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In this paper, nature-based solutions (NBS) include: (1) natural flood management (NFM) interventions with a primary function of flood risk reduction but with additional multiple benefits for water quality improvements through the mitigation of diffuse pollution; and (2) ponds with a primary function of water quality improvement. This study assesses the ability of these NBS to trap pollutants in run-off within two small (3.4 km2) agricultural catchments (Upper Thames, UK). The masses of sediment, phosphorus, and organic carbon trapped by 14 features (since construction 2–3 years previously) were quantified through sediment surveying and sampling. Streamflow and suspended sediment monitoring downstream of features enabled catchment yields to be calculated. The features trapped a total of 83 t sediment, 122 kg phosphorus, and 4.3 t organic carbon. Although the footprint of the features was <1% of the catchment area, they drained 44% of the total land area and captured the equivalent of 15% of the total suspended sediment yield, 10% of the total phosphorus yield, and 8% of the particulate organic carbon yield as monitored at the catchment outlet over the monitoring period. Results reveal that accumulation rates were influenced by hydrological connectivity, with greater accumulation in features constructed directly on streams (online ponds), and those offline features that filled from overbank flows. The low to moderate accumulation rates observed in offline features suggests that their floodwater storage potential is only likely to significantly reduce in the medium term, necessitating maintenance after ~10 years. Compared with topsoil in each contributing area, trapped sediment was enriched in phosphorus and carbon in the majority of features, having on average 50% higher phosphorus and 17% higher organic carbon concentrations than surrounding arable soils, highlighting its potential value for redistribution on farmland. Monitoring results demonstrate the potential of

The COSMOS-UK soil moisture status report provides an insight into the current soil moisture conditions across the UK as monitored by the COSMOS-UK network. The network comprises approximately 50 sites at which a cosmic ray neutron sensor is deployed to monitor soil moisture within a footprint of about 12 hectares. The report is comprised of: maps of end of month soil moisture both as volumetric water content and as a soil moisture index; a short description of current status; and selected time series graphs showing data from the last three years.

The COSMOS-UK soil moisture status report provides an insight into the current soil moisture conditions across the UK as monitored by the COSMOS-UK network. The network comprises approximately 50 sites at which a cosmic ray neutron sensor is deployed to monitor soil moisture within a footprint of about 12 hectares. The report is comprised of: maps of end of month soil moisture both as volumetric water content and as a soil moisture index; a short description of current status; and selected time series graphs showing data from the last three years.

The COSMOS-UK soil moisture status report provides an insight into the current soil moisture conditions across the UK as monitored by the COSMOS-UK network. The network comprises approximately 50 sites at which a cosmic ray neutron sensor is deployed to monitor soil moisture within a footprint of about 12 hectares. The report is comprised of: maps of end of month soil moisture both as volumetric water content and as a soil moisture index; a short description of current status; and selected time series graphs showing data from the last three years.

The COSMOS-UK soil moisture status report provides an insight into the current soil moisture conditions across the UK as monitored by the COSMOS-UK network. The network comprises approximately 50 sites at which a cosmic ray neutron sensor is deployed to monitor soil moisture within a footprint of about 12 hectares. The report is comprised of: maps of end of month soil moisture both as volumetric water content and as a soil moisture index; a short description of current status; and selected time series graphs showing data from the last three years.

The COSMOS-UK soil moisture status report provides an insight into the current soil moisture conditions across the UK as monitored by the COSMOS-UK network. The network comprises approximately 50 sites at which a cosmic ray neutron sensor is deployed to monitor soil moisture within a footprint of about 12 hectares. The report is comprised of: maps of end of month soil moisture both as volumetric water content and as a soil moisture index; a short description of current status; and selected time series graphs showing data from the last three years.

An investigation of nutrient, sediment and algal dynamics along the Jubilee River, a flood relief channel in the lower Thames. The report aims to provide key data and interpretation from the Jubilee River that can be utilised to predict potential effects of the proposed River Thames Scheme, and how it could be managed to minimise any potential ecological problems.

Summary of findings so far • Management of near surface soil properties and preferential flow pathways is important so that deeper soil water storage is available and accessible. • Land use and management practices can significantly enhance soil physical and hydrological/hydraulic properties and flood mitigation potential • Increasing organic matter content increases soil porosity, creating more soil water storage and potential to mitigate flooding. • Fields with ‘low’ starting organic matter content can greatly improve soil porosity therefore soil water storage with relatively modest organic matter increases. • Organic additions are not the only way to improve soil structure, innovative management practices (e.g. controlled traffic and min till) also improve soil structure, saturated hydraulic conductivity and therefore NFM potential. • Mature woodland has the highest organic matter content, soil porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and NFM potential relative to arable and grass land use. • Effects of arable rotations and inclusion of grass in rotations are being investigated.

