Gully erosion, which is the rapid incision of soils by concentrated overland and/or subsurface runoff, affects India widely. However, Central and Western India suffer from particularly intense land degradation as prolonged gullying has resulted in the formation of extensive badlands therein. Considerable research has been conducted on these badlands, but drivers and characteristics of gully erosion in other regions suffering from widespread gullying are unknown. Employing cluster and hotspot analyses using a novel spatial database of India.s gully landforms, this study provides a regional synthesis of gully erosion in India. Different sets of variables were found to control the spatial patterns of the various gully erosion landforms in India, and analytical results were synthesised using India.s physiographic divisions to identify and delineate six major gully-affected regions across the country, namely, Eastern Uplands, Deccan Uplands, Yamuna Basin, Rajasthan Uplands, Gujarat Plains, and Kachchh. Although gully erosion in the Eastern Uplands was triggered by extensive deforestation in the previous centuries, it remains an active geomorphic phenomenon in this part of India, similar to the Kachchh region in Western India. Contrastingly, gully erosion features of the Deccan exhibit very little to no activity at the present. Not only does this study refute the popular belief that the only hotspots of gully erosion in India are the badlands of Central and Western India, but it also provides useful guidance for future regional and local gully erosion studies, besides adding to the knowledge base of Indian physical geography and potentially aiding in regional land management planning.

Climate change is increasing wildfire frequency and severity, expanding into ecosystems less historically prone to wildfires, such as temperate peatlands. These peatlands are significant potable water sources that have accumulated legacy contaminants for decades. A major concern and uncertainty for ecosystem health and drinking water supply is the timing and magnitude of pollutant release, particularly potentially harmful metals, following extreme disturbances. Here, we examine mobilisation of legacy metals in a contaminated temperate blanket peatland following extreme drought and wildfire occurrence, focussing on key metal sources, transport pathways and deposition on the lake-bed of the receiving reservoir. We found that erosion of metal-rich hillslope peat and ash peaked three months post-wildfire, particularly in extreme burn severity areas, contributing to substantial deposition of metal-rich material in the receiving reservoir. Elevated metal concentrations in suspended sediments were observed nine months post-wildfire during spring rainstorm events. Dissolved metals in the streamflow were comparatively orders of magnitude lower, but displayed similar timing in concentration increases. Together this indicates limited acute but potential chronic impacts that extend beyond our study’s monitoring period. These pathways can present different challenges for managing water supplies. Our findings provide critical insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics of metal transport in peatlands following severe drought and wildfire. Understanding these pathways is essential for assessing current and future risks to water quality and developing targeted management strategies in northern peatland regions that are reliant on peat-rich catchments for drinking water and that are increasingly vulnerable to climate-induced disturbances.

IntroductionVegetation fires lead to the formation of charred materials, often referred to as pyrogenic carbon (PyC), which are recalcitrant and have a high carbon densitymeaning they have the potential to act as a long-term carbon store. In the United Kingdom, peatlands are periodically subject to fire, both management burns and wildfires, which generate PyC. However, in the United Kingdom context, the characterisation of physical and chemical properties of PyC is limited.MethodsIn this study, samples of peatland vegetation (Calluna vulgaris, Polytrichum juniperinum, Vaccinium myrtillus and Eriophorum vaginatum) were burnt in laboratory conditions across typical ranges of characteristics from United Kingdom peatland vegetation fires (250°C–800°C and 2–10 min burn duration). Four broad severity groupings were established (low, moderate, high, very high) corresponding to 60, 70, 80% and 90% mass loss respectively. The PyC samples were then analysed using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, CHNO elemental analysis, and Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to gain a greater understanding of their physiochemical characteristics.ResultsWhile there was a good degree of similarity between samples within each severity group, there were significant differences between severity groups. Low to high severity samples had relatively low surface areas compared to the very high severity samples, which exhibited the greatest surface areas and a high degree of variability. O/C and H/C ratios decreased with increasing severity. FTIR showed that distinct spectra were produced between severity groups, reflecting increased sample aromaticity with burn severity.DiscussionThe findings of this study suggest that burn severity is a good predictor of PyC physiochemical characteristics.

