Analysis of UK river restoration using broad‐scale data sets

Abstract

This paper uses data from the UK River Restoration Centre's National River Restoration Inventory (NRRI) and the UK Environment Agency's River Habitat Survey (RHS) to analyse the relationship between restoration technique and the physical catchment context in which they have been implemented. Specifically we tested the relationship between categories of restoration technique and energy conditions, the relationship between restoration project and degree of channel modification, and whether the associations between restoration and physical catchment attributes have changed over time. Significant associations between categories of restoration technique and catchment variables were found, with direct morphological interventions needed in lower energy conditions; however, the analysis shows no change over time. This work shows that analysis of existing data sets can provide useful information to support the science and practice of river restoration and suggests that further analysis of existing ecological and geomorphological data sets provides an important learning opportunity to strengthen river restoration.

Trends in the use of large wood in UK river restoration projects: insights from the National River Restoration Inventory

“…The observed geographical spread of wood projects in the United Kingdom, with the highest densities in the south and east of England including London, follows the broad patterns for river restoration projects as a whole, corresponding closely with those reported by Smith et al () for NRRI data entries up to 2011. The lowland concentration of wood projects probably also reflects a growing confidence in using LW in lower energy streams, such as chalk streams (a river typology which accounts for a disproportionate one‐third of the wood projects in our analysis) where the perceived risk of mobility and potential risk to infrastructure is lower compared to higher energy upland rivers.…”

“…However, to widen the spatial and temporal dimensions of our knowledge base on the use of wood in river restoration we need to gather evidence from as large a range of completed projects as possible. As demonstrated in this study, the interrogation of broad‐scale datasets like the NRRI by analysing frequently indicated responses and text mining can provide some valuable insights (see also Smith et al, ). This approach can serve as a complement to metadata analyses of the literature, as suggested by Wohl (), to address important knowledge gaps in the use of wood in river restoration.…”

“…Although the majority of wood projects were implemented in rural land use settings (grassland and cropland), we identified more than 100 in suburban and urban areas and a dense cluster of projects in and around London (see also Smith et al, ). These trends likely reflect the large number of impacted rivers which have employed instream measures including LW where space is limited for larger‐scale morphological changes, such as re‐meandering.…”

The current state of the use of large wood in river restoration and management

“…The workshop panel noted that although many restoration projects continue to use wood as an immediate design feature, often within modified channels (Smith et al ., ), wood is increasingly being used to kick‐start geomorphological processes to let the river ‘do the work’, e.g. River Bure, UK (Harvey et al ., ).…”

Hot, Salty Water: A Confluence of Issues in Managing Stormwater Runoff for Urban Streams

“…Most urban stream management, including remediation, remains focused on “in‐stream” efforts rather than being applied at the watershed scale. This has reduced the effectiveness of employed measures (Christian‐Smith and Merenlender, ; Palmer et al ., ; Sudduth et al ., ; Violin et al ., ; Smith et al ., ; Wohl et al ., ). Such findings are not surprising given the growing body of work showing runoff as a key cause of urban stream impairment.…”