Impacts of Gypsum Discussed at a Conference in Falenty, Poland
09 October 2024
On September 16–18, the International scientific conference entitled “Problems of Sustainable Agriculture, Protection of Rural Areas, Water Resources, and Environment” was held at the Institute of Technology and Life Sciences in Falenty, Poland. In addition to academics dealing with agricultural, water, and wastewater management, representatives from the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture (ARMA) and the Ministry of Agriculture were present.
Gypsum use sparks debate among farmers
During the plenary session, Dr. B. Grabowska-Polanowska, PhD in Engineering, explained the benefits of using gypsum as a soil additive*. Her lecture sparked a lively discussion about farmers’ attitudes on gypsum use and the concrete advantages it offers. The event also featured an animation from the GYPREG project titled “The Gypsum Method in Water Protection” as well as a poster outlining the project’s goals.
As part of the conference, participants visited the Raszyn Ponds Nature Reserve, located near Warsaw. During the visit, they explored various measures aimed at protecting the ecosystem of the nature reserve and addressed the issue of eutrophication of water bodies linked to phosphorus runoff from agricultural fields.
* B. Grabowska-Polanowska, T. Garbowski, A. Kowalczyk, P. Ekholm: Reducing the leaching of nutrients from intensive use agricultural areas.