Revive the Allan – Kickstarting River Processes

Wood in rivers is a key driving force for change and diversity. It provides so much for the morphological character of the river channel but also for the diverse range of in stream habitats which support wildlife too.

Whether it is the calm backwaters behind the wood where fine sediments can gather providing a home for lamprey; the scoured out pools at the toe where large fish sit or the faster flowing oxygenated waters filled with invertebrates and juvenile fish, wood drives river processes and wildlife thrive on it to survive.

This is why at the Forth Rivers Trust, we develop projects to add wood to rivers where it is missing. The Revive the Allan project improves in-stream and riparian habitat along the upper reaches of the Allan Water was funded by Nature’s Scots, Biodiversity Challenge Fund.

Part of the project has delivered a range of improvements, mostly focused on bank protection, re-profiling the banks, installation of wood into the channel and riparian tree planting.

We are already seeing some great improvements to the river channel with what was once a flat, monotonous river, turning it into a diverse range of runs, backwaters and pools. The gravels are also clearing where the water has sped up and sediment starting to pool in the slower moving areas which is great for lamprey.

We can’t wait to watch this part of the river continue to develop and diversify.