Oaks, pines and pastures new for geographers

Geographers at Loughborough University are to receive Pounds 233,000 to look into the impact on groundwater reserves of increasing wooded land in the United Kingdom. The project team, led by Ian Reid, Ian Calder and David Walker, will carry out experiments to assess rainfall, soil moisture, evaporation and drainage under oak trees, Corsican pine trees and pasture land.

Data will be fed into a computer model to predict the effect of land use on a regional and national scale. The research, due to run until 2000, is backed by the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.