Date: 07/05/2013

By: Justin Milward, Woodland Trust

Subject: Poor Riparian habitat

Although we do not disagree with the list of issues, we suggest that it could be made even better if native woodland management and creation is offered as a positive delivery tool for both water quality and flow issues.

The Woodland Trust believes that trees and woodlands can deliver a major contribution to resolving a range of water management issues. They offer opportunities to make positive water use change whilst also contributing to other objectives, such as biodiversity, timber & green infrastructure - see the Woodland Trust publication Woodland actions for biodiversity and their role in water management (pdf) - https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/about-us/publications/Pages/ours.aspx.

In addition, a joint Environment Agency/Forestry Commission publication Woodland for Water: Woodland measures for meeting Water Framework objectives states clearly that: ‘There is strong evidence to support woodland creation in appropriate locations to achieve water management and water quality objectives’ (Environment Agency, July 2011- https://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/woodlandforwater). This is most readily realisable at a Catchment scale.
Most recently, the Government’s Independent Panel on Forestry (Defra, Final Report, July 2012) has emphasised these benefits by stating that:
‘One of the many benefits of woods and trees is their ability to help us respond to a changing climate, better enabling us to adapt to future temperature increases. We know that trees, in the right places, help us to adapt to climate change by reducing surface water flooding; reducing ambient temperature through direct shade and evapo-transpiration; and by reducing building heating and air-conditioning demands. A landscape with more trees will also help increase the resilience of our rural areas, by reducing soil erosion and soil moisture loss. Improving the condition
of existing woodlands, and the creation of a more resilient ecological network of associated habitats, will help wildlife adapt to climate change and other pressures’. This has been endorsed by the response in the recent Government Forestry Policy Statement (Defra Jan 2013) with the key objective (p.23) ‘Work with other organisations and initiatives to support the further development of markets in forest carbon and other ecosystem services such as water and biodiversity’, together with a Cumbria case study (p.22 - SCaMP) on water benefits from woodland creation.

Woodland can help adaptation strategies cope with the high profile threats to water quality and volume resulting from climate change. The Forestry Commission’s publication, The Case for Trees in development and the urban environment (Forestry Commission, July 2010), explains how: ‘the capacity of trees to attenuate water flow reduces the impact of heavy rain and floods and can improve the effectiveness of

Trees can also reduce the likelihood of surface water flooding in urban situations too, when rain water overwhelms the local drainage system, by regulating the rate at which rainfall reaches the ground and contributes to run off. Slowing the flow increases the possibility of infiltration and the ability of engineered drains to take away any excess water. This is particularly the case with large crowned trees. Research by the University of Manchester has shown that increasing tree cover in urban areas by 10 % reduces surface water run-off by almost 6%. (Using green infrastructure to alleviate flood risk, Sustainable Cities - www.sustainablecities.org.uk/water/surface-water/using-gi/).

• The South West Forestry Framework Implementation Plan 2009-2012 (Forestry Commission, 2009) contains two key actions – “2.4: Undertake pilot projects using new planting or woodland management to manage river flows and contribute to Water Framework Directive objectives” and “2.5: Develop projects to demonstrate and monitor benefits of riparian planting in reducing river temperatures”.

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