Summary of findings so far… • Land use and management can significantly enhance soil physical and hydrological/hydraulic properties and flood mitigation potential • Soil management important improve near surface soil properties and reduce preferential flow pathways to increase infiltration of rainfall into soil and reduce runoff. • Increasing organic matter content increases soil porosity, creating more soil water storage and potential to mitigate flooding. • Fields with ‘low’ starting organic matter content can greatly improve soil porosity therefore soil water storage with relatively modest organic matter increases • Organic additions are not the only way to improve soil structure, innovative arable management practices (e.g. controlled traffic and min till) also improve soil structure, increase saturated hydraulic conductivity and therefore NFM potential. • Mature broadleaf woodland has the highest organic matter content, soil porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and NFM potential relative to arable and grassland. • Further analysis and quantification ongoing…

LANDWISE examines the NFM potential of land use and management in lowland catchments. We focussed on five soil types on two geologies; across agricultural land, grassland and woodland. We compared conventional and innovative farming systems and gathered empirical evidence of variation within and between fields. We show that near-surface soil properties and management is important for deeper soil water storage. We show that land use, management and organic matter content are significant in affecting soil properties and increasing NFM potential.

The Littlestock Brook Natural Flood Management (NFM) pilot scheme in the Evenlode Catchment was established in 2017/2018 as a catchment-based approach to alleviate flood risk to the downstream community whilst also delivering benefits for water quality. Hydrological monitoring at multiple scales has allowed us to investigate the efficacy of offline storage features and pond interventions for both flood attenuation and diffuse pollution mitigation. We present findings on the cumulative effect of these interventions to reduce downstream flood peaks and to intercept and store fine sediment and nutrients.

The aim of the LANDWISE project is to evaluate the impact of land use/management related natural flood management measures for lowland catchments

The COSMOS-UK soil moisture status report provides an insight into the current soil moisture conditions across the UK as monitored by the COSMOS-UK network. The network comprises approximately 50 sites at which a cosmic ray neutron sensor is deployed to monitor soil moisture within a footprint of about 12 hectares. The report is comprised of: maps of end of month soil moisture both as volumetric water content and as a soil moisture index; a short description of current status; and selected time series graphs showing data from the last three years.

The COSMOS-UK soil moisture status report provides an insight into the current soil moisture conditions across the UK as monitored by the COSMOS-UK network. The network comprises approximately 50 sites at which a cosmic ray neutron sensor is deployed to monitor soil moisture within a footprint of about 12 hectares. The report is comprised of: maps of end of month soil moisture both as volumetric water content and as a soil moisture index; a short description of current status; and selected time series graphs showing data from the last three years.

Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probes (CRNP) have found application in soil moisture (SM) estimation due to their conveniently large (>100 m) footprints. Here, we explore the possibility of using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) moderator to limit the field of view, and hence, the footprint of a SM sensor formed of 12 CRNP mounted on to a mobile robotic platform (Thorvald) for better in-field localization of moisture variation. Ultra Rapid Adaptable Neutron-Only Simulation neutron scattering simulations are used to show that 5 cm of additional HDPE moderator (used to shield the upper surface and sides of the detector) is sufficient to (a) reduce the footprint of the detector considerably, (b) approximately double the percentage of neutrons detected from within 5 m of the detector, and (c) does not affect the shape of the curve used to convert neutron counts into SM. Simulation and rover measurements for a transect crossing between grass and concrete additionally suggest that (d) SM changes can be sensed over a length scales of tens of meters or less (roughly an order of magnitude smaller than commonly used footprint distances), and (e) the additional moderator does not reduce the detected neutron count rate (and hence increase noise) as much as might be expected given the extent of the additional moderator. The detector with additional HDPE moderator was also used to conduct measurements on a stubble field over three weeks to test the rover system in measuring spatial and temporal SM variation.

The COSMOS-UK observation network has been providing field-scale soil moisture and hydrometeorological measurements across the UK since 2013. At the time of publication a total of 51 COSMOS-UK sites have been established, each delivering high-temporal resolution data in near-real time. Each site utilizes a cosmic-ray neutron sensor, which counts epithermal neutrons at the land surface. These measurements are used to derive field-scale near-surface soil water content, which can provide unique insight for science, industry, and agriculture by filling a scale gap between localized point soil moisture and large-scale satellite soil moisture datasets. Additional soil physics and meteorological measurements are made by the COSMOS-UK network including precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, soil heat flux, wind speed and direction, and components of incoming and outgoing radiation. These near-real-time observational data can be used to improve the performance of hydrological models, validate remote sensing products, improve hydro-meteorological forecasting, and underpin applications across a range of other scientific fields. The most recent version of the COSMOS-UK dataset is publically available at https://doi.org/10.5285/b5c190e4-e35d-40ea-8fbe-598da03a1185 (Stanley et al., 2021).

