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The lowland rivers in CamEO, and the Anglian region more widely, are unlike those in other parts of the country. This conference stems from the need to develop better understanding of how to manage, conserve and restore them.
We have known for some time that East Anglian chalk streams are more silty than those found elsewhere. They also seem to be drying up more regularly than in the past. The combination of climate change and over-abstraction is clearly a factor, but to what extent is the management of our landscapes and soils exacerbating the problems?
Recent research shows that the Lark, for instance, is very much more than ‘just’ the group of chalk streams that flows near Mildenhall. Because of its geomorphology, it is four very different types of river in one. Over thousands of years, its steep headwater streams incised themselves into deep ravines in the region’s thick clay and sand deposits. But flowing towards and around what is now Bury St Edmunds, they flattened and slowed, fed by springs from water perched underground. At the same time small depressions in the ground surface naturally caused the formation of ponds, wetlands, and larger meres at intervals along the stream, giving rise to village names such as Sicklesmere. This distinctive glacial landscape also influenced the Black Bourne (aka Sapiston River, tributary of the Little Ouse) and, flowing in the opposite direction, the Brett and the Gipping.
The relationship between the geomorphology, soils and waterways in CamEO has influenced the history, economy, and sociology of this region, as well as its ecology for thousands of years. Evidence for this history, and prehistory, is buried in the region’s soils and riverine deposits. This conference is about how we can harness new knowledge to help us understand this complexity better to deal with the economic and ecological pressures that currently face us.