Hydrological monitoring and surveillance for wetland conservation and management; a UK perspective

Citation

Gilvear D & Bradley C (2000) Hydrological monitoring and surveillance for wetland conservation and management; a UK perspective. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Part B: Hydrology, Oceans and Atmosphere, 25 (7-8), pp. 571-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1464-1909%2800%2900068-X

Abstract
Wetlands are under threat from a variety of human-induced changes to their hydrology. To alleviate these threats, and restore wetlands degraded by past human activity or to enhance biodiversity, an understanding of wetland hydrology and hydrogeology, water level management and monitoring of change has become essential. However, many wetland managers have an inadequate knowledge to design effective hydrological programmes or to commission investigations that may be appropriate to the goal of conserving or restoring a specific wetland. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the hydrological and hydrogeological data required for surveillance and to monitor change to provide a basis for on-site management and assessment of the consequences of activities within the catchment area of the wetland on wetland hydrology and hence ultimately ecology. It is timely given international efforts under the Ramsar convention in the area of environmental risk assessment and standardisation of monitoring and surveillance. It highlights what hydrological and hydrogeological information can be extracted from differing types of monitoring. This will permit wetland managers to make rational decisions concerning requirements for instrumentation and wetland monitoring and the type of investigation to commission when hydrological studies are needed for consideration of on-site management alternatives in the face of a potential hydrological threat. The paper illustrates that a range of instrumentation, techniques and methods exist for monitoring and developing an understanding of a wetland site's hydrology. Choice of the most appropriate method is dependent upon the purpose to which the data is to be put, financial resources, availability of manual labour for recording and the characteristics of the wetland site.

Journal
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Part B: Hydrology, Oceans and Atmosphere: Volume 25, Issue 7-8