Professor from Ohio State University Visits Institute of Hydrobiology

Prof. Brown made a presentation entitled Constructed Wetlands for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control and Ecological Benefits on the Agricultural Landscape at IHB, Sept. 28, 2009.

On invitation of Prof. WU Zhenbin with the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) , Prof. Larry C. Brown from Ohio State University paid a visit to IHB for academic exchange on Sept.28, 2009.

Prof. Brown made two presentations entitled Constructed Wetlands for Nonpoint Source Pollution Control and Ecological Benefits on the Agricultural Landscape and Managing Agricultural Waters for Water Quality and Quantity Improvements in the Midwest for IHB scholars and students.

He briefly introduced the influence of America s agricultural nonpoint source pollution on Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes region, operational principle and impact of Wetland Reservoir Sub-Irrigation System (WRSIS) as well as the application of this technique in various parts of the world including Ohio and Michigan in America, Guilin and Jingmen in China.

His compared the strengths and weakness between conventional drainage, controlled drainage and subirrigation, and pointed out their impact on agricultural water management. By economically and hydraulically analyzing the output and numerical stimulation of each kind of irrigation, Prof. Brown pointed out the strength of subirrigation and said that if subirrigation combines constructed wetland, the agricultural output can be elevated and the agricultural water environment can be effectively protected.

Prof. Brown is the director of the internationally known Overholt Drainage Education and Research Program, the annual Overholt Drainage School, and serves as the Executive Director of the International Program for Water Management in agriculture.

Currently working at Wuhan University, Hubei Province of China on paddy systems to harvest runoff waters linked with a constructed wetland for water treatment and recycling, Professor Brown's research domains include agricultural water management, development, evaluation and implementation of strategies for managing drainage waters, incorporating agricultural constructed wetlands into agricultural production systems, harvesting, treating, and recycling drainage waters, etc. He has water management (micro-irrigation) project work in India, Uganda, East Africa, and South Africa, and trying to develop water table management, micro-irrigation, and waterlogged and saline affected lands reclamation in India and China.