CaBALondon 02 Jenny Mant, River Restoration Centre

Planning Monitoring Programmes

[email protected] 01234 752979 www.therrc.co.uk

Dr Jenny MantScience and Technical Manager

www.therrc.co.uk

http://www.therrc.co.uk/


• Ecosystem restoration is a fast growing¹, yet evidence-based assessments are limited

• Still only ~18% of completed projects have some form of monitoring²

• Essential step to:– Develop scientific understanding– Improve best practice in the field– Adaptive management– Meet legal requirements (e.g. WFD, EU Directives)

Sources: ¹UN Environment Programme²RRC’s National River Restoration Inventory (NRRI) – April 2015

Monitoring ecological restoration


Constraints

• Little money for monitoring and assessment of river restoration projects

• Needed a cost effective approach to increase understanding of the effectiveness of different river restoration approaches.


Water low in pollution

Full of native wildlife

Natural structure and connectivity

Sufficient water flow

Rivers are complex and dynamic so need clear

integrated objectives and clear foci

But………..


• SMART project objectives provides framework of monitoring

• Helps define ‘success’ and identify what needs monitoring

• Reduces risk of not being able to show what is happening

• Also helps you to identify what baseline data to collect and when

So…….


Specific • Set tangible, detailed and well defined targets which can be evaluated by specific monitoring methods.

Measurable• What is feasible related to quantity, quality,

equipment, expertise and time.

Achievable• Determined from a review of evidence of success on

other, similar sites.

Realistic• Consider available resources (money, people, time)

and factor in longer-term post-project management

Time-bound• Set deadlines for actions, but allow some flexibility.

Timing is crucial both for works and monitoring.

The SMART approach


http://www.therrc.co.uk/rrc_pragmo.php





Objective

Aim: Increase salmon spawning and egg survival by introducing gravels and narrowing the river to increase flow velocity variability.


http://www.wiser.eu/results/conceptual-models/




Setting objectives – stage 1

Determine the overall project aim.

For example: • Restore floodplain dynamics by reconnecting to the river

This is what you wish to achieve, but does not define how to do it or measure success.


Setting objectives – stage 2

Aim : Restore floodplain dynamics by reconnecting the riverSo specific targets:• Cut new sinuous course at a new bed level to encourage

more natural floodplain connectivity Establish floodplain vegetation by planting

• Lessen flood risk to properties

Now identify your key aim(s) and specific targets


Example

SMART objectives: Remove the weir structure by August 20XX and complete channel narrowing works within one

month Reduce the channel width by 30% for 60m upstream of the weir using locally-sourced

tethered wood Increase the total number of fish (abundance) passing through the reach in November Increase total number of Brown Trout spawning on upstream gravels within two seasons


Then set your monitoring programme

• Why – do the project? What are the objectives/specific targets that will be monitored? (e.g. increase no of riffles and clean gravel habitat by 80% over 2km of river).

• What – are you trying to observe? (monitor increased habitat diversity/ change in macro-invertebrate assemblages).• How – are you going to monitoring? What techniques will

used to collect data and what assessment methods are you using? (e.g. habitat mapping, 3 min macro-invertebrate kick-sampling).


Planning you monitoring cont…• Data – Do you have access to any

pre-project/baseline data? If not, can this be collected? If not ask yourself what your data collection will show.

• When will data be collected? (month/season, duration of monitoring, sampling repeats)? • Who is responsible for monitoring and will all

data be comparable?


The RRC support tool


The check list• Have you set SMART project objectives?• Can these be measured and thereby

monitored?• Have you checked what base line data

there is… can it be replicated?• Will your monitoring tell you if you have

achieved your objectives and targets?

Date post:	17-Jan-2017
Category:	Environment
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