The Jubilee River is an artificial flood relief channel in the lower stretches of the freshwater Thames catchment. It stretches 12 km, splitting from the River Thames at Boulter’s Lock, Maidenhead, and re-joining the Thames downstream of the town of Eton. It was designed to divert excess water from the Thames during times of flood, to protect the towns of Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton from flooding. It was designed to look and act like a natural river, with many marginal areas designed to provide good habitat for aquatic wildlife, such as invertebrates and fish. It also provides a valuable recreational amenity, with the Jubilee River providing a popular place for walking, swimming, cycling and bird-watching. It became operational in 2002. The Jubilee River provides a surrogate system for the series of flood relief channels that are being proposed in the lower part of the Thames from Datchet to Teddington. This new scheme, known as the River Thames Scheme (RTS), plans to: • protect the towns of Datchet, Egham, Staines, Chertsey, Weybridge and Kingston from flooding; • provide new areas for recreational activities; • provide/enhance wildlife habitat in the RTS and protecting the existing ecosystem on the River Thames. The construction of such a long length of artificial channel, with its linking up of existing lake habitats, and the subsequent reduction of flows within the River Thames itself, could all have impacts on water quality and ecology, both in the RTS and the Thames.

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2019. These data are from 51 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables.

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2018. These data are from 50 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables. Each site in the network records the following hydrometeorological and soil data at 30 minute resolution: Radiation (short wave, long wave and net), precipitation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, soil heat flux, and soil temperature and volumetric water content (VWC), measured by point senors at various depths. Each site hosts a cosmic-ray sensing probe; a novel sensor technology which counts fast neutrons in the surrounding atmosphere. In combination with the recorded hydrometeorological data, neutron counts are used to derive VWC over a field scale (COSMOS VWC), at two temporal resolutions (hourly and daily). The presence of snow leads to erroneously high measurements of COSMOS VWC due to all the extra water in the surrounding area. Included in the daily data are indications of snow days, on which, the COSMOS VWC are adjusted and the snow water equivalent (SWE) is given. The potential evapotranspiration (PE), derived from recorded hydrometeorological and soil are also included at daily resolution. Two levels of quality control are carried out, firstly data is run through a series of automated checks, such as range tests and spike tests, and then all data is manually inspected each week where any other faults are picked up, including sensor faults or connection issues. Quality control flags are provided for all recorded (30 minute) data, indicating the reason for any missing data.

The COSMOS-UK User Guide is a comprehensive guide to the data collected by COSMOS-UK, including the near-real time soil moisture data derived from counts of neutrons derived from cosmic rays. The User Guide contains: i) information about the sites, their locations and other metadata; ii) details of the instruments deployed at each site; iii) background information about the cosmic ray neutron counter which is used to derive soil moisture within a 12 hectare footprint; and iv) descriptions of data and information products that are available from COSMOS-UK.

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2017. These data are from 46 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables. Each site in the network hosts a cosmic-ray sensing probe; a novel sensor technology which can be used, in combination with hydrometeorological data, to calculate the volumetric water content of soil over a field scale. The hydrometeorological and soil data are recorded at a 30 minute resolution and they include neutron counts from the Cosmic-ray sensing probe, humidity and atmospheric pressure data that are used to derive volumetric water content at two temporal resolutions (hourly and daily). Also included are soil heat flux, air temperature, wind speed and radiation data which are used to derive potential evapotranspiration at a daily resolution.

The COSMOS-UK User Guide is a comprehensive guide to the data collected by COSMOS-UK, including the near-real time soil moisture data derived from counts of netrons derived from cosmic rays. The User Guide contains: i) information about the sites, their locations and other meta data. ii) Details of the instruments deployed at each site. iii) Background information about the cosmic ray neutron counter which is used to derive soil moisture within a 12 hectare footprint. iv) Descriptions of data and information products that are available from COSMOS-UK.

The Littlestock Brook Trial The Monitoring Program Results of Preliminary Baseline Monitoring Monitoring the Effectiveness of NFM A pilot scheme to assess the effectiveness of Natural Flood Management (NFM) measures, in a 16 km² tributary catchment of the upper River Evenlode in the Thames Basin.

This dataset contains high-resolution (5-minute) discharge, turbidity, suspended sediment concentration, and total phosphorus concentration data measured at three stream sites in the Littlestock Brook catchment (a tributary of the River Evenlode) from 2017 to 2021. The turbidity and concentration data were derived from a combination of instream sensors and lab-analysed water samples. Discharge data were derived using a stage-discharge rating curve constructed from manual measurements of flow velocity and water level sensor measurements. This dataset was collected by UKCEH as part of a hydrological monitoring programme for the Littlestock Brook Natural Flood Management scheme. There are some periods of data gaps within the timeseries as a result of sensor errors which have been excluded. These data may be used to calculate suspended sediment and phosphorus fluxes loads leaving the catchment.

