Targeted woodland creation can restore the condition of riparian and aquatic habitat, reduce diffuse pollution and help improve the water environment. Land use change is increasingly being recognised by water regulatory authorities and others (such as the Climate Change Committee) as necessary to deliver Nature Recovery and national environmental objectives. Additionally there is an increasing confidence in the role of woodland creation with natural flood management to ‘slow the flow’ of rainfall runoff within a catchment and thus reduce downstream flood risk. Managing the risk of flooding to householders is a major challenge for the country and one that is expected to increase in the future with climate change.
There is strong evidence to support woodland creation in appropriate locations to achieve water management and water quality objectives. However, opportunities for woodland planting are constrained by many factors, not least economics. It’s therefore important that planting is targeted to the most effective locations where it can best benefit society.
Opportunity mapping has been developed to identify priority locations to restore environmental system function, avoid unintentional consequences and promote more integrated catchment management. The method uses Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and can be applied across a range of scales; from a strategic national or regional assessment of the extent and distribution of opportunities down to the targeting of practical intervention within a catchment or planning at a farm scale.
Research objectives
National mapping for England and Wales
The Environment Agency commissioned Forest Research to provide GIS spatial datasets and maps which identify opportunities for woodland creation to reduce diffuse pollution and flood risk across England and Wales.
The maps were used by FC England to target Countryside Stewardship grant aid for woodland creation. The national opportunity maps identify priority areas where woodland planting could deliver positive outcomes for water quality and/or flood risk management in England and Wales. The maps identify priority areas (at a scale of 1 km2) in catchments of river water bodies at risk of failing good status due to diffuse pollutant loads (Nitrate, Phosphate, Sediment, Pesticides and Faecal Indicator Organisms); areas at risk from flooding from rivers and surface water and priority areas where runoff from soils is rapid and finally include information on constraints to woodland planting.
A report describing the methodology and data used to generate the maps (5934K) is available.
In Wales information on forest policy and the new Rural Development Plan support for Glastir Woodland Management and Woodland Creation is available from the Natural Resource Wales website
National mapping for Northern Ireland
FR_Northern_Ireland_OM_Report_2017.pdf(PDF-752KB)
Supporting maps (PDF-1307KB)
The objective of the project was to provide GIS spatial datasets and maps which identify priority areas for woodland creation to benefit flood risk management in Northern Ireland.
A wide range of spatial datasets were accessed from partners and used to generate a set of maps and supporting GIS shapefiles showing priority areas for planting. The results provide a strong basis for developing and refining catchment strategies, initiatives and plans to deliver new woodlands where they can best contribute to flood risk management (FRM). Consideration should also be given to where planting could help tackle other issues, such as reducing diffuse pollution and meeting Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives. Woodland creation, however, is not without risks and care will be required in planting the right tree in the right place to avoid woodland acting as a pressure on the water environment.
National mapping for Scotland: River Tay catchment – a pilot for Scotland
This study aimed to identify priority areas for woodland creation and the improved management of existing woodlands to reduce downstream flood risk and help restore damaged waters.
The River Tay is one of fourteen Priority Catchments in Scotland identified by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and partner organisations for restoration and protection. It is impacted by a number of major water issues, with over 1,300 residential and 270 non-residential properties vulnerable to flooding and 26% of river and loch water bodies currently failing to meet the required Good Ecological Status (GES) due to diffuse pollution.
A wide range of spatial datasets were accessed from partners, particularly SEPA, and used to generate a large number of maps and supporting GIS shapefiles showing priority areas for planting. The report (934k) provides a strong basis for developing and refining regional strategies, initiatives and plans to deliver new woodlands where they can best contribute to flood risk management (FRM) and Water Framework Directive (WFD) targets, in addition to generating many other benefits for society.
Regional mapping: Yorkshire and North East
In the Yorkshire and North-East region there are over 77,000 properties at significant risk of flooding and 73% of river water bodies currently failing to meet Good Ecological Status under the Water Framework Directive.
In collaboration with partners in the Environment Agency the method was refined to incorporate the most recent and appropriate spatial datasets to identify priority rural areas for woodland creation and the improved management of existing woodlands to help address these issues.
The Executive Summary gives a brief overview of the project and the key opportunities identified in the region:
The approach, data sources, methods and results are presented in the main report which includes guidance on the design principles for woodland creation to maximise benefits for water:
Regional mapping: Midlands
The Midlands Region faces a number of major water issues, with over 100,000 properties at significant risk of flooding and 85% of river water bodies currently failing to meet the target Good Ecological Status required by the WFD. The main aim of the mapping work was to identify priority areas for woodland creation and the improved management of existing woodlands to help address these issues.
A wide range of spatial datasets were accessed from partners, particularly the Environment Agency, and used to generate maps and supporting GIS shapefiles showing priority areas potentially available for planting. The results provide a strong basis for developing and refining regional objectives, initiatives and projects to deliver new woodlands where they can best contribute to flood risk management and meeting WFD targets, in addition to generating many other benefits for society.
The Midlands report also summarises ongoing and new case studies on woodland benefits for water, considers developments in hydraulic modelling and provides a methodology for monitoring and measuring the short and long-term effects of woodland creation on water. Guidance is provided on the design principles for woodland creation to maximise benefits for water.
The Executive summary gives a brief overview:
Catchment mapping: River Derwent
There is a long history of flooding in the Derwent catchment in Cumbria, with the most recent event being in November 2009 when the towns of Keswick, Cockermouth and Workington suffered a major flood. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the problem of flooding can no longer be solved by building ever higher flood defences and instead greater emphasis needs to be given to working with natural processes to ‘slow the flow’ and increase flood storage within upstream catchments. The main aim of this mapping application was to use GIS datasets to identify areas within the catchment where the creation or expansion of woodland could help to reduce downstream flood risk.
Catchment mapping: Lake District National Park
The standing water habitats of the Lake District National Park are of international importance for their ecological, aesthetic, recreational and cultural value, and many have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and/or National Nature Reserves. These waters are very vulnerable to disturbance and highly sensitive to pollution. The condition of many sites is unfavourable and declining due to diffuse pollution from sediment and phosphate. The main aim of this work was to assess opportunities for woodland creation to help manage erosion and nutrient enrichment problems within the National Park by targeting the main sources of pollutants and the pathways by which they are delivered to watercourses.
