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Environmental Management of Rivers and Wetlands
Short course
In Bedfordshire ()
Description
-
Type
Short course
This short course involves consideration of flow regimes and the nature of channels; water levels and flood inundation; their effect on vegetation and sediment; and the requirements of fish, invertebrates and other fauna. Focusing on the appropriate assessment, restoration and enhancement of the biological and hydro-morphological status of rivers with a view to meeting the objectives of sustainable management and achieving ‘good ecological status’; a fundamental aim of the EU’s Water Framework Directive (WFD).
Reviews
Subjects
- Restoration
Course programme
On successful completion of this short course you will be able to:
- Explain the natural characteristics of rivers and how they can be influenced by human activity
- Understand the linkage between ecological, chemical and hydro-morphological aspects of a river
- Discuss the ecological and hydromorphological processes that determine the ecological status of a river
- Understand the interactions between wet land water status and plant community structure
- Gain knowledge of the links between the watercourse, soil properties, climate and position of the water table
- Appreciate the legal framework and directives that underpin river management in UK and EU
- Design and present the case for different management options for the protection, restoration, rehabilitation and/or maintenance of a case river and/or wetland to achieve improved ecological status
- Communicate findings in a professional manner in written and visual forms within the specified time-frame.
Core content
- River management objectives and ecological status
- Policy and legal framework (eg. WFD)
- Rivers behaviour; Flow types, determination of channel roughness
- Distinction between wetland and wet land. Types of water table control problem
- Water budgets
- Plant responses to water table change. Plant community mosaics in shallow water table situations
- Hydraulic conductivity and drainable porosity
- Biological communities in rivers and processes determining ecological status; and flow regime requirements
- Flow regimes; Flow duration and frequency; Estimation of low flows; the HOST classification of soils
- River restoration and rehabilitation.
Environmental Management of Rivers and Wetlands