Assessing the progress of river restoration in the UK: has biophysical condition improved over two decades of intervention?

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dc.contributor.authorMoore, Harriet Elizabeth
dc.contributor.authorMercer, Theresa G.
dc.contributor.authorde Alwis Pitts, Dilkushi
dc.contributor.authorBeagley, Sam
dc.contributor.authorNaura, Marc
dc.contributor.authorBryden, Alexandra
dc.date.accessioned2022-02-04T16:06:54Z
dc.date.available2022-02-04T16:06:54Z
dc.date.issued2021-09-26
dc.description.abstractBiophysical condition is one indicator of the immediate success of efforts to restore degraded rivers as well as longer-term progress towards improving water quality. In the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the biophysical condition of river systems in the UK also reflects how well international environmental policy translates into improved river management domestically. We assess whether the condition of river systems in the UK has improved or declined over the past two decades, whether regions identified by the first WFD assessment have improved or declined, and thus, how effectively international policy has been implemented nationally. Methods include: statistical and spatial analysis of more than 25,000 habitat condition records collated in the River Habitat Survey over the 1990s and 2000s; computing of an Index of Change for Local Authorities; and comparison of Indices of Change with a sub-sample of 1,727 WFD assessments conducted in 258 Local Authorities. Findings include that three of four measures indicate that biophysical quality has declined, although only the decline in one measure (habitat quality) was statistically significant. Riparian quality has improved, although measures do not consider invasive compared to native coverage. In total, 27 regions were identified with the worst declining quality. Comparative analysis of regions suggests that condition has declined most substantially in regions that were previously in “good” condition. Priorities for future investment include improving degraded sites, protecting high quality sites, and increasing monitoring of “data poor” regions. Our methodology offers an approach for utilising “messy” routinely collated data like the RHS. However, guidelines are needed to support the use of similar datasets for the international river restoration community.en_UK
dc.identifier.citationMoore HE, Mercer TG, de Alwis Pitts D, et al., (2021) Assessing the progress of river restoration in the UK: Has biophysical condition improved over two decades of intervention? River Research and Applications, Volume 37, Issue 10, December 2021, pp. 1494-1509en_UK
dc.identifier.issn1535-1459
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3867
dc.identifier.urihttp://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/17542
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherWileyen_UK
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/*
dc.subjectHabitat conditionen_UK
dc.subjectobservational dataen_UK
dc.subjectWater Framework Directiveen_UK
dc.subjectRiver Restorationen_UK
dc.subjectmonitoring and assessmenten_UK
dc.titleAssessing the progress of river restoration in the UK: has biophysical condition improved over two decades of intervention?en_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

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