Water in Our Woodlands
Water is an important part of a healthy woodland. It shapes habitats, supports wildlife, influences tree growth and affects the risk of flooding and drought.
As our climate changes, we are experiencing wetter winters, drier summers and more frequent extreme weather events. This means water is becoming harder to manage. Heavy rainfall can lead to flooding, while prolonged dry periods can leave streams and wetlands struggling for water.
Woodlands can play an important role in helping to slow the flow of water and make landscapes more resilient. Tree canopies intercept rainfall, roots help water soak into the ground and woodland soils can store large amounts of water. But many woodlands were historically drained and modified, altering natural watercourses and speeding up the movement of water through the landscape.
Today, we are working to restore more natural water systems, helping to reduce flood risk, improve habitats and build resilience to a changing climate.
Adapting Our Management
Managing water in woodlands is essential for wildlife, healthy trees and local communities.
As the climate changes, we need to adapt how we manage water across the forest. Working with Gloucestershire County Council and the Environment Agency, we are improving our understanding of how water moves through woodland catchments and identifying opportunities to restore natural processes. This includes creating and restoring wetlands, ponds and wet woodland habitats that can hold water higher in the catchment, slow its movement through the landscape and help reduce flood risk downstream. These habitats also support a wide range of plants and animals and can improve resilience during periods of drought.
What is Natural Flood Management?
Natural Flood Management (NFM) uses natural processes to slow, store and filter water across a catchment. Rather than relying solely on engineered structures such as dams, walls and embankments, NFM works with the landscape to reduce flood risk.
In woodlands, this can include restoring wetlands, reconnecting streams with their floodplains, introducing large woody debris into watercourses and creating areas where water can temporarily spread out during periods of heavy rainfall. By slowing the movement of water upstream, these measures can help reduce the intensity of flooding further downstream while creating valuable wildlife habitat.
Riparian Planting
Riparian woodland is woodland that grows alongside rivers, streams, ponds and wetlands. These areas form an important link between land and water, providing habitat, improving water quality and supporting healthy watercourses.
Planting and restoring native trees and shrubs along watercourses can help stabilise banks, reduce erosion and slow the movement of water during periods of heavy rainfall. Trees also help filter sediment and nutrients carried in surface runoff before they reach streams and rivers. Well-managed riparian woodland provides shade that can help keep water temperatures suitable for fish and other aquatic wildlife, while creating diverse habitats for birds, mammals, insects and amphibians. Healthy riparian woodland is an important part of building resilient river catchments that can better cope with the challenges of climate change
