National Forests and Water Guidelines require the establishment of riparian buffers to help protect the freshwater environment from disturbance by silvicultural operations on the adjacent land. The main functions of the riparian buffer are considered to be sediment removal and erosion control, protection of water quality, moderation of shade and water temperature, maintenance of habitat structural diversity and ecological integrity, and improvement of landscape quality. This review paper assesses how these functions are affected by the design and management of the riparian forest zone, with a focus on the width of the buffer, the structure of the vegetation and species choice. It is not possible to specify a definitive riparian buffer width that will protect the freshwater environment from every potential threat. Forestry agencies usually recommend widths between 10 and 30 m. Buffer widths towards the lower end of this scale tend to protect the physical and chemical characteristics of a stream, while the maintenance of ecological integrity requires widths at the upper end. In terms of structure and species, the benefits are greatest where the riparian buffer replicates native riparian woodland with an open canopy of mixed species of varied age class. The optimum level of shade is difficult to quantify but limited work suggests that a good balance is achieved where around 50% of the stream surface is open to sunlight and the remainder covered by dappled shade. Within the management of riparian woodland there is a need to consider a streams sensitivity and intrinsic value. Some sites will benefit from active intervention such as thinning, coppicing or pollarding, while others will be favoured by a hands-off approach. Long-term continuity of management is important to ensure that the potential benefits to the freshwater environment are realised.

Several studies have highlighted an increase in DOC concentration in streams and lakes of UK upland catchments though the causal mechanisms controlling the increase have yet to be fully explained. This study, compiles a comprehensive data set of DOC concentration records for UK catchments to evaluate trends and test whether observed increases are ubiquitous over time and space. The study analysed monthly DOC time series from 198 sites, including 29 lakes, 8 water supply reservoirs and 161 rivers. The records vary in length from 8 to 42 years going back as far as 1961. Of the 198 sites, 153 (77%) show an upward trend in DOC concentration significant at the 95% level, the remaining 45 (23%) show no significant trend and no sites show a significant decrease in DOC concentration. The average annual increase in DOC concentration was 0.17 mg C/l/year. The dataset shows: (i) a spatial consistent upward trend in the DOC concentration independent of regional effects of rainfall, acid and nitrogen deposition, and local effects of land-use change; (ii) a temporally consistent increase in DOC concentration for period back as far as the 1960s; (iii) the increase in DOC concentration means an estimated DOC flux from the UK as 0.86 Mt C for the year 2002 and is increasing at 0.02 Mt C/year. Possible reasons for the increasing DOC concentration are discussed.

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This paper examines the potential role of floodplain woodland in flood alleviation. In theory, the presence of trees and associated woody debris on the floodplain increases the hydraulic roughness, thus slowing down flood flows and enhancing flood storage. One and two‐dimensional models were used to simulate a 2.2 km reach of river in south‐west England to test this theory for a 1 in 100 year flood using appropriate roughness parameters. Both models predicted a reduction in water velocity within the woodland, increasing water level by up to 270 mm and creating a backwater effect that extended nearly 400 m upstream. Flood storage increased by 15 and 71%, while flood peak travel time was increased by 30 and 140 min for the two scenarios simulated. The results suggest that there is considerable scope for using strategically placed floodplain woodland to alleviate downstream flooding. In particular, it offers a means of tackling the increased flood risk associated with climate change.

Very little large woody debris (LWD) is present in UK river systems due to its removal from watercourses mainly for flood defence and angling purposes. Some researchers now believe that restoring LWD dams in rivers can aid in flood retention, improve habitat and biodiversity, and help improve water quality and reduce sediment transport. This study was carried out to model the potential impact of restoring five LWD dams into a small Welsh tributary within an existing area of flood plain woodland on flood flows. The model results suggest that the dams could increase water levels sufficiently during the design 1‐in‐100 year flow to reconnect the channel with its flood plain. The model predicts as much as a 2.1 m/s reduction in flow velocities behind the dams. Both factors contribute to the delaying of the flood peak by up to 15 min over a 0.5‐km reach. The results support the use of LWD dams as a viable soft engineering technique for complementing existing flood defences and aiding in downstream flood mitigation, although to be effective at a larger scale would require an extensive series of dams across the upper and middle reaches of a catchment.