Simon –
Land use and soil types are closely interwoven: the viability of any arable farming relies heavily upon the availability of water for irrigation, which tends to be extracted at three points, all subject to strict licensing: these are, surface water drainage stored in reservoirs, water extracted by pumping from the aquifer, water abstracted from the freshwater region of the river. Given the current tendency towards a wet early year and long hot late spring and summer. This has caused some urgent consideration over how to conserve water and to make more efficient use of natural surface drainage and percolation. One response has been to devise an overarching scheme for the Felixstowe Peninsula to retain water that would otherwise be lost to the sea during the wet months and to see farmers through times of drought. This is the Felixstowe Hydro Project and is currently under development.
Where it is not directly subject to cultivation, other types of vegetation cover, are consistent with a typical Suffolk landscape: broadleaf and coniferous woodland, heathland, acid, unimproved and improved grassland. As an AONB, this is consistent with the land use mosaic that defines its uniqueness as a working landscape, that safeguards biodiversity and is host to a wide range of rare and endangered species.
Helene –
Much of the Deben drainage basin is dominated by farmland interspersed with woodland. The sandy Suffolk soils are free-draining and light, and support a range of agricultural activity that forms an important part of the rural economy and society. But the coast plays a direct influence on this land through the potential for saltwater ingress. Water management is critical here, not only to address the challenges of climate change and the timing of rainfall vs. needs, but also to ensure we have suitable supply of freshwater to support agriculture.
Deben Soundings 