The Role of Productive Woodlands in Water Management. Confor & Forest Research .
The Role of Productive Woodlands in Water Management [link]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
[Excerpt] The benefits of woodland for water are increasingly being recognised and influencing approaches to woodland creation. For example, since April 2012, the English Woodland Grant Scheme has included an enhanced grant rate to encourage woodland planting where it could help reduce flood risk for affected communities, including in downstream towns and cities, and improve the freshwater environment. This had delivered around 1,800 ha of new woodland across the country by December 2013. Much of the planting has involved non-productive woodland with little or no conifer, partly informed by the widely held view that more natural, less intensively managed woodlands are best for water. [\n] Perceived negative associations between productive woodlands and water are largely historic, an apparent legacy from the large scale, upland conifer afforestation of the last century. These issues have been addressed by major developments in forest design and management over the last 20 years, starting with the introduction of the first edition of the Forests and Water Guidelines (1988) and culminating in the publication of the UK Forestry Standard and fifth edition of the guidelines in 2011. As a result, planting productive woodland can offer similar and in some cases greater benefits to the water environment than non-productive woodlands. Additionally, productive woodlands deliver greater economic and environmental benefits by providing timber or wood fuel for the market, supporting economic growth and employment, and contributing to carbon sequestration. [\n] As the UK continues to import 75-80 per cent of its timber, there is a growing call to meet more of our needs from home-grown, sustainably managed, productive woodlands. The income secured through the sale of timber will also help secure the continued delivery of water (and other) benefits from the woodland. This leaflet describes the water benefits that can result from investing in an expansion of well-designed, productive woodlands. [...] [Conclusions] Society is increasingly threatened by flooding, while the water environment remains seriously impacted by a range of human pressures, including diffuse water pollution. There is strong evidence to support woodland creation in appropriate locations to help manage these issues. [\n] Productive woodlands are well suited to the purpose and, due to their ongoing management, are more likely to be resilient in the face of a changing climate and pests and disease. They can offer significant benefits to the water environment, as well as safeguarding and growing investment and jobs in the UK forestry industry, securing domestic timber supplies, reducing imports and capturing more carbon. Opportunity mapping by Forest Research is helping to identify, map and target areas where woodland creation can maximise water benefits and minimise risks. Linking this to information on species suitability and potential productivity can show where planting productive woodlands will deliver the greatest benefits. This can be applied across a range of scales, from assessing opportunities for planting at a strategic regional or river basin level down to the practical farm scale. There is a strong case for further investment in well-targeted woodland creation to help meet a wide range of environmental and social goals, including contributing to the Floods Directive, Water Framework Directive, Biodiversity 2020, Greenhouse Gas reduction, climate change adaptation and growing the rural economy.
@report{conforRoleProductiveWoodlands2015,
  title = {The Role of Productive Woodlands in Water Management},
  author = {{Confor} and {Forest Research}},
  date = {2015-03},
  institution = {{Confor}},
  location = {{Edinburgh}},
  url = {http://mfkp.org/INRMM/article/13555915},
  abstract = {[Excerpt] The benefits of woodland for water are increasingly being recognised and influencing approaches to woodland creation. For example, since April 2012, the English Woodland Grant Scheme has included an enhanced grant rate to encourage woodland planting where it could help reduce flood risk for affected communities, including in downstream towns and cities, and improve the freshwater environment. This had delivered around 1,800 ha of new woodland across the country by December 2013. Much of the planting has involved non-productive woodland with little or no conifer, partly informed by the widely held view that more natural, less intensively managed woodlands are best for water.

[\textbackslash n] Perceived negative associations between productive woodlands and water are largely historic, an apparent legacy from the large scale, upland conifer afforestation of the last century. These issues have been addressed by major developments in forest design and management over the last 20 years, starting with the introduction of the first edition of the Forests and Water Guidelines (1988) and culminating in the publication of the UK Forestry Standard and fifth edition of the guidelines in 2011. As a result, planting productive woodland can offer similar and in some cases greater benefits to the water environment than non-productive woodlands. Additionally, productive woodlands deliver greater economic and environmental benefits by providing timber or wood fuel for the market, supporting economic growth and employment, and contributing to carbon sequestration.

[\textbackslash n] As the UK continues to import 75-80 per cent of its timber, there is a growing call to meet more of our needs from home-grown, sustainably managed, productive woodlands. The income secured through the sale of timber will also help secure the continued delivery of water (and other) benefits from the woodland. This leaflet describes the water benefits that can result from investing in an expansion of well-designed, productive woodlands.

[...]

[Conclusions] Society is increasingly threatened by flooding, while the water environment remains seriously impacted by a range of human pressures, including diffuse water pollution. There is strong evidence to support woodland creation in appropriate locations to help manage these issues.

[\textbackslash n] Productive woodlands are well suited to the purpose and, due to their ongoing management, are more likely to be resilient in the face of a changing climate and pests and disease. They can offer significant benefits to the water environment, as well as safeguarding and growing investment and jobs in the UK forestry industry, securing domestic timber supplies, reducing imports and capturing more carbon. Opportunity mapping by Forest Research is helping to identify, map and target areas where woodland creation can maximise water benefits and minimise risks. Linking this to information on species suitability and potential productivity can show where planting productive woodlands will deliver the greatest benefits. This can be applied across a range of scales, from assessing opportunities for planting at a strategic regional or river basin level down to the practical farm scale. There is a strong case for further investment in well-targeted woodland creation to help meet a wide range of environmental and social goals, including contributing to the Floods Directive, Water Framework Directive, Biodiversity 2020, Greenhouse Gas reduction, climate change adaptation and growing the rural economy.},
  keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-13555915,ecosystem-services,forest-resources,integrated-water-resources-management,integration-techniques,water-resources}
}

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