Enhancing the Benefits of Riparian Buffers

Proper riparian buffer placement can make a difference not only for water quality improvement, but also for wildlife habitat and landowner needs, according to two USDA scientists.

The two USDA National Agroforestry Center researchers have developed a GIS-based assessment method for identifying where buffers can restore connectivity of riparian areas for the benefit of terrestrial wildlife. The study, published in the September/October 2004 issue of Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, focused on three objectives: identify riparian remnants; determine where buffers could be implemented to reestablish connectivity between remnants; and identify road barriers to riparian connectivity. The greatest benefit to using GIS-guided assessments in conservation planning, according to the report, is the opportunity to combine different assessments to determine locations where multiple objectives can be accomplished with riparian buffers. http://www.swcs.org/en/publications/jswc/.