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Dissertation prize winners 2004/2005 |
Based on geomorphological criteria, the Coastal Habitat Management Plan (ChaMP) for the Solent identified some 4,800 hectares of land potentially suitable for the creation of intertidal habitat, principally saltmarsh, through the use of managed realignment. Using 'constraint mapping', this study set out to illustrate that limitations to habitat recreation through inundation are not merely geomorphological in nature. Indeed, an extensive range of social, political, legal, technical and economic constraints exist and must be evaluated in conjunction with physical parameters if the objectives of the European Birds and Habitats Directives are to be met, and that future coastal defence policies ensure maintenance of the 'favourable conservation status' of designated sites.
A review of current knowledge and conceptions regarding the use of managed realignment in the UK are presented and the role that ChaMPs will play in protecting biodiversity in response to future climate changes scenarios is examined. Data gathered from a range of interested stakeholders informed the production of a numerical filter system which can be used to re-evaluate individual sites to establish 'realistic' opportunities for compensatory saltmarsh creation in the Solent. Case study examples demonstrated the practical application of the filter system, and revealed that Keyhaven in the Western Solent achieved a significantly low score. It is therefore argued that this site does not justify further on-site investigative studies. Tourner Bury received a higher score but also exhibited a number of constraints that are likely to complicate the process of implementing realignment in this location. Nevertheless, it would be judicious that the site be subject to further investigation, being one of a minimal number of potentially suitable locations for inundation in the Solent area. It is recommended that future opportunities to affect realignment be informed by work of this nature, leading to a wider application beyond the scope of those identified within the Solent ChaMP document.
As a result of the limited remit of the Solent ChaMP study, notable fewer areas are available for habitat creation purposes than were initially identified. Both a site-specific and strategic evaluation of a more comprehensive range of constraints is recommended in order to present a 'realistic' and 'practicable' account of the opportunities for managed realignment to achieve compensatory saltmarsh habitat creation within the Solent.
Dredging activities are a vital part of the operation of commercial and recreational shipping in Southampton Water, an important navigation route providing access to the Port of Southampton and the marinas of the Itchen and Hamble rivers. Amid growing concern over the current consents process and nature conservation issues within the estuary, a need has been identified for a record of dredging operations which can be maintained into the future.
During a ten week placement with English nature, all available data on dredging in Southampton water was gathered, with the aim of establishing a detailed account of the extent, frequency and location of dredging operations within the estuary. A comprehensive record of dredging activity since 1994 has been produced. The results show that during this time approximately ten million cubic metres of material have been removed from the estuary as a result of navigation dredging projects. Of this volume, some six million cubic metres is accounted for by ABP capital dredging works between 1994 and 1997. The remaining four million cubic metres are attributable to ongoing maintenance dredging schemes by 27 individual dredging operators within the study area.
The database of information provides a foundation against which future projects can be compared. It will be possible to monitor the levels of dredging activity and analyse trends and patterns occurring within the estuary. Prior to this study, there was no clear picture of the scale and nature of dredging activity in Southampton Water, making it difficult to construct a practical programme to evaluate the implications of maintenance dredging in the European Site. This baseline document can be used as a benchmark against which future consent applications can be assessed. It is hoped that the research undertaken as part of this dissertation will contribute to a more sustainable, estuary-wide approach to dredging, and provide a useful resource for monitoring the cumulative impacts upon the morphology and habitats of Southampton Water.
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