Peatland restoration is increasingly used for natural flood management (NFM). In the restoration of heavily degraded blanket peatland sites, erosional gully blocking is used to capture sediment and rewet peat in smaller peat gullies. There is limited prospect for restoration of wider late-stage erosional gullies, however these have potential for large water storage capacities for NFM barriers. A new type of peatland gully block, Large Cobblestone Dams (LCDs), designed to create large temporary in-storm storage volumes are evaluated here. Different modifications to LCD design, including dam-face modification and drainage outlets are tested. Observations of dam pond levels and input discharge are used to evaluate storage functioning. LCDs achieve temporary in-storm storage volumes to the order of 10-100 m3. Bare cobblestones were too permeable, with peat turfed dam faces improving storage utilisation. A drainage outlet is essential for inter-storm drainage to enable storage availability for following storm events. Opening of drainage holes and blocking of the outlet was observed immediately following peat turfing, however this stabilised following 1 year. With an optimised design, LCDs can provide relatively large dynamic storage volumes in peatland gullies which are not restoration priorities which with targeted design could provide NFM benefits to downstream communities.

Intact peatlands are key resources for freshwater that contribute to multiple hydrological ecosystem services. They retain rainwater and regulate water quality downstream by storing contaminants in the peat profile. The release of heavy metals and nutrients, through burning or erosion of near-surface deposits, has the potential to provide a persistent source of legacy contamination, namely metal contamination, to downstream drinking water supplies. With future climate change increasing the frequency and severity of wildfires in summer and heavy rainfall in winter, the risk of contaminant release from high-latitude peat regions and downstream impact is uncertain. In June 2018, a major wildfire affected an area of upland moorland (Saddleworth Moor, UK), which contains peat deposits contaminated with atmospherically derived metal deposits. We assessed potential water quality impacts from hillslope contaminant source to the fluvial system by monitoring of heavy metals in the catchment, namely lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni). Specifically, we quantified the (1) metal concentrations in ash deposits resulting from contrasting burn severities; (2) dissolution and erosion of ash and peat deposits under intense rainstorm events; and (3) their transport via the stream network to the receiving reservoir. Ash and peat samples obtained following the wildfire were analysed for total elemental concentration and leaching potential. We calculated ash loads at different burn severities and hillslope erosion was monitored through a series of sediment fences. Heavy metal concentrations in five rainstorm runoff events were measured at the stream outlet of a small catchment within the burn perimeter in the year following the wildfire. Both ash and peat samples had elevated total heavy metal concentrations, which varied spatially across the study site. The spatial variability was partly associated with different burn severities and ash loads. In extreme burn severity areas, ash loads reached nearly 40 t ha-1 and Pb concentrations in ash, for example, were as high as 2650 µg g-1, indicating particularly high potential for contamination of water sources. Conversely, the maximum concentration of dissolved heavy metals in the stream-flow were much lower during the initial post-wildfire storm events (Pb 0.77 µg g-1; Zn 38.67 µg g-1; Cu 5.05 µg g-1; Ni 0.26 µg g-1). The low solubility of heavy metals in both ash and peat samples likely constrains mobilisation by dissolution during storm events, suggesting low acute risk to drinking water quality post-wildfire. Instead, we hypothesise that metals likely remain bound to peat and ash particles, and are subsequently transported downstream in particulate form. Further quantification of heavy metals in sediment cores from sink zones will test if the metal contaminants pose a future chronic threat to drinking water quality.

India is famous for her badlands. These vast, intensely degraded landscapes occur extensively across Central and Western India, wherein they have had several adverse effects on both environment and society. However, accurate information on their current spatial extents, as well as the spatial distribution and severity of gully erosion elsewhere in the country was hitherto lacking. Considering that India has planned to effectively halt land degradation by 2030 in line with the agenda of the United Nations, and as precise spatial data is indispensable in planning and implementing land management interventions, we have created an exhaustive spatial inventory of gully erosion features in India by recording their location, extents and current management status from high-resolution satellite imagery available on Google Earth Pro. Through this first of its kind mapping endeavour and attendant spatial analysis, we have recorded the presence of gully landforms in 19 of India’s 28 states and the National Capital Region of Delhi and have estimated the total gullied area in the country between 7,451 and 8,157 km2. According to our results, states occupying 38% of Indian territory (viz., Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh) are affected by 92% of the total gullied area of the country. We have noted a clear east-west divide in terms of the relative dominance of the mapped gully erosion features, with badlands being common in Western India and gully systems being the dominant gully feature in the east. A similar observation has interestingly also been made as regards gully management, with the major proportion of unmanaged gully erosion features occurring in Eastern India. Ultimately, we have identified 77 districts across India where urgent rehabilitative intervention is required, more than 70% of which are in Eastern and Southern India where unmanaged (active) gullies are common. That contemporary gully erosion in Eastern India poses a more serious land management challenge than that of the vast badlands of Central and Western India is a truly unexpected finding of our analysis. Our mapped data and analytical results shall be integral to efforts aiming to ameliorate the land degradation caused by gully erosion across India by supporting policymaking and planning at the governmental level and serving as useful guidance for land managers and practitioners on the ground.

