Multiscale experimentation, monitoring and analysis of long-term land use changes and flood risk

Large scale changes are being made to land use and management in the Forest of Bowland (Lancashire) under the United Utilities Sustainable Catchment Management Plan. These changes include moorland grip blocking, alterations in stocking density and woodland planting, with the aim of preventing deterioration of raw water quality and improving the condition of designated upland nature conservation sites. The changes also provide the opportunity to analyse the effects of land use/management practices on the probability of downstream flooding. An extensive instrumentation and monitoring program has been conducted in the upper Ribble catchment, located within the Forest of Bowland. The aim is to improve the understanding and prediction of the local (<10 km2) and downstream (~100 km2) flood impacts of changes in rural land use/management. This will contribute to the scientific basis for developing reliable methods for predicting the downstream impacts of rural-based flood prevention and mitigation measures and contribute to the science base for the move towards whole-catchment integrated approaches to flood risk management.