Sustainability of UK forestry: contemporary issues for the protection of freshwaters, a conclusion

Abstract. This paper closes the Special Issue of Hydrology and Earth System Sciences entitled "Sustainability of UK forestry: contemporary issues for the protection of freshwaters" by presenting conclusions from the contributions together with associated research findings. The volume deals largely with issues of upland water quality and biology in the context of environmental research and management. The studies are linked to an array of issues which affect the sustainability of UK forestry in the context of the protection of freshwaters, freshwater ecosystems and freshwater organisms. These issues include atmospheric and climate driven factors (acidification from atmospheric pollutants, critical loads, climate-change and climate variability), forestry practice and hydrobiogeochemical processing both within-catchments and within-rivers. The findings lie within the context of the science and relate to environmental management.

Keywords: water quality, forestry, stream ecology, acidification, critical loads, nutrients