Peatlands have been widely recognised as important carbon stores, ecological habitats and natural hydrological buffers. However, comparatively less attention has been given to the role of peatlands as long-term stores of pollutants, particularly toxic metals and metalloids (TMMs). Furthermore, the potential for their release is poorly understood. An improved understanding of TMM distribution and release in peatlands is critical, because climate warming risks increasing their mobilisation, through enhanced decomposition and changes to hydrological processes, with potentially significant implications for natural ecosystems and human health. The PIPES project (Pollutants In Peatlands: from sink to Source) aims to identify global “hot spots” of peatland pollutants and establish likely release mechanisms of currently inert TMMs. We use a unique combination of observational and controlled-experimental approaches to address two research questions: (1) What is the content and distribution of pollutants in global peatlands? and (2) Under what conditions, and through which pathways, are these pollutants most likely to be released? In this presentation, we share early findings from both components of the PIPES project. Firstly, we present our ongoing analysis of the distribution of TMMs in global peatlands, with a primarily focus on spatial patterns identified across our comprehensive network of sites in the UK and Ireland. We quantify the total content of TMMs using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) in peat cores compiled by a network of > 90 international collaborators. Secondly, we present preliminary results from controlled environmental simulations of TMM release in peat monoliths from subarctic Sweden. We explore both pore-water and atmospheric release under scenarios of drought, climate warming and a shallow burn. Our findings provide crucial new insights into the potential fate of pollutants in global peatlands and their implications for human health and natural ecosystems.

Peatlands are important habitats that provide a range of ecosystem services, one of which is hydrological regulation. Depending on landscape position, healthy peatlands can reduce flood risk and provide resilience to drought, while degraded peatlands can exacerbate these hydrological disturbances. There is, however, a lack of clear scientific communication, particularly in the media, and misguided public perceptions of the underlying processes that control peatland hydrological regulation. The ‘sponge analogy’, which compares peatlands to sponges which soak up water during rainfall and release it slowly later, contributes to this miscommunication by often oversimplifying the hydrological processes. In this paper we aim to understand why and how the sponge analogy is used, and to offer alternatives for clearer scientific communication. We present an analysis of media articles covering peatland hydrology, and the results of a UK survey of peatland practitioners, with a particular emphasis on the use of the sponge analogy and more descriptive alternatives. We show that the sponge analogy is widely used as a convenient explanation even when it is known to be inaccurate by practitioners. To more clearly communicate the hydrological processes in popular media, we suggest the alternative phrases ‘slow the flow’ and ‘dampen the droughts’ as more accurate descriptions of flood‐ limiting and drought‐ reducing peatland hydrological processes.

