Agroforestry practices: riparian forest buffers and filter strips

Description

Riparian forest buffers are planned combinations of trees, shrubs, grasses, forbs and bioengineered structures adjacent to or within a stream channel designed to mitigate the impact of land use on the stream or creek. At the landscape level, riparian forest buffers link the land and aquatic environment and perform vital ecological functions as part of the network of watersheds that connect forest, prairies, agricultural and urban lands. This chapter is about riparian forest buffers and filter strips as agroforestry practices. Following an introduction to the concept of riparian forest buffers, then follows a section on forest buffer design and function. This discusses the distinct management zones in a riparian forest buffer, namely Zone 1: undisturbed forest; Zone 2: managed forest and shrubs and Zone 3: run-off control (grasses and forbs). The chapter concludes with sections on both special design considerations and management, and assessing buffer performance.

Table of contents

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Riparian forest buffers
• 3 Riparian forest buffer design and function
• 4 Special design considerations and management
• 5 Assessing buffer performance
• 6 References