cleaning and buffering capacities. In the context of ecological sanitation and sustainable water management, the application of technologies that mimic healthy natural ecosystems became vital. These technologies aim to close the loop and return resources back to the source. Their basic characteristics, which can

amounts to nearly 20 billion EUR or 22 % of the expenditure for rural development.

50.2 % of all utilised agricultural area.

longer and will drive the EU policy until at least 2050.

**management** 

be utilised and further improved, are their high buffer and self-protective capacity as well as the provision of habitat diversity. Moreover, these systems have the remediation ability, provide for a high level of biodiversity and higher stability of ecosystems.

Ecosystem technologies or ecoremediations by definition comprise methods of protection and restoration of the environment through natural ecosystem processes. The establishment of ET provides sustainable solutions that contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, pollution reduction, enable nutrient recycling and reuse of material and can be applied in protected and sensitive areas. The functions of ET are based on aquatic, waterside, wetland as well as terrestrial ecosystems' characteristics, such as high water retention capacity, flood prevention, biodiversity as well as specific physical, chemical and biological processes for the reduction of diverse pollutants.

Most ET designs have its origin in the treatment wetlands (TW), ponds, and river restoration where, along with hydraulic, physical, chemical and microbiological processes, phytoremedation also plays an important role. The possibility of applying phytoremediation has become well recognized and integrated in ET development. Yet, the decision on a particular phytoremediation method depends not only on the type of pollutant and the polluted medium, but also on the objectives to be achieved, i.e. reduction, stabilization, sequestration, assimilation, detoxification, mineralization and decomposition.

By applying the ET, a local community or even a small society can play a significant role. Namely, the application of ecological sanitation has shown for the importance of a design of sustainable wastewater treatment systems as a "household-centred approach" that seeks to resolve environmental sanitation problems at the minimum practicable size (Schertenleib, 2001). In the context of our contemporary environment, it is important to bring sustainability to local communities or to a household level. The life style of local communities is an important factor in pollution quantity and quality and is aggravated by trans-boundary air, water and soil pollution. Pollution originating from local communities should be treated with the use of ET. ET should be seen as prophylactic and therapeutic measures to overcome local environmental problems. They include alleviation and adaptation of local communities at a time when climate change system and global changes affect common life in local communities. They could represent an innovative approach towards nature, space and environment protection based upon system thinking or, in other words, a holistic approach involving technologies aimed at regional and local community levels. Macro remediation includes region-specific complex problem solving as exemplified by integrated river basin management, coastal region management, management of water resources but encompassing also techniques for specific remediation of damaged local habitats, remediation of pollution hot spots, such as landfill sites, polluted waters, soils, etc., which strictly speaking should be regarded as micro remediation measures or local problem solving techniques. As said, from a spatial perspective one can distinguish between macro and micro remediation, while in the context of complex problem solving, one can also distinguish between social, natural and technical measures differentiating from integrated management to single techniques aimed, for instance, at wastewater treatment by means of TW, river restoration or co-natural reclamation of landfills, etc.

Although some concern still exists regarding the "technical" completeness of ET, its application is consistently enforced in practice as well as among the environmentally aware society. The ecosystem technologies are most useful in the remediation of persistent

Ecosystem Technologies and Ecoremediation for Water Protection, Treatment and Reuse 199

ammonia can significantly reduce the oxygen level in water body. Due to rapid oxidation to nitrate, nitrite is usually present in negligible concentrations in natural water bodies. In contrast to nitrite, the concentrations of nitrate in water surface and groundwater bodies are elevated in many parts of the world. The areas with intense agriculture are the most

Nitrogen and phosphorous are also of big interest because they are needed for the production of human food and have an important role in plant growth which further stimulates the wildlife production. Phosphorus in nature does not appear in elementary form but always in different compounds together with other elements. The extraction of P is a damaging process (strip-mining is most common method) having as result toxic byproducts (arsenic, cadmium, etc.). Phosphorus is highly bondable and is adsorbed to soil molecules and as such it is not available for the plant use. Plants can uptake phosphorous when the soil is saturated and there is free phosphorous available. The result of this fact is

Nitrogen and phosphorous removal is required in most European countries in order to reduce the input to water bodies or the sea (eutrophication). Removal of nitrogen compounds is also important in order to prevent oxygen depletion and the toxicity on

The processes of volatilization, plant uptake, nitrification and denitrification enable efficient removal of nitrogen from wastewaters in ET (Brix, 1993; Šajn-Slak et al., 2005). However also numerous other processes affect nitrogen elimination and retention in ET, i.e. ammonia volatilization, anaerobic ammonia oxidation (ANAMOX), fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere, incorporation into plant and microbial biomass, fragmentation, burial, degradation of organic nitrogen compounds (mineralization), reduction of nitrate to ammonia, sorption and desorption from different media, filtration and leaching. Only certain pathways enable N elimination, whereas other processes only transform N from one form to another (Vymazal, 2007). A crucial condition for N elimination in an ET is an exchange of oxic and anoxic areas in micro level, which enable a co-existence of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria. First step in N elimination is degradation of organic N compounds (ammonification) where ammonia is generated. NH4-N is then oxidized to nitrite and further to nitrate, but in contrast to organic material, NH4-N is more demanding for oxidation in TW as nitrifying microbes are autotrophic bacteria which have slow respiration and need a significant amount of oxygen to function. Besides oxygen conditions plants can also be an important factor in nitrogen elimination. Plants preferably take up the reduced form of nitrogen (ammonia), but can also take up nitrate. Nitrogen is integrated in plant tissues and can be eliminated from the ET by mowing and removing the plant biomass. This can present a significant nutrient removal in systems that receive low nutrient loads (Langergraber, 2005); according to Vymazal (2006) plant harvesting can significantly contribute to nitrogen removal in wetlands that receive less than 100-200 g N m-2 year-1. However, in other free water ET denitrification is usually the main mechanism for nitrate removal), which enables reduction of nitrite and nitrate to gas nitrogen. N2 is released to the atmosphere and thus presents ultimate elimination of N from the ET. Unlike nitrogen removal, the capacity of ET to eliminate phosphorus is of a concern and has not been reasonably resolved. Phosphorous in TW systems is mainly accumulated in the sediment/media and/or accumulated in the plant biomass. Elimination of P from a wetland

high demand on artificial fertilizers to increase nutrient content in less fertile soil.

vulnerable due to nitrate pollution of drinking water.

invertebrate and invertebrate species, including humans.

environmental contamination, impacts of point pollution as well as seasonal pollution due to tourism and non-point pollution caused by agriculture. They are also appropriate for protecting sensitive areas and for rational water management in dry areas (Griessler Bulc & Šajn-Slak, 2009).