Gully erosion is the rapid incision of soils by concentrated overland and/or subsurface runoff. Badlands, which are barren landscapes sculpted through prolonged and intense gully erosion, occur extensively across Central and Western India. These vast and immensely degraded landscapes have had several adverse effects on the regional environment and society. Consequently, they have received considerable research attention since India’s independence, while little information exists about the characteristics of gully erosion elsewhere in India. Therefore, through a detailed pan-Indian mapping of gully erosion landforms, possibly the most extensive fieldwork ever undertaken in the domain of gully erosion research and multitemporal remote sensing, this work highlights the spatial distribution and areal extents of gully erosion, the spatial variability in gully morphological attributes and the dynamics of gully erosion and reclamation in India. Overall, the findings indicate that India not only has some of the largest gullies worldwide (widths up to 412 m and depths up to 78 m) but select locales of the country also experience some of the worst long-term rates of gully erosion (up to 800 t ha-1 yr-1) on our planet. Although the badlands account for a large 70% of the total gullying-affected land area in India, we have found that gully erosion in Eastern India is currently a particular cause of concern not only due to the widespread occurrence, but also because of high activity rates that seldom remain within the local permissible soil loss rates. On the contrary, the badlands are stabilised, and the gullies therein exhibit limited activity, if at all, which has prompted large-scale land reclamation activities in these regions. Gully morphological attributes such as top-to-bottom width ratio, width-depth ratio and cross-sectional area differ considerably across India, with statistically significant differences observed across climes, geomorphological settings, soil types and land cover/use classes. We have also observed that stabilised gullies are considerably (by ca. 3 times on average) larger than currently active systems. Similarly, gullies in the badlands are disproportionately larger than that of gully systems elsewhere, with bank gullies characterised by the largest dimensions among the latter. By providing critical insights into the scale, nature, and severity of gully erosion in India, this project not only addresses the glaring lack of knowledge on this subject and advances scientific understanding, but the findings also support practical strategies for sustainable land management by aiding in the identification of particularly erosion-prone regions where management efforts should be prioritised, which has relevance for the ongoing national land degradation neutrality drive.

Peatlands are potent landscape sinks of natural and industrial toxic metals and metalloids (TMMs) but the long-term sequestration of TMMs in peatlands is at increasing risk due to climate change enhanced peatland fires. The ability of peatlands to retain TMMs results from a host of interacting hydrological, biological, geomorphological, and chemical feedbacks, which underpin peatland functionality in general. Fire is a transformative force that often disrupts these interactions and feedbacks, leading to the potential release of TMMs to our air, land, and water. Given that wildfire burned area and severity are increasing there is a need for a conceptual understanding of these interactive processes. Prior to a fire, peatland TMM mobility is relatively low, controlled by a peatland's degree of minerotrophy, degradation status, hydrogeomorphic setting and hydroclimate. Incidentally, these peatland characteristics also control the likelihood of peat ignition, creating important feedbacks on the landscape. Following ignition, the temperature and duration of a peat fire plays a critical role in determining the potential TMM emissions to the atmosphere and the post-fire geochemical conditions. We elucidate the varied emission factors of different metals, where emission factors range from 0.2 (Co or Cd) to 300 (Al) mg of metal per kg of particulate matter emitted depending on the specific metal and likely the pre-fire peat metal concentration. Following a peat fire, the geochemical and hydrological changes become increasingly important. For example, post-fire increases in pH play the strongest chemical role in limiting TMM mobilization but concurrent increases in dissolved organic matter aromaticity complicate our understanding of these processes, leading to a critical knowledge gap. At larger spatial scales, peatland and watershed ecohydrological connectivity and peat erosion modulate the release of TMMs to aquatic systems. Yet, the evolution of the ecohydrological connectivity and peat erosion potential as the peatland vegetation and hydrology recover to pre-fire conditions over the course of several to tens of years is governed by the same controls that impact pre-fire TMM mobility. Critically, the uncertainty in evolution trajectories depends on changes in biological, hydrological, climatological, and chemical conditions, limiting our ability to accurately predict these changes under a rapidly changing climate. This extensive and interdisciplinary review guides the development of a conceptual framework and highlights future research needs to better respond to the emerging threat of legacy TMM release from peatland wildfires.

Field-scale experiments have shown the Natural Flood Management (NFM) potential of peatland restoration. The likelihoods of effectiveness are yet unknown at scales and storms large enough to impact human lives. Using GMD-TOPMODEL, we upscale a rare Before-After-Control-Intervention empirical data set to a 25 km(2) catchment with >600 properties at flood-risk, and test storms of up to a 1,000-year return period (RP). Under these scales/storms, we find that it is not necessary (nor feasible) to delay the outlet flow-peak to meaningfully attenuate it. Enhancing catchment "kinematic" storage, for example, through restoration, can be sufficient to reduce flow magnitudes without detectable changes to peak-flow timing. NFM benefit increases exponentially with restoration area size under smaller storms, but linearly under larger storms. At RP <= 100 years, longer-lasting frontal-type storms are more challenging to defend against via NFM, but at RP > 100 years shorter-duration convectional-type events become more challenging. In the order of 1,000-10 years storms: (a) revegetating the bare-peat areas in 15% of the catchment is 31%-61% likely to reduce peak-flows by >5%; (b) revegetating & damming the erosion gullies in similar to 20% of the catchment is 42%-71% likely to reduce peak-flows by >5%; (c) Growth of Sphagnum in the dammed gullies of similar to 20% and similar to 40% of the catchment increase the likelihoods of >5% peak reductions to 65%-86% and 90%-98%, respectively. The numerical evidence of significant NFM benefit due to Sphagnum re-establishment is an important finding, because it shows that meaningful flood-risk mitigation in headwater catchments under scales/storms relevant to communities at risk can be delivered alongside other ecosystem benefits of Sphagnum re-establishment.

