Land use scenarios for England and Wales: evaluation of management options to support ‘good ecological status’ in surface freshwaters

Abstract

This paper analyses historic records of agricultural land use and management for England and Wales from 1931 and 1991 and uses export coefficient modelling to hindcast the impact of these practices on the rates of diffuse nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) export to water bodies for each of the major geoclimatic regions of England and Wales. Key trends indicate the importance of animal agriculture as a contributor to the total diffuse agricultural nutrient loading on waters, and the need to bring these sources under control if conditions suitable for sustaining 'Good Ecological Status' under the Water Framework Directive are to be generated. The analysis highlights the importance of measuring changes in nutrient loading in relation to the catchment-specific baseline state for different water bodies. The approach is also used to forecast the likely impact of broad regional scale scenarios on nutrient export to waters and highlights the need to take sensitive land out of production, introduce ceilings on fertilizer use and stocking densities, and controls on agricultural practice in higher risk areas where intensive agriculture is combined with a low intrinsic nutrient retention capacity, although the uncertainties associated with the modelling applied at this scale should be taken into account in the interpretation of model output. The paper advocates the need for a two-tiered approach to nutrient management, combining broad regional policies with targeted management in high risk areas at the catchment and farm scale.

Catchments, sub-catchments and private spaces: Scale and process in managing microbial pollution from source to sea

“…Herein lies our argument that sub-catchments are a helpful unit of spatial scale. This is in line with the arguments of those who have also advocated the need for a twotiered approach to catchment management, combining broad regional policies with targeted management in high risk areas at the catchment and farm scale (Heathwaite et al, 2000;Hewett et al, 2009;Johnes et al, 2007).…”

“…Strategies designed to address regional scale implementation of management approaches arguably translate into potentially ineffective management regimes at the ground level and have the potential to be costly and fail to achieve targets in some areas (Johnes et al, 2007). So at the river basin scale there is a need for targeted management.…”

Using diatoms as quality indicators for a newly-formed urban lake and its catchment

“…However, wastewater and solid litter from combined sewer overflows (CSOs), pollutant spillages, illegal tipping and discharge from disused coal mines continue to affect river quality in these catchments (Davies et al 1997;Williams and Simmons 1999;Ormerod and Jüttner 2009). Other problems include eutrophication as a consequence of intensive farming and its high nutrient loadings (Muscutt and Withers 1996;Johnes et al 2007). The rivers and major developments along the lake shore are likely to affect water quality of the bay through nutrient inputs and polluted urban runoff, and this might lead to variable environmental conditions in different areas of the lake.…”

A model‐based assessment of non‐compliance of phosphorus standards for lakes in England and Wales

“…Johnes et al (2007) investigated a drastic scenario, which was region specific and included fertilizer reductions between 50 % and 80 %, reductions in animal numbers by 25 % and conversion of part of the arable land to grassland. Using an export coefficient model they estimated an overall reduction of phosphorus losses to watercourses in England and Wales of 40 % compared to a 1991 baseline.…”