Quantifying the synergies and tradeoffs of nature based solutions between flood management and biodiversity restoration

Nature Based Solutions (NBS)) aim to restore the natural functioning of catchments to store water and slow the flow. Examples of NBS include tree planting, leaky dams and river restoration, along with agricultural land management. These work with hydrological processes to attenuate the flood peak and have multiple benefits for other ecosystem services such as biodiversity, water quality and carbon sequestration. However, despite gaining popularity with policy makers and flood action groups, a lack of evidence on its effectiveness and advice about how to go about implementing such an innovative approach are limiting its success.
There are two gaps in current knowledge relating to the effectiveness of NBS. First, at the intervention scale, we do not have a full understanding of how much the natural processes which are modified by the features do alter ecosystem service provision. Second, at the larger sub-catchment scale, we have limited knowledge of how the effect of the interventions combine together and propagate through the river system. Furthermore, there may be synergies and trade-offs between the different ecosystem services which need to be considered at the landscape scale. This project aims to develop guidance on how NBS schemes can provide the optimum benefits in terms of ecosystem services at the catchment scale. The research will be focussed on the Allan Water Restoration project working with a wide range of stakeholders. This project will utilise a mixed methods approach, combining field monitoring, numerical modelling and stakeholder engagement.