This dataset contains high-resolution (5-minute) raw, atmospheric corrected and mean sea level adjusted water level data for 9 flood storage areas (FSAs) in the Littlestock Brook catchment (a tributary of the River Evenlode, Thames Basin) from 2018 to 2022. The dataset also includes the estimated 9 x FSA stored volume time-series, estimated using a depth-stored volume lookup table for each FSA, produced from a digital elevation model of each feature and a depth-area-volume toolset. The annual barometric pressure time-series used to correct water level is also provided.

Cosmic Ray Neutron Probes (CRNP) have found application in soil moisture estimation due to their conveniently large (>100 m) footprints. Here we explore the possibility of using high density polyethylene (HDPE) moderator to limit the field of view, and hence the footprint, of a soil moisture sensor formed of 12 CRNP mounted on to a mobile robotic platform (Thorvald) for better in-field localisation of moisture variation. URANOS neutron scattering simulations are used to show that 5 cm of additional HDPE moderator (used to shield the upper surface and sides of the detector) is sufficient to (i), reduce the footprint of the detector considerably, (ii) approximately double the percentage of neutrons detected from within 5 m of the detector, and (iii), does not affect the shape of the curve used to convert neutron counts into soil moisture. Simulation and rover measurements for a transect crossing between grass and concrete additionally suggest that (iv), soil moisture changes can be sensed over a length scales of tens of meters or less (roughly an order of magnitude smaller than commonly used footprint distances), and (v), the additional moderator does not reduce the detected neutron count rate (and hence increase noise) as much as might be expected given the extent of the additional moderator. The detector with additional HDPE moderator was also used to conduct measurements on a stubble field over three weeks to test the rover system in measuring spatial and temporal soil moisture variation.

This dataset contains information about soil near-surface physical and hydrological properties, vegetation observations and land use & management information across the Thames catchment (UK). It was collected during the ‘Landwise’ project’s ‘Broad-scale field survey’ which sampled 1836 location points across a total of 164 fields/land parcels. The aim of the survey was to quantify the impact of innovative land use and management on soil properties, with implications for natural flood management. The surveyed fields were selected to represent four broad land use and management classes (arable with and without grass in rotation, permanent grassland and broadleaf woodland) and five generalised soil/geology classes. Approximately eight fields were sampled for each of the twenty combinations of land use and soil/geology class. The sampled fields cover a range of traditional and innovative agricultural practices. Within each field/parcel, representative sampling locations were selected to cover the anticipated range of soil variability, including typical infield, untrafficked margins and trafficked headlands/tramlines etc. Sampling was undertaken once during the period 2018-2021. Samples were measured and analysed using a range of field and laboratory techniques (see Data Lineage).

This dataset contains high-resolution (5-minute) raw, atmospheric corrected and mean sea level adjusted water level data for 9 flood storage areas (FSAs) in the Littlestock Brook catchment (a tributary of the River Evenlode, Thames Basin) from 2018 to 2022. The dataset also includes the estimated 9 x FSA stored volume time-series, estimated using a depth-stored volume lookup table for each FSA, produced from a digital elevation model of each feature and a depth-area-volume toolset. The annual barometric pressure time-series used to correct water level is also provided.

This dataset contains information about surface and sub-surface hydraulic and hydrological soil properties across the Thames (UK) catchment. Soil dry bulk density, estimated soil porosity, soil moisture and soil moisture retention (to 100 cm suction) were determined through laboratory analysis of soil samples collected at five depths between the surface and 100 cm below ground level (where possible). Surface soil infiltration rates were measured, and soil saturated hydraulic conductivity was calculated at 25 cm and 45 cm depths (where possible).

This dataset contains high-resolution (5-minute) discharge, turbidity, suspended sediment concentration, and total phosphorus concentration data measured at three stream sites in the Littlestock Brook catchment (a tributary of the River Evenlode) from 2017 to 2021. The turbidity and concentration data were derived from a combination of instream sensors and lab-analysed water samples. Discharge data were derived using a stage-discharge rating curve constructed from manual measurements of flow velocity and water level sensor measurements. This dataset was collected by UKCEH as part of a hydrological monitoring programme for the Littlestock Brook Natural Flood Management scheme. There are some periods of data gaps within the timeseries as a result of sensor errors which have been excluded. These data may be used to calculate suspended sediment and phosphorus fluxes loads leaving the catchment.