Horizonal subsurface wetland for dairy farma wastewater treatment: a sustainable model based on circular economy

Abstract

On behalf of the WETPOL 2021 organizing committee, we would like to welcome you virtually to the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) for the 9th International Symposium on Wetland Pollutant Dynamics and Control. Since the first edition of WETPOL in 2005 in Ghent, Belgium, the WETPOL symposium has evolved to become an important meeting for scientists, practitioners, engineers, biologists, environmental authorities and students as a platform for knowledge exchange dealing with the diversity of natural wetlands, as well as wetlands for the treatment of pollutants and residues. The following editions have been held in Tartu, Estonia (2007); Barcelona, Spain (2009); Prague, Czech Republic (2011); Nantes, France (2013); York, UK (2015); Big Sky, Montana, USA (2017); and Århus, Denmark (2019). When we agreed to host WETPOL 2021 the world was different. The pandemic forced us to make the decision to organise WETPOL 2021 as a fully virtual event. This was a very difficult decision as we all know that socialising with colleagues is one of the main success factors of all our wetland conferences. Nevertheless, more than 160 abstracts have been submitted and the Scientific Committee selected about 130 oral and 30 poster presentations. Additionally, 7 workshops are organised within WETPOL 2021 facilitating the exchange in specific topics. For our virtual field trips on Wednesday, the organizing team visited the sites in person and prepared video clips that we hope you will enjoy. In total, more than 200 participants registered from more than 35 countries for the conference. In the Book of Abstracts, we present the abstracts of the keynote, oral and poster presentations as well as information on the workshops. By participating in the first virtual international wetland conference, we all enter new territory. We hope that this new setting also allows all of us to have stimulating discussions and enjoy WETPOL 2021. Welcome virtually to BOKU University!