Function of riparian vegetation in retaining sediment in watersheds

Abstract

Riparian areas are special vegetation zones that are frequently used as buffer strips to mitigate sediment movement from upland forest and agricultural management areas (Neary et al. 2010). These areas are often called streamside management zones. Understanding any concept and accompanying literature is ultimately based on knowledge of the descriptive terminology used. Therefore it is appropriate to discuss the terms used in the literature to describe since there is a lack of uniformity in how these near-stream landscape units are named. The most commonly used terms mentioned by Neary et al. (2010) are "riparian zones", "riparian buffers", "riparian management zones", "buffer strips", "filter strips", "wetlands", "greenways", "grassed waterways", and "streamside management zones". Various combinations of economic, ecological, and regulatory factors govern their size, shape, function, importance, and management (Williams et al. 2003).

Citation

Neary, Daniel G.; Buschmann, Silke; Ffolliott, Peter F. 2010. Function of riparian vegetation in retaining sediment in watersheds. Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and The Southwest. 40: 31-44.