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Data Download - How to use the Wetlandscapes data download
Data Download - How to use the Wetlandscapes data download

Overview of Wetlandscapes data download for wetland and water storage opportunities on farms

Ben Harries avatar
Written by Ben Harries
Updated over a week ago

Click here to see how to run to tool.

Overview

Welcome to the Wetlandscapes data download guidance, a powerful tool designed to suggest interventions related to wetland and water storage opportunities on farms. This guidance will help you understand the data sources, layers, and attributes available in the Wetlandscapes data download, and how to effectively use them to make informed land management decisions.

Glossary of terms

  • Natural Ponding: areas of land that naturally lie wet during wet seasons or more permanently, usually found in natural depressions or bowls in the landscape (see gallery photos 1 and 2).

  • Runoff Attenuation Feature: a series of longer grasses, scrub, hedgerow or margins that lie in waterflow pathways, that slow surface runoff, and increase the amount of water infiltrating through the soils (see gallery photo 3).

  • Straight channels: Areas of ditch or watercourse that exist as straight lines longer than 100 meters, usually indicating artificial modification of the watercourse (see gallery photo 4).

  • Waterway re-profiling: physical management of a watercourse to change its banks or route to increase habitat, reduce flood, or minimise the soil erosion.

  • Wetland Creation: is the construction of a wetland on a site that never was a wetland. This can be done only on a site where conditions exist that suit - both ecologically and by soil (see gallery photos 5 and 6).

  • Leaky Dams: flooding prevention measures (made either of wood or stone), moderating the flow of water downstream. Barriers are added to a stream or flow pathway to prevent soil and silt escaping and allowing water to escape at a slower rate (see gallery photos 7, 8 and 9)

How to get funded for this?

There are a number of Countryside Stewardship Options that help deliver the ambitions of Wetlandscapes.

*no guarantee of success

Data Used

To perform a comprehensive analysis of wetland opportunities, Wetlandscapes uses a variety of data sources, including:

  • Land Covers from RPA: field parcel information from the Rural Payments Agency land cover types, show areas of land registered, including arable land, grassland, ponds and woodlands.

  • BGS Soil Parent Model: (1km resolution) Soil information that relates to wetland areas, indicating drainage: "light", "medium" or "heavy" soils (a derived dataset).

    • Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2024.

  • OS Open Rivers: Water-related features from Ordnance Survey.

  • VOM from EA: Vegetation Object Model data from the Environment Agency.

  • DTM from EA: Digital Terrain Model data from the Environment Agency.

  • RoFSW from EA: Data on Risk of Flooding from Surface Water from the Environment Agency.

    • 30-year, 100-year and 300-year events.

Data Delivered

In the Wetlandscapes data download, you will have access to various layers for your analysis. Insight Layers include:

  • Leaky Dams:

    • Suggestion(s) for strategically placing woody /stone dams to slow down water flow - or places to focus for more detailed fieldwork. Location is indicative.

    • Identify the best places for enhancing flood risk reduction, water quality improvement, and wildlife habitat creation.

  • Straight channels:

    • Identifies areas of existing waterways where the channel is unnaturally straight (for >100m, likely due to modification for drainage). These areas have high-potential locations to consider re-profiling or re-m (see below).

  • Waterway Re-profiling:

    • Suggestions for areas where river and stream re-profiling could be beneficial.

    • Opportunities for reprofiling (and altering the bank angles) to enhance habitat diversity, reduce erosion, and improve flood risk management.

    • Please contact your Local Flood Authority for additional information and advice on measures to support. Statutory consent may be required.

  • Natural Ponding:

    • Suggestions for recognising areas where natural ponding occurs for water storage.

    • Opportunities to increase water storage areas, such as ponds, for biodiversity enhancements and flood storage.

    • Types of natural pondings:

      • Temporary waterbodies (scapes and seasonal ponds)

      • Permanent ponds

  • Wetland Creation:

    • Suggestion for pinpointing areas with potential for creating new wetland habitats, more extensive areas than “Natural Ponding”, with interventions looking at greater areas.

    • Identify zones for wetland restoration and establishment to boost ecological diversity and flood resilience.

  • Runoff Attenuation Feature (RAFF):

    • Suggestion for identifying sites suitable for runoff attenuation features, such as a series of longer grasses, scrub, hedgerow or margins that lie in water-flow pathways, that slow surface runoff, and increase the amount of water infiltrating through the soils.

    • The best places to manage surface water runoff, reduce flash flooding, and enhance water quality.

Attributes of Insight Layers:

  • Soil Type: Categorised as Light, Medium, or Heavy.

  • Slope: Categorised as Flat, Shallow, Moderate, Steep, or Extremely Steep.

  • Aspect: Directions North, East, South, or West.

  • Optimal Place Description: Descriptions related to the optimal location for different interventions.
    (more detail on the logic of how these attributes combine to create suggestions coming soon)

Reference Layers include:

  • Water Channel Straights over 100m: Information on water channels over 100 meters straight which informs where to do re-profiling.

  • Flood Pathways from RoFSW: Data related to flood pathways.

  • Existing Vegetation: Information on the vegetation that currently exists in the area.

Informing Land Management plans

If you would like to use other templates, such as a Land Management plan for Biodiversity Net Gain assessments, we recommend duplicating only those features, from the Wetlandscape plans, on which you want to consider future use options.

You can select or multi-select features (holding down the shift key) and copy these to a new Land Management Plan. Once selected right click and Copy to plan.

Select "Create a new Plan", use the Land Management Plan, give it a name and click on "Create a new Plan for features".

The selected feature/features will now be copied to your LMP plan.

Partners

The Wetlandscapes data download is made possible through collaboration with various partners, including: Northumberland County Council, Natural England, Groundwork, United Utilities.

This guidance is designed to help you make the most of the Wetlandscapes data download. Should you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact ben@thelandapp.com .

Photo Gallery

Photo 1: Natural Ponding

Photo 2: Natural Ponding

Photo 3: Runoff Attenuation Feature

Photo 4: Straight Channels (Ref: Ditches - Freshwater Habitats Trust)

Photo 5: Wetland Creation

Photo 6: Wetland Creation

Photo 7: Leaky Dam creation using wood

Photo 8: Leaky Dam creation using stones

Photo 9: Multiple Leaky Dams

How to run the Wetlandscapes Data download

Select New - Download Data

Form the list of downloads select Wetlandscapes

Either select an existing plan or create a frame area to define your area

Add a plan name and your SBI and click on Download Now.

You will receive an email from us to confirm the process is running and another to confirm the status

Once you have confirmation of a successful download new plans will load in the left hand panel. Pease note you may need to refresh your browser for these to load.

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