Integrated management of sensitive catchment systems

Until recently, 'land use' was regarded as a single function: in rural area s of the UK this simply meant 'farming' or, in the uplands, 'forestry'. How ever, there is now growing recognition of the multiple use of land, and far ming or forestry must compete with other functions, in particular water sup ply. Links between hydrological pathways and stream water quality are descr ibed as a context for understanding the transport of pollutants to the rive r system. The concept of landscape sensitivity is then described and applie d to the topics of soil erosion and nitrate leaching. Based on these analys es, guidelines for integrated management of sensitive catchment systems are proposed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.