WETLAND SERVICES AND MANAGEMENT Review Paper A review of the potential of surface flow constructed wetlands to enhance macroinvertebrate diversity in agricultural landscapes with particular reference to Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICWs) Gustavo Becerra-Jurado • Rory Harrington • Mary Kelly-Quinn Received: 6 December 2010 / Accepted: 3 September 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 Abstract Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICWs) constitute an alternative way of cleansing water in agricultural areas to conventional water treatment plants. These pond systems integrate their water treatment capabilities with other functions such as biodiversity enhancement, carbon sequestration and landscape fit, by virtue of mimicking natural wetlands. ICWs have shown to have potential to enhance macroinvertebrate diversity in agricultural areas due to their unique design flexibility. We suggest that ICWs characterised by adequate shore sloping and presence of complex habitat mosaics, as well as other design considerations, would maximise the potential of these systems to enhance macroinvertebrate diversity. In addition, it would be highly beneficial to increase the total ICW area and to increase the total number of ponds in a system accordingly from a minimum of four to at least five. This article also highlights the need not only to develop policies that focus on the creation of ICWs but also to foster a number of management practices that rely on the active involvement of farmers. The inclusion of additional ponds in selected ICW systems could be the means to inform local communities as to the importance, attractiveness and conservation value of ponds. Keywords Biodiversity Á Ponds Á Wastewater treatment Á Water management Á Agricultural areas Introduction The protection of water quality and the conservation of freshwater biodiversity have gained importance in the recent years as key issues in water management worldwide. Although conventional management strat- egies have historically recognised the links between water quality and the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, seldom have they been fully adopted simultaneously. Constructed wetlands, by virtue of mimicking natural wetlands, have the potential to play a multi-functional role in agricultural landscapes, encompassing water treatment, biodiversity, recreational and educational functions (Knight et al., 2001; Benyamine et al., 2002; Hansson et al., 2005). Over the last five decades, a plethora of studies have focused on the water treatment function (Vymazal, 2011) and design options for water treatment are well advanced (Brix, 1993; Cooper et al., Guest editor: Chris B. Joyce / Wetland services and management G. Becerra-Jurado (&) Á M. Kelly-Quinn Freshwater Biodiversity, Ecology and Fisheries (FreBEF) Research Group, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College of Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland e-mail: gbjurado@gmail.com R. Harrington Water and Policy Division, Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Old Custom House, 106 The Quay, Waterford, Ireland 123 Hydrobiologia DOI 10.1007/s10750-011-0866-2