Supporting guidance for restoring river banks

River banks provide valuable wildlife habitat that typically supports a diverse range of plant and animal species. They supply shelter, food and shade and protect the aquatic environment from polluted surface runoff. Riparian vegetation and the roots of that vegetation help to maintain bank stability and prevent excessive river bank erosion, helping to prevent excessive gravel deposition and flooding downstream.

While naturally occurring erosion of river banks is an important river process that maintains sediment supply to the watercourse, renews habitats and reduces the energy of river flows, in some cases human activity may increase levels of erosion to an unnaturally high level. For example, livestock can destabilise the river bank through poaching and through the removal of vegetation.

The purpose of this item is to restore river banks which are vulnerable to erosion due to historic land use which has depleted the river bank of its natural riparian vegetation. Such areas may have been damaged by historic livestock poaching, historic livestock grazing, and/or loss of large shrubs / trees or other deep rooted vegetation which would otherwise naturally be present. It will be particularly useful where flooding is an issue downstream due to excessive gravel deposition.

In many cases, simply fencing off the eroded bank will allow the river bank to revegetate and stabilise and therefore this fencing should be the first remedial action considered. Support will only be provide in places where fencing has shown to be, or is likely to be, insufficient.

This item will fund, where appropriate, protection of the river bank using one of the following green bank protection techniques:

• willow spiling
• plant roll revetment
• hurdle / coir matting
• engineered log jams

View the full article on the Rural Payments and Services section of the Scottish Government website