Muddy Floods And Compacted Soils – Current And Future

Muddy floods and compacted soils – current and future Paul Sadler Planning and Corporate Services Manager for SW Observatory Land and Food seminar 8 December 2009

Key messages
Compacted soil and heavy rainfall = muddy flood
Wetter winters, drier summers, heavier rain = narrowed window to work the land = more compaction
Wetter winters, heavier rain, more compaction = more muddy floods

Cause, Effect, Solutions
What effects do muddy floods have?
What causes muddy floods?
How can we deal with the causes and effects?

Effects of muddy floods:

Compaction - inevitable with high risk crops - inevitable with long periods of wet weather

What causes muddy floods? Intense rainfall Compacted soil Extremely intense rainfall Any exposed surface of vulnerable soil type Sufficient slope Sufficient slope Muddy flood

What causes compaction and runoff? Machinery Livestock Compacted soil Particularly when soil is wet Rain impact Capped soils (sand/silt soils) Runoff

In future what factors might change? Machinery Livestock Compacted soil Particularly when soil is wet More frequent and intense rainfall Crop cover Runoff

Soil Weather Landscape Land use Factors that influence erosion and runoff

What can we do?
Causes: Raise awareness of soil vulnerability Work the land differently – timeliness Remove compaction – “sub-soiler”
Change cropping to improve crop cover
Effects: Buffer strips Increase flood awareness

Soil degradation within broad soil types in the South West

Early drilling of crops in the autumn

The role of the Environment Agency Prosecution as a last resort

Working together
Farmers tell us “show us the problem, we’ll tackle it”
Environment Agency’s expertise is not farming
Who else involved - how best can we work together?

Want to find out more about us?
Then call us on
08708 506 506 (Mon-Fri 8-6)
email
[email_address]
Visit our website
www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Muddy Floods And Compacted Soils – Current And Future

by South West Observatory on Dec 08, 2009

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Muddy Floods And Compacted Soils – Current And Future — Presentation Transcript