Staff publications - Cranfield University at Silsoe

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Open Access
Anglian Region: River Yare, River Wensum, Woldgrift Drain
(National Rivers Authority, 1996) Dunderdale, J. A. L.; Morris, J.
This document describes methods, results and conclusions of a study to evaluate the impacts of alternative river maintenance strategies on the River Yare and Wensum and the Woldgrift Drain in the Anglian Region. Its main purpose are to provide supporting information for R&D Note 456 'River Maintenance Evaluation' and to provide data which supports routines for the prioritisation and programming of river maintenance.
Open Access
Farmer uptake of drainage benefits a regional study
(Cranfield University, 1987-01) Morris, J.; Black, D. E.; Hess, Tim M.
The commitment of public funds to land drainage improvement such as river flood alleviation and improved arterial systems, has been an important component of agricultural support in Britain. The economic performance of these investments depends on whether private farmers actually exploit the potential benefits afforded. Pre-investment appraisals of agricultural land drainage schemes have been criticised for their arbitrary and optimistic predictions of benefit uptake whilst the great variation in benefit uptake between schemes and farmers has hitherto remained unexplained. More recently, in the face of changes in agricultural policy, pressure on public funds, and competition from other land users, there has been a call for a more consistent and objective method for evaluating public sector land drainage investments (HMSO, 1995).
Open Access
South West Region: River Yarty, Sir Arthur's Pill
(National Rivers Authority, 1996) Dunderdale, J. A. L.; Morris, J.
This document describes methods, results and conclusions of a study to evaluate the impacts of alternative river maintenance strategies on the River Yarty and Sir Arther's Pill in the South Western Region. Its main purpose are to provide supporting information for R&D Note 456 'River Maintenance Evaluation' and to provide data which supports routines for the prioritisation and programming of river maintenance.
Open Access
Severn Trent Region: River Sence, Hinlton Brook
(National Rivers Authority, 1996) Dunderdale, J. A. L.; Morris, J.
This document describes methods, results and conclusions of a study to evaluate the impacts of alternative river maintenance strategies on the River Sence and Hilton Brook in the Severn Trent Region. Its main purpose are to provide supporting information for R&D Note 456 'River Maintenance Evaluation' and to provide data which supports routines for the prioritisation and programming of river maintenance.
Open Access
The evaluation of river maintenance
(Cranfield University, 1993-05) Morris, J.; Sutherland, D. C.
Rivers serve a variety of interests including those of water supply, drainage, environmental quality, and recreation. One of the main functions of managed rivers is to dispose of surplus water from urban and rural areas. In the case of rural areas this drainage function relates to the control, within acceptable limits, of flooding and water table levels on riparian, mainly agricultural land.
Open Access
Evaluation of weed maintenance activities on the river Idle
(Cranfield University, 1993-09) Sutherland, D. C.; Morris, J.
Silsoe College was asked by the Lower Trent Area of the Severn Trent Region of the National Rivers Authority (NRA) to evaluate the current weed maintenance regime on the River Idle, north Nottinghamshire. The study required the assessment of the benefits of regular weed maintenance activities to users of the river and the disbenefits incurred if weed maintenance was not to be carried out.
Open Access
Wet fens for the future: Feasibility study phase 2 - a study of the economic and social implications of creating new wetlands in Fenland
(Cranfield University, 1996-11) Morris, Joe
The Fens, a lowlying area of 3,700 square kilometres in central, east England, are unique in character in the UK, comparable only with The Netherlands in Europe. Over 70% of the area is farmland, criss-crossed by dykes and drains. The Fens are significant in terms of their integration of land use, economic activity, wildlife and scenic value, and are internationally important for their biodiversity. The Fens also contain some of the most fertile, high value agricultural land in Britain.
Open Access
Welsh region: River Arrow, Dreneuydd/Broadway Reen, Dysynni Low Level Drain
(National Rivers Authority, 1996) Dunderdale, J. A. L.; Morris, J.
This document describes methods, results and conclusions of a study to evaluate the impacts of alternative river maintenance strategies on the River Arrow Dreneuydd Broadway Reen and the Dysynni Low Level Drain in the Welsh Region. Its main purposes are to provide supporting information for R&D Note 456 'River Maintenance Evaluation' and to provide data which support routines for the prioritisation and programming of river maintenance.
Open Access
North West region: River Wampool, Pilling Water
(National Rivers Authority, 1996) Dunderdale, J. A. L.; Morris, J.
Open Access
Drainage benefits and farmer uptake
(Severn Trent Water Authority, 1984-07) Morris, J.; Hess, Tim M.; Ryan, A. M.; Leeds-Harrison, P. B.
As part of the Severn Trent Water Authority's need to improve managerial decision on future projects, post appraisals of completed projects have been instigated. These can involve either a comprehensive review of all aspects or the project or, alternatively, can consider key parameters only. In the case of agricultural land drainage schemes key parameters have been identified as the benefits resulting from schemes and the rate of uptake of these benefits by farmers. The investment of public funds in improved agricultural land drainage is normally justified in terms of the resultant net increase in the value of agricultural production.
