BP11 - Improve soils

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

Groundwater is the part of infiltrated water which composes the water resource for population and human activities.  Previous modifications of the landscape have reduced the infiltration capacity of many European soils, thereby limiting the rate at which precipitation is able to infiltrate and recharge groundwater aquifers. Restoration of natural infiltration to groundwater enables a lowering of run-off from surrounding land, and...

Riparian buffers are areas of land, predominantly covered with trees, shrubs, and sometimes grasses, along, and often up-gradient from, streams, watercourses, or water bodies. These natural or restored buffers serve multiple purposes. By maintaining a relatively undisturbed zone adjacent to open water, they play an important role in water quality and flow...

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...