Multiple benefits

A report has been published by CREW on prioritising research and development gap opportunities for river woodlands. The report was authored by a team of scientists from the James Hutton Institute and University of Aberdeen. River woodlands (RW) play a crucial role in protecting river ecosystems, for example by reducing flooding, storing carbon, filtering pollution, and benefiting local communities. However, nearly 55% of surveyed riverbank in Scotland show poor RW health. This highlights a need for RW restoration. This project aimed to:

A paper has been published on the development of a decision framework for selecting between riparian management measures for farmed land. The open access paper and tool is published in Water and Environment Journal and is authored by a team of scientists from the James Hutton Institute and Teagasc (Ireland). Agricultural mitigation measures should be correctly designed and sited to make effective barriers for diffuse pollution.

CREW has published a report on the effect of shellfish, kelp and sea grass beds on flood risk and coastal erosion in Scotland. The report was written by a team of scientists from Heriot Watt University. The project aimed to evaluate how well selected shallow marine habitats (specifically kelp forests, seagrass beds, oyster reefs and blue mussel beds) protect the Scottish coastline from erosion and flooding.

ClimateXChange has just published a soil route map for Scotland. The aim of this route map is to consolidate the challenges of managing soil systems to develop an overarching strategy for delivering improved soil security across Scottish landscapes. The route map recommends six objectives for Scotland to achieve a vision of ‘thriving soils for Scotland’s communities, economy and environment’; these six objectives are highlighted in the link below.

A paper has been published on the hydro-geomorphic effects of wooden leaky barriers (LBs) in a steep headwater stream. The open access paper is published in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms and authored by a team of scientists in the James Hutton Institute. It focuses on a series of leaky barriers installed in a steep headwater channel of the Tweed. Detailed field monitoring and two-dimensional hydraulic modelling (HEC-RAS 2D) were used to assess the hydraulic impact of the structures and associated geomorphic changes.

A podcast has been released by Farming and Water Scotland that discusses the 'Magic Margin' approach. In this podcast, they talk with David Boldrin from the James Hutton Institute about how magic margins can be used to help reduce diffuse pollution on farm and help maintain soil on farm. Magic Margins are part of a 3D buffer strip approach which aims to maximise the benefits of edge of field and riparian field margins. 

A webinar recording is now available that summarises the new Working With Natural Processes Evidence Directory update. 

Working with natural processes (WWNP) aims to protect, restore and emulate the natural functions of catchments, floodplains, rivers and the coast to reduce flood risk. It is also referred to as natural flood management (NFM). The 2025 update report brings together evidence from natural flood management studies published after 2017. 

The webinar was hosted by the Environment Agency.

The next Scottish Freshwater Group (SFG) meeting will take place on 30 October 2025 as a hybrid event. The meeting will feature a focused agenda discussion on “Nature-based solutions for freshwater restoration” led by SFG Guest Coordinator Alan Law (University of Stirling)

Scientists at the University of Aberdeen and James Hutton Institute have just published a paper on a new approach for characterising temporary storage area (TSA) functioning. The open access paper published in the Journal of Hydrology looks at multiple TSA and assesses their drainage rates. A new tool was developed called the TSA Drainage Rate Analysis tool; a novel data-based mechanistic method that only requires rainfall and TSA water level data to describe individual TSA drainage rates.

The Environment Agency have published an update to the Working with Natural Processes evidence directory. This was developed in collaboration with JBA Consulting. 

The Working with Natural Processes Evidence Directory was first published in 2017 and captures what research says about NFM. Evidence of NFM has grown in recent years, building our confidence in the flood risk and wider benefits these approaches can bring. Therefore this update report brings in the latest evidence.