Open Access
Background documentation: guidelines for river vegetation maintenance
(National Rivers Authority, 1996) Ward, D. E.; Holmes, N. T. H.; Andrews, J. H.; Gowing, D. J. G.; Kirby, P.
This report sets out the methodology employed in preparing guidelines for the incorporation of environmental criteria into the planning and appraisal of river vegetation management. This work was carried out under Project 536 (environmental Impact Assessment) under the umbrella of Project No. 317 - River Maintenance Evaluation, being undertaken for the National Rivers Authority (Severn Trent Region) by Silsoe College. Its aim is to provide the environmental basis for making decisions on the optimum method and timing of vegetation control on rivers which will integrate satisfactorily with operational demands and will maintain or enhance existing environmental interests.
Open Access
RELU integrated floodplain management
(Cranfield University, 2009-06) Morris, Joe; Hess, Tim; Gowing, David; Trawick, Paul; Leeds-Harrison, Peter; Blowers, Andy; Tucker, Graham
The last 25 years have witnessed a change in the priorities for the use of rural land in the United Kingdom. Whereas previously the focus was predominantly on agricultural production to achieve national self sufficiency, since the 1980s environmental objectives, such as the protection of wildlife habitats and countryside recreation, have exerted greater influence over the way land is managed.
Open Access
Rural land management and flood risk management: stakeholder and policy analysis
(Cranfield University, 2006-10) Posthumus, Helena; Morris, Joe
Climate change, perceived increase in flood incidence and changing priorities in the countryside have led to a growing concern that changes in land use in rural areas have increased the exposure of urban settlements to flood risk, not only at a local level but also at the catchment scale. This has led to calls for interventions to reduce the potential runoff from farmland and in some cases to reduce the degree of protection afforded to farmland in order to provide temporary storage of flood waters. It is also claimed that reducing runoff from farmland could reduce diffuse pollution from agriculture. Furthermore, the creation of flood storage areas could provide opportunities for wetland creation and enhanced biodiversity.
Open Access
River maintenance evaluation
(National Rivers Authority, 1996) Dunderdale, J. A. L.; Morris, J.
In January 1989, the National Rivers Authority (NRA) Severn Trent Region commissioned Silsoe College to undertake a three year study to monitor and evaluate the impact of maintenance on six of its main river sites. The study developed methods for the technical and economic appraisal or fiver maintenance. Subsequent to this, the study was extended to incorporate other NRA Regions, and further develop methods to help design, justify and prioritise maintenance activities. The study reported below involved the monitoring of 12 sites in five NRA Regions during the period March 1992 - October 1995, and further development of guidelines for the management of the maintenance function.
Open Access
Economic basis and practicalities of washland creation on the somerset levels and moors
(Cranfield University, 2002-01) Morris, J.; Vivash, R. M.; Alsop, D.; Lawson, C. S.; Leeds-Harrison, P. B.; Bailey, A. P.
In Somerset, the Wise use of Floodplains (WUF) Project has developed new ways of helping stakeholders in the River Parrett Catchment to find sustainable solutions for the management of water, both in flood events and throughout the year.
Open Access
Soil-based services in the built environment: A report prepared for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Cranfield University, National Soil Resources Institute, 2005-05) Wood, Gavin; Kibblewhite, Mark G.; Hannam, Jacqueline A.; Harris, Jim A.; Leeds-Harrison, Peter B.
Background: Publication of the First Soil Action Plan for England in 2004 has drawn attention to the value that can be derived from the protection and appropriate management of the country’s soil resources. This principle applies all soils equally including those in built environments which are the subject of this report. Soil is valuable because it underpins both quality of life and biodiversity conservation. It does this by providing a range of services or functions which meet human needs and sustain natural systems. The principal of these are environmental regulation and environmental maintenance, food and fibre production, above and below ground habitat maintenance as support for biodiversity, protection of cultural services and provision of a platform for the built environment. Soil is, in practical terms, a non-renewable resource which can be destroyed by construction. To help protect soils in the built environment, the services they can and do provide to both society and the environment need to be documented and explained. This report proposes a framework to help explain soil’s services and functions within built environments and provides a literature-based review of those services, their current perceived value, and a risk assessment of the threats that may degrade them.
Open Access
Monitoring urban sealing from space: The application of remote sensing to identify and measure changes in the area of soil prevented from carrying out functions by sealing
(Cranfield University; National Soil Resources Institute, 2006-08) Wood, Gavin; Braganza, Steven; Brewer, Timothy R.; Kampouraki, Mary; Harris, Jim A.; Hannam, Jacqueline A.; Burton, Rodney; Deane, Graham
Overview Urban development presents the greatest driver of soil loss due to sealing-over by buildings, pavement and transport infrastructure. To this end, soil sealing is recognised as one of the major threats to soil. The ability to monitor the rates, types and geo-spatial distribution of soil sealing is crucial to understanding the severity of pressure on soils and their impact on European and global socio-economic and environmental systems. The overall objective of this work was to test the feasibility of using space-derived information to support the Defra Soils Team (ST) in monitoring the extent and pattern of soil sealing. The rate and nature of sealing should be routinely measured in order for it to be managed to best effect. Monitoring soil sealing is intended to be a part of a national soil monitoring scheme and to inform policy creation. This report identifies appropriate Earth Observation (EO) technology and processing procedures to deliver a range of baseline and monitoring information, and assesses the practical scope for the routine use of EO information to support the delivery of the required tasks of the Defra ST1 . The project was funded under the British National Space Centre’s GIFTSS2 programme with support from Defra.
