Contamination caused by pesticides in agriculture is a source of environmental poor water quality in some of the European
Union countries. Without treatment or targeted mitigation, this pollution is diffused in the environment. Pesticides and some
metabolites are of increasing concern because of their potential impacts on the environment, wildlife and human health. Within
the context of the European Union (EU) water framework directive context to promote low pesticide-input farming and best management
practices, the EU LIFE project ArtWET assessed the efficiency of ecological bioengineering methods using different artificial
wetland (AW) prototypes throughout Europe. We optimized physical and biological processes to mitigate agricultural nonpoint-source
pesticide pollution in artificial wetland ecosystems. Mitigation solutions were implemented at full-scale demonstration and
experimental sites. We tested various bioremediation methods at seven experimental sites. These sites involved (1) experimental
prototypes, such as vegetated ditches, a forest microcosm and 12 wetland mesocosms, and (2) demonstration prototypes: vegetated
ditches, three detention ponds enhanced with technology of constructed wetlands, an outdoor bioreactor and a biomassbed. This
set up provides a variety of hydrologic conditions, with some systems permanently flooded and others temporarily flooded.
It also allowed to study the processes both in field and controlled conditions. In order to compare the efficiency of the
wetlands, mass balances at the inlet and outlet of the artificial wetland will be used, taking into account the partition
of the studied compound in water, sediments, plants, and suspended solids. The literature background necessary to harmonize
the interdisciplinary work is reviewed here and the theoretical framework regarding pesticide removal mechanisms in artificial
wetland is discussed. The development and the implementation of innovative approaches concerning various water quality sampling
strategies for pesticide load estimates during flood, specific biological endpoints, innovative bioprocess applied to herbicide
and copper mitigation to enhance the pesticide retention time within the artificial wetland, fate and transport using a 2D
mixed hybrid finite element model are introduced. These future results will be useful to optimize hydraulic functioning, e.g.,
pesticide resident time, and biogeochemical conditions, e.g., dissipation, inside the artificial wetlands. Hydraulic retention
times are generally too low to allow an optimized adsorption on sediment and organic materials accumulated in artificial wetlands.
Absorption by plants is not either effective. The control of the hydraulic design and the use of adsorbing materials can be
useful to increase the pesticides residence time and the contact between pesticides and biocatalyzers. Pesticide fluxes can
be reduced by 50–80% when hydraulic pathways in artificial wetlands are optimized by increasing ten times the retention time,
by recirculation of water, and by deceleration of the flow. Thus, using a bioremediation method should lead to an almost complete
disappearance of pesticides pollution. To retain and treat the agricultural nonpoint-source po a major stake for a sustainable
development.
Keywords Artificial wetland - Pesticides - Agriculture - Storm water system - Vegetated ditches - Forested plots - Mitigation - Bioremediation - Nonpoint-source pollution - Detention - Retention - Water