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Natural Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRM) are land and water management interventions designed to improve the retention, regulation and reuse of water and nutrients within agricultural landscapes. In the context of OPTAIN, NSWRM were analysed as modelled planning options, evaluated through process-based hydrological and nutrient transport simulations.
Rather than representing implemented field interventions, NSWRM within OPTAIN were integrated into modelling frameworks to assess their potential performance at field and catchment scale under current and future climate conditions.
NSWRM aim to address key challenges in agricultural systems, including:
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Water scarcity and drought risk
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Flood peaks and altered flow regimes
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Nutrient losses (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus)
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Soil degradation and erosion
Within OPTAIN, their performance was assessed using quantitative indicators such as:
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Water retention efficiency
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Nutrient retention efficiency
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Agricultural productivity
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Cost-related indicators
