New Forest Research Catchment

New Forest Research Catchment

New Forest Research Catchment

Introduction

The New Forest Research Catchment is a mixed woodland and heath catchment in Hampshire, southern England. The catchment was first instrumented in the mid 1970's by the Department of Geography in association with the Forestry Commission and Southern Water, to provide hydrological information from a lowland forest and moorland river catchment. Early work focussed on streamflow processes, the effects of vegetation cover on runoff generation and the role of woody debris on channel geomorphology and flood routing. Over 20 years of hydrological data now exists in chart records. In 1996 the old instrumentation was upgraded to provide what is one of the UK's most advanced instrumented catchments for hydrological and geomorphological research. Further information on the catchment together with a resume of research programmes and opportunities are available in the links from this page.

Research Catchments in the UK

Advances in hydrology and fluvial geomorphology have relied on controlled field observation and scientific experimentation. At first such observation, measurment and experimentation was necessary to build up a picture of how catchments worked and to test hypotheses about the processes involved.

More recent research has used field measurment and observation to develop and validate computer simulation models of hydrological and geomorphological processes. These models are increasingly used to test hypotheses about environmental change. Whilst much can be gained from intensive short-term measurement, a prolonged and continuous series of measruments provides much more useful data for scientific research.

Accordingly a number of research catchments were set up around the world to monitor water, nutrient and sediment fluxes. Many of these were closed in the 1980s, but there has recently been a revival of interest in research catchments as a focus for hydrological and geomorphological research. Ultimately research of this type assists in the development of best practice management of the water environment by relevant bodies such as the Forestry Commision, English Nature and the Environment Agency.

References about catchment experiments in hydrology & geomorphology

  • Gregory, K.J. & Walling, D.E. (eds) (1974) 'Fluvial processes in instrumented watersheds', Institute of British Geographers, Special Publication 6.
  • International Association of Hydrological Sciences (1980) 'The influence of man on the hydrological regime with special reference to representative and experimental basins', IAHS Publication 130.
  • Burt, T.P. & Walling, D.E. (eds) (1984) 'Catchment Experiments in Fluvial Geomorphology', Geobooks, Norwich.
  • Kirby, C., Newson, M.D. & Gilman, K. (eds) (1991) 'Plynlimon research: the first two decades' Institute of Hydrology Report No. 109, Institute of Hydrology