Project title
Can land and soil restoration help control flooding?
Project abstract
This project advances a multi scale investigation of how upland grassland management modulates flood generation, spanning plot, hillslope and catchment scales. Field experiments and instrumented hillslope transects quantify management driven variation in soil structure, saturated hydraulic conductivity and event scale runoff response across contrasting grazing systems. These empirical datasets are then used to train machine learning models that upscale relationships between management practices, soil physical condition and hydrological functioning across regeneratively and traditionally managed catchments. Modelled spatial distributions of key soil hydraulic properties subsequently parameterise dynamic hydrological models, enabling simulation of alternative grazing scenarios and their effects on runoff generation, peak flows and downstream flood hazard. By integrating methodical field observation with data driven prediction and process based hydrological modelling, the research provides a robust decision support framework for locating where changes in grassland management can most effectively enhance infiltration, attenuate flood peaks and strengthen Natural Flood Management in the UK uplands.