Project part-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund)

The Interreg IVB North Sea Region Programme


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The authors are solely responsible for the content of this report. Material included herein does not represent the opinion of the European Community, and the European Community is not responsible for any use that might be made of it.
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Paull Holme Strays Managed Realignment

Impact on ecosystem services

Step 1: Targeted ecosystem services
The key objective of this measure was to create intertidal habitat to compensate for direct losses associated with flood defence schemes as well as coastal squeeze. This is linked with ecosystem services ‘flood water storage’ and ‘dissipation of tidal and river energy’ as well as ‘biodiversity‘. It also provides ‘opportunities for recreation and tourism’ through becoming a tourist and bird watching attraction.

Table 2: Targeted ecosystem services
Measure
Food: animals  
Water for industrial use  
Water for navigation  
Climate regulation: carbon sequestration X
Regulation extreme events or disturbance: flood water storage X
Regulation extreme events or disturbance: water current reduction  
Regulation extreme events or disturbance: Wave reduction  
Water quantity regulation: drainage of river water  
Water quantity regulation: dissipation of tidal and river energy X
Water quantity regulation: landscape maintenance  
Water quantity regulation: transportation  
Water quality regulation: transport of pollutants and excess nutrients  
Water quality regulation: reduction of excess loads coming from the catchment  
Erosion and sedimentation regulation by water bodies  
Erosion and sedimentation regulation by biological mediation  
"Biodiversity" X
Aesthetic information  
Opportunities for recreation & tourism X
Inspiration for culture, art and design  
Information for cognitive development  

Step 2: Involved habitats
Intertidal mudflat and saltmarsh were created as a result of this measure.

Table 3: Ecosystem services analysis for Paull Holme Strays: Indication of habitat surface and quality change, i.e. situation before versus after measure implementation
MEASURE before After
    surface (%) Quality (1-5) surface (%) quality (1-5)
Marsh habitat above mean high water, floods at
spring tide
0 0 65 5
Intertidal steep habitat floods every tide, mainly steep
zones at marsh edges
0 0 5 4
Intertidal flat habitat floods every tide, flat zones 0 0 15 3
Subtidal shallow habitat never surfaces, less deep than 2m 0 0 5 4
Subtidal moderately deep habitat never surfaces, 2m-5m 0 0 0 0
Subtidal deep habitat never surfaces, deeper than 5m 0 0 0 0
ADJACENT LAND NON FLOODED LAND 100 4 10 3
    100   100  

Quality
1 = very high quality
2 = high quality
3 = medium quality
4 = low quality
5 = very low quality

The measure Paull Holme Strays Managed Realignment in the polyhaline zone of the Humber estuary was about the creation of intertidal habitat by transforming adjacent land into mainly marshland with a very high change in the habitat quality.



From the ES assessment it is concluded that this measure generates overall a positive expected impact for many ES, mainly for:
  • “biodiversity”
  • Cultural service: Opportunities for recreation and tourism
  • Some regulating services: Erosion and sedimentation regulation (by water bodies); Water quality regulation: reduction of excess loads coming from the catchment; Erosion and sedimentation regulation by biological mediation; Climate regulation: Carbon sequestration and burial.
The expected impact for the different beneficiary groups is overall positive, with a positive to very positive expected impact for indirect and future use and for local and region use.


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Report: Management measures analysis and comparison