Gully erosion is a formidable land degradation process globally. It is omnipresent across India, wherein two of the largest badlands regions in the world also exist. However, despite being affected by widespread gullying, gully erosion research in India has been rather limited, with key aspects of gully formation, morphologies and dynamics remaining unknown. Through this comprehensive systematic review, we synthesise previous studies on gully erosion in India and in turn highlight pivotal knowledge gaps. The review starts with a discussion of the causal factors of gullying in India, which underlines how gully initiation in several regions was an aftermath of deforestation and overgrazing. Contrastingly, the badlands of Central and Western India have mainly developed in response to natural triggers like neotectonics and Holocene climate change. The section on mapping highlights how mapping methodologies have not only been dictated by the availability of imagery and/or means of data processing, but also the mapping purpose-that is, individual gully channels or entire badlands. Although a few studies applying concepts of fractal geometry to characterise badlands' geomorphology are innovative and unique, the most striking research gaps we have identified also pertain to understanding and quantification of gully geomorphology and erosion dynamics in different regions of India. Our review reveals that gullies of peninsular India have been the least studied, followed by those of the Himalayan and Sub-Himalayan region. Although the literature provides interesting examples of linkages between badlands development and the wider geomorphic evolution of the landscape, better chronological understanding is required to disentangle the relative importance of natural and anthropogenic drivers of landscape change in India's badlands. Large-scale mapping of gully characteristics, quantification of gully morphologies, gully erosion rates and its share in catchment sediment budget across various physiographic regions or river basins of the country also constitute important areas for future research.

Globally, major efforts are being made to restore peatlands to maximise their resilience to anthropogenic climate change, which puts continuous pressure on peatland ecosystems and modifies the geography of the environmental envelope that underpins peatland functioning. A probable effect of climate change is reduction in the waterlogged conditions that are key to peatland formation and continued accumulation of carbon (C) in peat. C sequestration in peatlands arises from a delicate imbalance between primary production and decomposition, and microbial processes are potentially pivotal in regulating feedbacks between environmental change and the peatland C cycle. Increased soil temperature, caused by climate warming or disturbance of the natural vegetation cover and drainage, may result in reductions of long-term C storage via changes in microbial community composition and metabolic rates. Moreover, changes in water table depth alter the redox state and hence have broad consequences for microbial functions, including effects on fungal and bacterial communities especially methanogens and methanotrophs. This article is a perspective review of the effects of climate change and ecosystem restoration on peatland microbial communities and the implications for C sequestration and climate regulation. It is authored by peatland scientists, microbial ecologists, land managers and non-governmental organisations who were attendees at a series of three workshops held at The University of Manchester (UK) in 2019–2020. Our review suggests that the increase in methane flux sometimes observed when water tables are restored is predicated on the availability of labile carbon from vegetation and the absence of alternative terminal electron acceptors. Peatland microbial communities respond relatively rapidly to shifts in vegetation induced by climate change and subsequent changes in the quantity and quality of below-ground C substrate inputs. Other consequences of climate change that affect peatland microbial communities and C cycling include alterations in snow cover and permafrost thaw. In the face of rapid climate change, restoration of a resilient microbiome is essential to sustaining the climate regulation functions of peatland systems. Technological developments enabling faster characterisation of microbial communities and functions support progress towards this goal, which will require a strongly interdisciplinary approach.

