E
cosystem
servicesdelivered
Provisioning
Regulation & maintenance
Cultural
Abiotic
C
ontribution
topolicyobjectives
Water Framework Directive
Floods Directive
Birds & Habitats Directive
2020 Biodiversity Strategy
P
otential
biophysicaleffects
Runoff
Reducing pollution
Soil conservation
Habitat
Climate Change
High
Low
Medium
None
Afforestation of reservoir catchments can be part of a program to reduce flood risks. Forests are able to return a significant fraction of precipitation to the atmosphere through
evapotranspiration
and forest soils can
slow the transit
of water, reducing the height of the flood peak flows (depending on the wetness of the soils and the depth of
water in the reservoir). Increased infiltration can contribute to groundwater recharge.
Forests can
intercept
atmospheric pollutants and have the potential to reduce downstream concentrations of heavy metals, nutrients and organic pollutants (reservoirs also
enable photodegradation). This can contribute to improved
water quality
in the reservoir and indirectly in downstream water bodies. Forests and reservoirs are also efficient
at retaining sediment.
Increased vegetation growth contributes to
carbon sequestration
, and reservoirs themselves can provide sedimentation of dissolved organic carbon. The measure can thus
contribute to climate change adaptation; however, the standing biomass in reservoir catchment forests should not be harvested by large scale clear cut methods so as to avoid
negative impacts on reservoir water quality (See Continuous Cover Forestry measure, F6).
Afforestation using
endemic or indigenous
species will create terrestrial habitat, providing significant contribution to biodiversity preservation and potential for natural biomass
production. Forests are also widely prized for their amenity and recreational value.
