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HOW EFFECTIVE ARE RIPARIAN BUFFERS IN CONTROLLING NUTRIENT EXPORT FROM AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS?
Citation:
WIGINGTON JR, P. J. HOW EFFECTIVE ARE RIPARIAN BUFFERS IN CONTROLLING NUTRIENT EXPORT FROM AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS? Presented at Riparian Ecosystems and Buffers: Multi-scale Structure, Function, and Management, Olympic Valley, CA, June 28-30, 2004.
Description:
Riparian buffers are being established in many parts of the world as part of nonpoint source pollution management strategies. A large number of studies have documented the potential of riparian buffers to reduce export of nutrients, especially nitrogen, in shallow ground water of agricultural land along stream reaches (tens to hundreds of meters in length). Because of cost and logistical limitations, relatively few studies have examined the influence of riparian buffers on nutrient export at watershed scales nor examined the effectiveness of riparian buffers during high stream flow events, the periods when greatest nonpoint source pollution transport typically occurs. Some published watershed scale research suggests that riparian buffers exert less influence on nutrient export at watershed scales than has been reported in studies performed along stream reaches. In this presentation, I evaluate evidence from published literature and from my own research in the Pacific Northwest regarding the extent to which riparian buffers are able to reduce the export of nutrients in agricultural watersheds.