Background Strongly varying timescales of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) degradation have been observed across depositional settings. To date, PyC degradation in UK peatlands has had limited investigation. Aims This study aims to evaluate how PyC recalcitrance relates to differing production characteristics, fuels and duration of exposure in UK peatlands. Methods PyC samples produced from key peatland vegetation types were exposed on a peatland surface to assess molecular (by Fourier-transform infrared), leachable carbon (water-extractable organic carbon) and elemental (C, H, N, O) changes occurring over a year. Key results PyC degradation phases were observed: (1) very rapid (≤1 month) loss of leachable carbon; (2) longer-term (1–12 months) changes to PyC characteristics indicative of soil interactions. ‘Severity’ had a significant effect on all measured variables. Conclusions This study indicates that PyC is susceptible to changes within short timescales in UK peatlands, particularly low-temperature PyC, but that stabilisation through soil matrix interactions may occur over longer periods (>1 year). Implications The findings indicate that UK peatland wildfire carbon cycling research should consider early pulses of carbon to the wider environment, as well as longer-term C storage in PyC.

Blanket peat erosion is widespread in the British Isles. Eroded gullies have formed largely from the action of running water, with anthropogenic influences thought to have initiated and accelerated erosion. Currently, many blanket peatlands are undergoing restoration using aerial applications of lime, seed, fertiliser, and hand spreading of heather mulch (LSFM) on bare peat flats and blocking gullies with dams. Dams help stabilise areas of bare peat, trap sediment, reduce runoff velocities, raise water tables, and promote the re-vegetation of peatforming plant species. Few studies have examined how gully blocks change over time and what this means for the functions they provide. We randomly sampled 500 of >2500 small stone and timber dams 8-9 years after installation in an eroding blanket peatland. We measured: vegetation cover and abundance, sediment accumulation behind dams, and available water storage capacity in dam pools as determined by gully morphology. On average, 92% and 93% of gully floors and 85% and 95% of gully walls were fully vegetated, while mean sediment depths were 22 and 20 cm, representing 42% and 44% infill for stone and timber dams, respectively. 2% of dams had failed, suggesting that failure is rare within the first decade. Most retained upstream pools, filling 18% (stone) and 44% (timber) of remaining storage. Sediment accumulation depths (and, conversely, available storage) did not differ significantly between stone and timber dams (95% CI) nor with distance down the gully. Results showed broadly consistent storage depth behind blocks independent of gully properties or dam design. These results suggest that sedimentation depths behind dams quickly reach equilibrium with subsequent sediment inputs balanced by the flux over the dam. Runoff attenuation functions from gully blocking were maintained for almost a decade. Therefore, re-vegetated gully blocked systems likely represent a stable equilibrium condition for the restored peatland so that the restored functions are a long-term benefit of peatland restoration.

Colin P R McCarter1,∗, Gareth D Clay, Sophie L Wilkinson, Susan Page, Emma L Shuttleworth, Scott J Davidson, Muh Taufik, Gabriel Sigmund and James MWaddington 1 Department of Geography & Department of Biology and Chemistry, Nipissing University, North Bay, Canada 2 Department of Geography, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom 3 School of Resource & Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada 4 School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom 5 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom 6 Department of Geophysics and Meteorology, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia 7 Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands 8 School of Earth, Environment & Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada ∗ Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.

How one individual characterises another successful individual varies widely. At a time when work–life balance and the use of metrics are key concerns within the academic landscape, Early Career Academics (ECAs) are voicing particular worries about the opacity with which we discuss and define success in academia, which influences recruitment and progression in unseen ways. Drawing on the results of a survey of 92 geomorphologists, earth and environmental scientists (96% from Europe or North America) and textual analysis of 54 job advertisements for early career positions at UK institutions spanning 2010–2021, we posit that there is a divergence between the perceptions, expectations and realities of academic success and that this has widened over the last decade. We find limited evidence of gendered differences in how academics define success, in stark contrast to employment and promotion outcomes within universities. We also find notable differences in how individual, more senior academics value publications and grant capture, which is at odds with advice usually given to ECAs. This mismatch is reinforced by the steady rise in the total number of essential job criteria listed on job advertisements for early career positions. Strong applicants are expected to excel in more areas than a decade ago. We put forward a series of recommendations implementable at local levels (e.g., research groups, learned society committees, departments) to help ensure markers of success are defined, valued and implemented in more appropriate and consistent ways. These include: the necessity of establishing clear guidelines for recruitment, promotion and awards, and ensuring these are visible and accessible; greater transparency around the weightings given to different criteria in a job advert; and a call to the community to reflect on how our individual markers of success match our career advice and the decisions taken by hiring or promotion panels we sit on.

