LANDWISE field surveys: How land use and soil management affects soil properties, with implications for flood risk

Summary of findings so far… • Land use and management can significantly enhance soil physical and hydrological/hydraulic properties and flood mitigation potential • Soil management important improve near surface soil properties and reduce preferential flow pathways to increase infiltration of rainfall into soil and reduce runoff. • Increasing organic matter content increases soil porosity, creating more soil water storage and potential to mitigate flooding. • Fields with ‘low’ starting organic matter content can greatly improve soil porosity therefore soil water storage with relatively modest organic matter increases • Organic additions are not the only way to improve soil structure, innovative arable management practices (e.g. controlled traffic and min till) also improve soil structure, increase saturated hydraulic conductivity and therefore NFM potential. • Mature broadleaf woodland has the highest organic matter content, soil porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and NFM potential relative to arable and grassland. • Further analysis and quantification ongoing…