SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Ditch through woodland dug by Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber), Knapdale Forest, Argyll, Scotland, UK, June 2016.

David Noton / Remains of trenches from the First World War at Newfoundland Memorial Park on the Somme battlefield, Beaumont Hamel, Picardy, France, October 2014.

David Noton / Remains of trenches from the First World War at Newfoundland Memorial Park on the Somme battlefield, Beaumont Hamel, Picardy, France, October 2014.

David Noton / First light on Tofana de Rozes from the World War One trenches on Cinque Torri, Dolomite Mountains, Belluno Province, Veneto, Italy, September 2015.

David Noton / First light on Tofana de Rozes from the World War One trenches on Cinque Torri, Dolomite Mountains, Belluno Province, Veneto, Italy, September 2015.

Nick Upton / Willow tree (Salix sp.) felled by Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) with its bark partially gnawed off by them, lying across a drainage ditch in lowland farmland, Haughs of Cossans, near Forfar, Angus,...

Nick Upton / Young Willow tree (Salix sp.) felled by Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) lying across a drainage ditch with much of its bark gnawed off by them in partially flooded lowland farmland, Haughs of Cossans,...

Nick Upton / Willow tree (Salix sp.) gnawed by Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) with a large branch lying across and partially blocking a stream in lowland farmland, Dean Water, near Forfar, Angus, Tayside, Scotlan...

Nick Upton / Willow tree (Salix sp.) gnawed by Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) with a large branch lying across and partially blocking a stream in lowland farmland, Dean Water, near Forfar, Angus, Tayside, Scotlan...

Nick Upton / Willow tree (Salix sp.) gnawed and partially felled by Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) beside a stream flowing through partially flooded lowland farmland, Dean Water and Haughs of Cossans, near Forfar...

Jean E. Roche / Digger clearing ditch at Notre Dame d'Amour, Camargue, France, March.

David Woodfall / Aerial view of King's Sedgemoor Drain and agricultural land drying after winter floods, Somerset Levels, UK, February 2015.

David Tipling / Main drain (new cut) Cley Marshes, Norfolk Wildlife Trust Reserve, Norfolk, UK, April 2014.

Pascal Tordeux / Old oak tree (Quercus robur) at dusk in winter near to old trenches of World War One, Saint Gobain, Picardy, France.

Solvin Zankl / Trench digger beetles {Lepidochora sp} dig little trenches in the sand surface of a dune which will collect water droplets from the fog, Namib desert, Namibia.

Solvin Zankl / Trench digger beetle {Lepidochora sp} digs little trenches in the sand surface of a dune which will collect water droplets from the fog, Namib desert, Namibia.

Robin Chittenden / Common chub (Squalius cephalus) shoal gasping for air at water's surface in partially frozen ditch, Whitlingham Coiuntry Park, Norfolk, England, UK. December.

Robin Chittenden / Common chub (Squalius cephalus) shoal gasping for air at water's surface in partially frozen ditch, Whitlingham Coiuntry Park, Norfolk, England, UK. December.

Juan Carlos Munoz / Drone tracking shot of George Orwell's trenches. The trenches are remnants of the Spanish Civil War (now preserved as a tourist attraction). The drone moves backwards revealing the surrounding landsca...

Juan Carlos Munoz / Drone panning shot of George Orwell's trenches. The trenches are remnants of the Spanish Civil War (now preserved as a tourist attraction). Sierra de Alcubierre, Aragon, Spain. June. 2023.

Juan Carlos Munoz / Aerial tracking shot of George Orwell's trenches. The trenches are remnants of the Spanish Civil War (now preserved as a tourist attraction). The drone moves backwards revealing the surrounding landsc...

Will Watson / Park pale made up from an internal ditch and a wooden fence, beside house, Moccas Park National Nature Reserve, Herefordshire, England, UK, December 2023. Fence made from cleft Oak wood.

Will Watson / Park pale made up of internal ditch and a wooden fence, Moccas Park National Nature Reserve, Herefordshire, England, UK, December 2023. Fence made from cleft Oak wood.

Will Watson / Park pale made up of internal ditch and a wooden fence, Moccas Park National Nature Reserve, Herefordshire, England, UK, December 2023. Fence made from cleft Oak wood.