Open Access
Using a linked soil model emulator and unsaturated zone leaching model to account for preferential flow when assessing the spatially distributed risk of pesticide leaching to groundwater in England and Wales
(Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam., 2004-01-05T00:00:00Z) Holman, Ian P.; Dubus, Igor G.; Hollis, J. M.; Brown, Colin D.
Although macropore flow is recognized as an important process for the transport of pesticides through a wide range of soils, none of the existing spatially distributed methods for assessing the risk of pesticide leaching to groundwater account for this phenomenon. The present paper presents a spatially distributed modelling system for predicting pesticide losses to groundwater through micro- and macropore flow paths. The system combines a meta version of the mechanistic, dual porosity, preferential flow pesticide leaching model MACRO (the MACRO emulator), which describes pesticide transport and attenuation in the soil zone, to an attenuation factor leaching model for the unsaturated zone. The development of the emulator was based on the results of over 4000 MACRO model simulations. Model runs describe pesticide leaching for the range of soil types, climate regimes, pesticide properties and application patterns in England and Wales. Linking the MACRO emulator to existing spatial databases of soil, climate and compound-specific loads allowed the prediction of the concentration of pesticide leaching from the base of the soil profile (at 1 m depth) for a wide range of pesticides. Attenuation and retardation of the pesticide during transit through the unsaturated zone to the watertable was simulated using the substrate attenuation factor model AQUAT. The MACRO emulator simulated pesticide loss in 10 of 12 lysimeter soil-pesticide combinations for which pesticide leaching was shown to occur and also successfully predicted no loss from 3 soil-pesticide combinations. Although the qualitative aspect of leaching was satisfactorily predicted, actual pesticide concentrations in leachate were relatively poorly predicted. At the national scale, the linked MACRO emulator / AQUAT system was found to predict the relative order of, and realistic regional patterns of, pesticide leaching for atrazine, isoproturon, chlorotoluron and lindane. The methodology provides a first-step assessment of the potential for pesticide leaching to groundwater in England and Wales. Further research is required to improve the modelling concept proposed. The system can be used to refine regional groundwater monitoring system designs and sampling strategies and improve the cost-effectiveness of the measures needed to achieve “good status” of groundwater quality as required by the Water Framework Direct
Open Access
Development and application of a soil classification-based conceptual catchment- scale hydrological model
(Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam., 2005-10-01T00:00:00Z) Marechal, David; Holman, Ian P.
A conceptual, continuous, daily, semi distributed catchment-scale rainfall- runoff model that has the potential to be ultimately used in ungauged catchments is described. The Catchment Resources and Soil Hydrology (CRASH) model is developed from the basis that the transformation of rainfall into simulated river discharge can be parameterised using pre-existing national datasets of soil, land use and weather; and that the spatial variability in soil properties and land use are important to the hydrological response of a catchment and should be incorporated into the catchment representation. Both infiltration- excess and saturation-excess runoff mechanisms are simulated, with water movement through each soil layer simulated using a capacitance approach limited according to layer physical properties. The hydrological linkage between the response unit and catchment is parameterised using the existing national Hydrology of Soil Types (HOST) classification. The HOST classification groups all UK soil types into one of 29 hydrological classes for which nationally calibrated values of Base Flow Index and Standard Percentage Runoff are provided. CRASH has been calibrated and validated for three catchments in England with contrasting soil characteristics and meteorological conditions. The model was successful at simulating time series and flow duration curves in all catchments during the calibration and validation periods. The next development stage will be to test CRASH for a large number of catchments covering a wider range of soils, land uses and meteorological conditions, in order to derive a set of regionalised model parameters based upon the HOST classification. The successful cross-scale linkage between water movement through the response unit and the catchment-scale hydrological response using the HOST classification, which incorporates the scale effects between plot and catchment, suggests that such national soil hydrological classifications may provide a sound and consistent framework for hydrological modelling in both gauged and ungauged catchments which should be extended to other regions.
Open Access
Review of the effects of energy crops on hydrology.
(2001-02-15T00:00:00Z) Stephens, William; Hess, Tim M.; Knox, Jerry W.
1) MAFF has recently launched a scheme to support the expansion of the area of energy crops grown in England in order to meet the nation’s Kyoto targets for the reduction in CO2 emissions. This has highlighted concerns about the possible effects of willow short rotation coppice (SRC) and Miscanthus on the hydrology of catchments in which they are grown. High levels of water use by these crops could result in less surface runoff, decreased aquifer recharge and hence reduced stream flow (Chapter 1