Land use

Land use at Llyn Brianne varies from rough grazing to conifer and deciduous woodland. Our experiments have manipulated land use at whole catchment scales, evaluating consequences for stream organisms and ecosystems.

Recent research

Riparian subsidies

The role of leaf litter in supporting stream ecosystems under future climate and land use change

Marian Pye completed her PhD in 2016, quantifying inter-annual variations in the amount, timing and nutritional quality of leaf litter in streams across a range of land use types at Llyn Brianne (moorland, conifer plantation, broadleaf woodland). She also investigated the associated changes in the growth and composition of stream invertebrates. The results illustrate how streams with contrasting land use respond differently in terms of energy flow to climatic variation (eg storm events and drought).