Will Watson / Sign beside gated entrance to Moccas Park National Nature Reserve, with park pale made up of internal ditch and a wooden fence, Herefordshire, England, UK, December 2023. Wooden fence made from cleft...

Mike Read / Remains of medieval ditch and bank system that would have been topped with a paling fence to enclose Lyndhurst Old Park in woodland, New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England, UK. December, 2023.

Mike Read / Medieval ditch and bank system that would have been topped with a paling fence to enclose Lyndhurst Old Park, New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England, UK. December, 2023.

Mike Read / Remains of medieval ditch and bank system that would have been topped with a paling fence to enclose Lyndhurst Old Park surrounded by Common gorse (Ulex europaeus) in heathland, New Forest National Pa...

Mike Read / Remains of medieval ditch and bank system that would have been topped with a paling fence to enclose Lyndhurst Old Park, now filled with water in heathland, New Forest National Park, Hampshire, Englan...

Mike Read / Remains of medieval ditch and bank system that would have been topped with a paling fence to enclose Lyndhurst Old Park in heathland, New Forest National Park, Hampshire, England, UK. December, 2023.

Mike Read / Remains of medieval ditch and bank system that would have been topped with a paling fence to enclose Lyndhurst Old Park, now filled with water in heathland, New Forest National Park, Hampshire, Englan...

Will Watson / Eutrophic ditch with bank erosion caused by cattle, with Spirogyra and Enteromorpha algae and floating leaves of Unbranched bur-reed (Sparganium erersum), Herefordshire Lowlands, England, UK. June, 20...

Charlie Hamilton-James / Saddle-billed stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) pair, standing in shallow water in roadside ditch, Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa.

Tui De Roy / Alcedo giant tortoise (Chelonoidis vandenburghi) group cooling down in ditch, Alcedo Volcano, Isabela Island, Galapagos

Graham Eaton / An open field ditch through farmland of recently ploughed fields, Wirral, Cheshire, UK. October, 2020.

Jack Dykinga / Burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia), one with head turned 180 degrees, in their burrow under a concrete irrigation ditch, Marana, Arizona, USA. November.

Terry Whittaker / Plastic litter including bottles in gutter. Mandroseza, Antananarivo, Madagascar. 2019.

Ashley Cooper / Ditch through peat bog, used to drain land. Seno Obstruccion, Patagonia, Chile. January 2020.

Ashley Cooper / Ditch through peat bog to drain land. Seno Obstruccion, Patagonia, Chile. January 2020.

Edwin Giesbers / Researchers sampling aquatic invertebrates in trial ditches exposed to thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid. Organisms found to be 2500 times more sensitive to the insecticide in the natural environment than...

Edwin Giesbers / Researchers sampling aquatic invertebrates in trial ditches exposed to thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid. Organisms found to be 2500 times more sensitive to the insecticide in the natural environment than...

Edwin Giesbers / Ecotoxicologists sampling aquatic invertebrates in trial ditches exposed to thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid. Organisms found to be 2500 times more sensitive to the insecticide in the natural environment...

Edwin Giesbers / Ecotoxicologists sampling aquatic invertebrates in trial ditches exposed to thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid. Organisms found to be 2500 times more sensitive to the insecticide in the natural environment...

Edwin Giesbers / Ecotoxicologists sampling aquatic invertebrates from trial ditches exposed to thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid. Organisms found to be 2500 times more sensitive to the insecticide in the natural environmen...

Edwin Giesbers / Ecotoxicologists sampling aquatic invertebrates from trial ditches exposed to thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid. Organisms found to be 2500 times more sensitive to the insecticide in the natural environmen...

Edwin Giesbers / Ditch running alongside field treated with glyphosate weedkiller in preparation for replanting. Veghel, North Brabant, The Netherlands, March 2019.

Edwin Giesbers / Field treated with glyphosate weedkiller, ditch running alongside. Veghel, North Brabant, The Netherlands, March 2019.

Willem Kolvoort / Common toad (Bufo bufo) tadpoles amongst Perfoliate pondweed (Potamogeton perfoliatus) in ditch. Netherlands. May.

Willem Kolvoort / Common toad (Bufo bufo) tadpoles amongst ditch vegetation. Netherlands. May.

Wendy Shattil / Ditch feeding into Quitobaquito Springs. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, USA. November.