There is growing concern in Higher Education around job security, work-life balance and inequalities, and early career academics must make difficult trade-offs and life choices. Ample literature confirms that women navigating academia face additional challenges. Few studies have sought to connect contractual circumstances, employment priorities and their impacts on the life choices of individual academics. We report results from a survey exploring the experiences of 48 Early Career Researchers traversing the academic ladder in geomorphology and earth/environmental science and contextualise these findings by drawing on personal experiences and wider literature. Overall, we find evidence of multi-directional pressures that have materially negative effects on life choices, including concern amongst men and women that academic employment is a barrier to living where and with whom one may want to. The scale of precarity amongst survey respondents is stark in terms of years on fixed-term contracts (maximum 10), individual contracts held (maximum 14) and number of different institutions (maximum 6). Overall, women respondents opted to spend fewer years on precarious contracts, which will amplify the leaky pipeline and gender gaps at more senior levels. We also find that women put somewhat more emphasis on job security when applying for academic posts. Perceived institutional prestige was a low priority for the majority of respondents. We also find notable divergences between career advice given by more senior colleagues and the priorities of those seeking guidance. Our results furthermore infer that men were generally more satisfied by financial aspects of university employment. Drawing on input from survey respondents, we put forward a set of recommendations under four themes: improving policies on parental leave and flexible working; formalising and improving mentorship; transparency on pay and promotion; more considerate recruitment procedures. We believe these recommendations are within the scope of action by departments, laboratories and research groups.

&lt;p&gt;The restoration of damaged UK peatlands is a major conservation concern and landscape-scale restoration initiatives are extensive in areas of blanket peatland in upland Britain. Because of the importance of a high water table to healthy peatland systems, it is the primary physical parameter considered in the monitoring the impacts of peatland restoration projects. Degraded peatland water tables can be highly variable in both time and space so require characterisation at a variety of scales. As such, a baseline understanding of landscape scale water table behaviour is required to properly assess the outcome of restoration projects.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This paper presents the preliminary findings of the first major restoration works of the Great North Bog Initiative &amp;#8211; a new and exciting partnership that brings together the seven regional peatland restoration partnerships across the north of England under a single collaborative banner. The Protected Landscapes of the Great North Bog represent around 92% of the upland peat in England and includes four National Parks and three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This first phase of restoration spans 5670 ha of peatland across Yorkshire and the North Pennines, with the aim of abating 455,500 of CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;eq over a 50 year trajectory of recovery. &amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We report the results of pre-restoration water table monitoring at ten sites with different degrees of management and degradation, including: drained, eroding and topographically &amp;#8216;intact&amp;#8217; surfaces; heather and grass dominated vegetation covers; and unfavourable through to favourable national conservation designations. Our findings will provide a solid understanding of hydrological variation across these different sites and will form the baseline from which trajectories of recovery will be assessed.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Extensive erosional gully networks are commonplace in degrading peatlands. Gullying produces local water table drawdown and the increase in drainage density associated with gully networks increases hydrological connectivity between hillslope and channel. Peatland restoration methods commonly involve blocking of gullies with peat or timber dams to limit further erosion and promote higher water tables. Blocking is also demonstrated to attenuate channel flow in peatland catchments, suggesting that gully blocks can provide Natural Flood Management (NFM) benefits. Block design can be further optimised for flood attenuation purposes, such as including an outlet pipe through the block to provide dynamic in-storm storage.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This paper compares the hydrological functioning of standard peat dams and piped-peat dams optimised for NFM from neighbouring microcatchments (&lt;2.5 ha) in the Peak District National Park, UK. Pre-restoration discharge was monitored for 12 months prior to installation of 6 standard peat dams in one microcatchment and 10 piped-peat dams in the other. Bottom of reach discharge and individual dam pool height was recorded for the following 12 months. The series of piped-peat dams are demonstrated to have a higher impact on catchment discharge than standard peat dams, reducing peak discharges and increasing lag times. Standard peat dams provide little storage volume during storm events compared to the dynamic storage provided by the outlet in piped-peat dams. However, the requirement for maintenance of pipe-peat dams is identified, with pipe blockages compromising dynamic storage. These findings have implications for understanding of NFM benefits from standard and NFM optimised peat dams.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;