|
PROTECTING
OUR RIPARIAN AREAS
What
you can do to protect our lakes
and streams
What is a Riparian Area?
Riparian zones or areas have been defined
in several ways, but they are essentially
the narrow strips of land that border
creeks, rivers or other bodies of water.
Because of their proximity to water,
plant species and topography of riparian
zones differ considerably from those
of adjacent uplands. Although they
comprise a small proportion of the
total landscape, they are among the
most diverse biological systems on
earth, and they perform important services
to people which no amount of human
effort and technology can do as well.
Functions
of a Healthy Riparian System:
1. Sediment Filtering
2. Bank Stablilization
3. Water Storage and Release
4. Aquifer Recharge
A healthy, functioning riparian
area and associated uplands
dramatically increase benefits
such as fish and
wildlife habitat, erosion control,
forage, late season streamflow,
and water quality.
An
unhealthy system would have some
or all these characteristics:
1.
Low water table and decreased
storage capacity,
2. Low forage production for
fish and wildlife,
3. Little shade-Warm water,
4. Poor fish habitat-Poor
water quality,
5. Low wildlife habitat diversity
6. Little vegetation & roots to
help protect and stabilize
banks,
7. Significant erosion of
streambanks and shorelines
8. Repeated dredging of ditches,
streams, and resevoirs
9. Reduced late summer stream
flows.
10. Decreased riparian property
values.
A
healthy system would have the
opposite of these characteristics:
Riparian
Protection for Homeowners
Riparian Protection for Agricultural
Areas
West Michigan area Trout
Streams (WMTU Home Rivers)
Other Links for Riparian
Protection
|
