Floodplains under pressure-Multiple stressors impacts of pollution climate change and landscape management.

UK floodplains are crucial for healthy riverine ecosystems, but their functionality has been degraded by channel manipulation, agricultural use and pollution. Climate change may additionally affect floodplain performance through changes in flooding dynamics and conditions (e.g. more frequent summer floods), but this is less well studied. As these multiple stressors will occur simultaneously, we also urgently need to know their combined impacts.

UK floodplains have been under pressure from human activity and can be hotspots for pollutant input through contaminated sediment deposition. Simultaneously, floodplain functions may also be affected by climate change.

This cutting-edge study will therefore provide critical evidence on how these multiple stressors, single and in combination, will impact pollutant and sediment retention, carbon storage, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity in floodplains to inform management, restoration and climate change mitigation.