The Birmingham Urban Ecohydrological Observatory - Multi-stressor interactions and their impacts of ecohydrological functioning
Description
Location
Sketch
Information about lithology/geochemistry:
Permo-Triassic sandstone bedrock, urban to peri-urban gradient, with legacy industrial pollutants and emerging contaminants.
Main Description
- Urban headwater catchments with mixed land use and multi-stressor impacts.
- Modified urban streams (e.g., River Rea, Bournbrook) under pollution and hydrological pressures.
- Enhanced: Waste-water treatment, extreme event moderation, and habitat provision are improved through wetland restoration, green infrastructure, and pollution mitigation. Maintained: Recreation and education via community engagement.
Enhance ecohydrological processes in novel ecosystem
YES
Apply complementary Ecohydrological processes in high impacted system
YES
This table presents the different categories of ecosystem services that ecosystem can provide, divided in:
Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
Waste-water treatment: Ecosystems such as wetlands filter both human and animal waste and act as a natural buffer to the surrounding environment. Through the biological activity of microorganisms in the soil, most waste is broken down. Thereby pathogens (disease causing microbes) are eliminated, and the level of nutrients and pollution is reduced.
Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
Habitats for species: Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive: food; water; and shelter. Each ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’ lifecycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals and insects all depend upon different ecosystems during their movements.
Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
Recreation and mental and physical health: Walking and playing sports in green space is not only a good form of physical exercise but also lets people relax. The role that green space plays in maintaining mental and physical health is increasingly being recognized, despite difficulties of measurement.
EH Principles
Quantification of the hydrological processes at catchment scale and mapping the impacts
Distribution of ecosystems and their relevant processes (ex: metabolism=water and nutrient uptake and retention; biomass production)
Ecological engineering (integration, dual regulation and biotechnologies in catchment scale for enhancement of ecological potential)
ECOHYDROLOGY ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS
Community lead initiatives have been leading on green infrastructure improvements. This includes wetlands restoration and re-greening as part of WWT work. Private estates have been replanting riparian buffers to mitigate flooding. Additionally, the removal of old industrial infrastructure has been undertaken, including older weirs, and hard engineered banks.
Ecohydrological Infrastructure
The Observatory is fortunate to be home to researchers advancing Faunatechnology that uses waterfleas, namely the Daphnia genus to clean up waste. A focus on this is surrounding WWTP, with initiatives lead by Prof Luisa Orsini. These solutions are being tested in isolation on rivers but are not widely released until more monitoring is completed to understand and further impacts.
Faunatechnology
The Birmingham Urban Observatory rivers have undergone much legacy contamination and emerging. Phytostablisation has been a focus on rivers such as the Rea that has increased legacy contamination from heavy industry. Re-greening river banks has been used to trap and stop the contamination spread. Further work still needs to be done in other areas of phytotechnology.
Phytotechnology
Whilst this is not deemed as Whilst this is not deemed that hydrological flow is an issue for the catchment, abstraction reforms are in place to ensure no pressure is created. Environmental flow is being improved where possible through removal of older concrete infrastructure left over from the industrial era in Birmingham.
Hydrological Flow
Major Issues
- Pollutants and Nutrients: Legacy industrial contaminants and emerging pollutants from sewage and runoff degrade water quality and harm aquatic ecosystems
- Intensive land use: High urbanization and agricultural pressures increase impervious surfaces and pollution loads, reducing natural infiltration and habitat quality
- Floods: Increasing frequency and severity of urban flooding, driven by climate change and land use, cause property damage and mobilize stored pollutants
- Invasive Species: Species like Himalayan Balsam and signal crayfish outcompete native flora and fauna, disrupting ecological balance
- Droughts: Extended dry periods lead to critical low flows, causing hypoxia and concentrating pollutants, stressing aquatic life
- Habitat Loss: Historical channel modification and urbanization have homogenized river habitats, reducing biodiversity and ecosystem resilience
- Loss of Retention capacity of vegetation: Reduced riparian vegetation due to urbanization decreases natural water retention and pollution filtration, increasing flood and contamination risks
Expected Outcomes
Develop high-resolution understanding of urban ecohydrological processes
Create new sensors and tools for pollution diagnosis and prediction
Enhance river health and biodiversity through targeted restoration
Increase community engagement and stewardship via citizen science
Improve resilience to floods, droughts, and pollution pressures
Disseminate findings through publications, outreach, and international networks
Latest Results
- High-frequency data revealed storm-driven nutrient and DOM dynamics (Khamis et al., 2021
- Zhu et al., 2024)
- Microplastic sampling showed high temporal variability, informing monitoring strategies (Kukkola et al., 2024)
- Weir removals and wetland restoration enhanced habitat and flow
- Over 200 community members engaged in citizen science
Contacts
Stefan Krause
- s.krause@bham.ac.uk
- University of Birmingham
David Hannah
- d.m.hannah@bham.ac.uk
- University of Birmingham
Social ecohydrological system
EH Objectives
EH Methodology
Catchment Ecohydrological sub-system
Objectives
Stakeholders
Catchment Sociological sub-system
Activities