Urban

A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of an area of soil. Its purpose is any or all of the following:

·       to conserve moisture

·       to improve the fertility and health of the soil

·       to reduce weed growth

·       to enhance the visual appeal of the area

Mulching...

Coarse woody debris in stream channels has multiple ecological and hydrologic benefits. Coarse woody debris consists of large sections of deadfall: tree stems or stumps that either fall into or are deliberately placed in streams. Coarse woody debris can be deployed with varying degrees of naturalness. At one extreme, coarse woody debris can be used to form coffer or placer dams which effectively limit water flow. At the other extreme, natural...

Sediment capture ponds are engineered ponds placed in networks of forest ditches to slow the velocity of water and cause the deposition of suspended materials. Sediment capture ponds are most useful for managing the effects of ditch construction and maintenance, road work and final feeling. While used primarily in forests, sediment capture ponds may be a useful temporary measure for preserving water quality in and around construction sites or...

Trees in urban areas can have multiple benefits related to aesthetics, microclimate regulation and urban hydrology. Trees in urban areas can also be important biodiversity refuges and can contribute to reducing particulate air pollution. Trees intercept precipitation, reducing the amount of rainfall which must be processed by sewers and other water transporting infrastructure. The area around urban trees may also have greater infiltration...

Urban forest parks can deliver a broad range of hydrology-related and other ecosystem services. Forests in urban areas have great amenity value, can improve air quality, moderate local microclimates, improve urban biodiversity and contribute to climate change mitigation as well as having ancillary hydrological benefits. Forest soils often have greater infiltration capacity than other urban land cover and can be an important location for...

Green roofs are multi-layered systems that cover the roof of a building with vegetation and/or green landscaping over a drainage layer. There are two types of green roof:

• Extensive green roofs cover the entire roof area with lightweight, low growing, self-sustaining, low maintenance planting. They are only accessed for maintenance. Vegetation normally consists of hardy, drought tolerant, succulents, herbs or...

A riverbank protection is an inert or living construction providing bank fixation but also an obstacle for the lateral connection of the river. Eliminating it consists in removing some parts of the bank protection, especially the inert one, in order to enhance lateral connections of the river, diversify flows (depth, substrate, and speed) and habitats, but also cap floods in the mainstream. It is a prerequisite for many other measures like re...

Filter strips are uniformly graded, gently sloping, vegetated strips of land that provide opportunities for slow conveyance and (commonly) infiltration. They are designed to accept runoff as overland sheet flow from upstream development and often lie between a hard-surfaced area and a receiving stream, surface water collection, treatment or disposal system.

Filter strips are generally planted with grass or other dense vegetation to...

Swales are broad, shallow, linear vegetated channels which can store or convey surface water (reducing runoff rates and volumes) and remove pollutants. They can be used as conveyance features to pass the runoff to the next stage of the SuDS treatment train and can be designed to promote infiltration where soil and groundwater conditions allow. Three kinds of swale give different surface water management capabilities:

• Standard...

Riverbank represents both natural and artificial terrain following the river flow. In the past, lots of artificial banks were built with concrete or other types of retention walls, therefore limiting rivers’ natural movements, leading to degradation of the river, increased water flow, increased erosion and decreased biodiversity. River bank renaturalisation consists in recovering its ecological components, thus reversing such damages and...