BP10 - Reduce erosion and/or sediment delivery

Forest access roads and other roads in rural areas often cross streams and other small watercourses. The design and material used in forest road building may have strong impact on erosion risk and water quality in streams. Bridges or culverts used at stream crossings must be properly designed to...

Healthy forest soils, with their dense root systems and porous organic top layers, play an important role in water infiltration and retention. To maintain these hydrological functions, forest managers should strive to maintain permanent vegetation cover, reduce soil compaction and increase surface roughness, which facilitates water absorption. As highlighted in A11 Controlled Traffic...

Beaver mimicry structures (BMS), also known as beaver dam analogues (BDAs), are in-stream structures designed to replicate the function of natural beaver dams. These simple, low-tech installations slow streamflow, increase groundwater recharge, favour water diversion in two or more arms, and create wetlands and alluvial forest. By mimicking beaver behaviour, they support biodiversity, improve climate resilience, and help restore degraded...

Forests act as natural sponges, absorbing excess rainwater to prevent flooding and retaining moisture for gradual release during dry periods. By increasing soil infiltration and storage, forests provide a consistent water supply, buffering against the extremes of climate change and increasing the resilience of ecosystems.

Trees in urban areas deliver multiple benefits, including improved aesthetics, microclimate regulation, and enhanced urban hydrology. They also serve as crucial biodiversity refuges and contribute significantly to reducing particulate air pollution. Trees intercept precipitation, reducing the volumeof rainfall that needs to be processed by sewers systems and other...

Headwater catchments are the source areas of rivers and streams and are critical for maintaining the structure, function, productivity and complexity of downstream ecosystems. They are vital to hydrologic cycle as they are one of the main areas where precipitation contributes to surface and groundwater. Headwaters are typically...

Continuous cover forestry is a forest management approach that maintains a continuous canopy during the regeneration phase, avoiding clearcutting in favour of selective harvesting or small-scale clearing. The main idea behind continuous cover forestry is a reduction in the number or size of clear-cuts. Some definitions of continuous cover forestry state that no clear-cuts shall be larger than 0.25...

Urban forest parks can deliver a broad range of hydrology-related and other ecosystem services. Forests in urban areas have great amenity value, can improve air quality, moderate local microclimates, improve urban biodiversity and contribute to climate change mitigation as well as having ancillary hydrological benefits. Forest soils often have greater infiltration capacity than other urban...

Sediment capture ponds are engineered ponds placed in networks of forest ditches to slow the velocity of water and cause the deposition of suspended materials. Sediment capture ponds are most useful for managing the effects of ditch construction and maintenance, road work and final feeling. While used primarily in forests, sediment capture ponds may be a useful temporary measure for preserving water quality in and around construction sites or...

A floodplain is the area bordering a river that naturally provides space for the retention of flood and rainwater.  Because of regular flooding, floodplain soils are generally very fertile and they have often been dried-out to be used as agricultural land. Floodplains in many places have also been separated from the river by dikes, berms or other structures designed to control the flow of the...