Integrated management of sensitive catchment systems

Until recently, ‘land use’ was regarded as a single function: in rural areas of the UK this simply meant ‘farming’ or, in the uplands, ‘forestry’. However, there is now growing recognition of the multiple use of land, and farming or forestry must compete with other functions, in particular water supply. Links between hydrological pathways and stream water quality are described as a context for understanding the transport of pollutants to the river system. The concept of landscape sensitivity is then described and applied to the topics of soil erosion and nitrate leaching. Based on these analyses, guidelines for integrated management of sensitive catchment systems are proposed.