A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area (a " buffer strip ") near a stream , usually forested , which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses . It plays a key role in increasing water quality in associated streams, rivers , and lakes , thus providing environmental benefits. With the decline of many aquatic ecosystems due to agriculture , riparian buffers have become a very common conservation practice aimed at increasing water quality and reducing pollution .
20-555: Northwest Branch may refer to: Northwest Branch Anacostia River , in Maryland Northwest Branch Saint John River , in Maine [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
40-623: A farming assistance program in the United States , provides many incentives to landowners to encourage them to install riparian buffers around water systems that have a high chance of non-point water pollution and are highly erodible. For example, the Nebraska system of Riparian Buffer Payments offers payments for the cost of setup, a sign up bonus, and annual rental payments. These incentives are offered to agriculturists to compensate them for their economic loss of taking this land out of production. If
60-711: A small portion of land in Washington, D.C. , is 53.5 square miles (139 km ), with a resident population of about 254,000. The middle section of the Northwest Branch is referred to as the Rachel Carson Environmental Area . It flows through a small gorge underneath the Capital Beltway between Colesville Road and Adelphi Mill . Located at the north end of the Northwest Branch Trail , near
80-492: A water source, it increases biodiversity by allowing species an area to re-establish after being displaced due to non-conservation land use. With this re-establishment, the number of native species and biodiversity in general can be increased. The large trees in the first zone of the riparian buffer provide shade and therefore cooling for the water, increasing productivity and increasing habitat quality for aquatic species. When branches and stumps ( large woody debris ) fall into
100-632: Is a 21.5-mile-long (34.6 km) free-flowing stream in Montgomery County and Prince George's County , Maryland . It is a tributary of the Anacostia River , which flows to the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay . The headwaters of the Northwest Branch are located near the community of Sandy Spring . The stream flows southward for 21.5 miles (34.6 km) to its confluence with
120-527: Is a key element in the effectiveness of the buffer. It is generally recommended that native species be chosen to plant in these three zones, with the general width of the buffer being 50 feet (15 m) on each side of the stream. The US National Agroforestry Center has developed a filter strip design tool called AgBufferBuilder, which is a GIS-based computer program for designing vegetative filter strips around agricultural fields that utilizes terrain analysis to account for spatially non-uniform runoff. Logging
140-440: Is as efficient as Salix plantations and measures of glyphosate in runoff after a year, suggest an unexpected persistence and even a capacity of RBS to potentially favor glyphosate infiltration up to 70 cm depth in the soil. After the initial installation of the riparian buffer, relatively little maintenance is needed to keep the buffer in good condition. Once the trees and grasses mature, they regenerate naturally and make
160-588: Is sometimes recommended as a management practice in riparian buffers, usually to provide economic incentive. However, some studies have shown that logging can harm wildlife populations, especially birds. A study by the University of Minnesota found that there was a correlation between the harvesting of timber in riparian buffers and a decline in bird populations. Therefore, logging is generally discouraged as an environmental practice, and left to be done in designated logging areas. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP),
180-638: The Anacostia Tributary Trail System in Prince George's County. Northwest Branch crosses the geological fall line between the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain regions, which forms a small waterfall on the stream 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of the Burnt Mills Dam parks. This area was a favorite spot of Theodore Roosevelt . Several species of native anadromous fish spawn in
200-699: The Northeast Branch near Bladensburg to form the main stem of the Anacostia. The watershed in Montgomery County includes portions of the communities of Norwood, Bel Pre Manor, Colesville , Layhill, Glenmont , Wheaton , Hillandale , White Oak , Silver Spring , Kemp Mill , Four Corners, Woodmoor and Takoma Park . The Prince George's County portion of the watershed includes Adelphi , Langley Park , University Park , Chillum , Hyattsville , Avondale and Brentwood . The total watershed area, including
220-667: The Northwest Branch watershed, including alewife ( Alosa pseudoharengus ) and blueback herring ( Alosa aestivalis ). The total stream channel length of Northwest Branch and all tributaries is 75 miles (121 km). Riparian buffer Riparian buffers act to intercept sediment , nutrients , pesticides , and other materials in surface runoff and reduce nutrients and other pollutants in shallow subsurface water flow . They also serve to provide habitat and wildlife corridors in primarily agricultural areas. They can also be key in reducing erosion by providing stream bank stabilization. Large scale results have demonstrated that
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#1732851147864240-628: The expansion of riparian buffers through the deployment of plantations systems can effectively reduce nitrogen emissions to water and soil loss by wind erosion, while simultaneously providing substantial environmental co-benefits, having limited negative effects on current agricultural production. Riparian buffers intercept sediment and nutrients. They counteract eutrophication in downstream lakes and ponds which can be detrimental to aquatic habitats because of large fish kills that occur upon large-scale eutrophication. Riparian buffers keep chemicals, like pesticides, that can be harmful to aquatic life out of
260-516: The home of noted environmental author Rachel Carson , it is deliberately left rustic and unimproved. The majority of the Northwest Branch stream valley is a riparian buffer , protected as parkland by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). The Rachel Carson Greenway planned by M-NCPPC will extend the Northwest Branch Trail into northern Montgomery County as an unimproved hiking trail, connecting to
280-404: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northwest_Branch&oldid=944520579 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Northwest Branch Anacostia River Northwest Branch Anacostia River
300-461: The land is highly erodible and produces little economic gain, it can sometimes be more economic to take advantage of these CRP programs. Riparian buffers have undergone much scrutiny about their effectiveness, resulting in thorough testing and monitoring. A study done by the University of Georgia , conducted over a nine-year period, monitored the amounts of fertilizers that reached the watershed from
320-440: The larger habitat means that the land will be more sought-after for hunting purposes. Designing buffer zones based on their hydrological function instead of a traditionally used fixed width method, can be economically beneficial in forestry practices. A riparian buffer is usually split into three different zones, each having its own specific purpose for filtering runoff and interacting with the adjacent aquatic system. Buffer design
340-419: The life span of reservoirs and the dams that create the reservoirs. Riparian buffers can act as crucial habitat for a large number of species, especially those who have lost habitat due to agricultural land being put into production. The habitat provided by the buffers also double as corridors for species that have had their habitat fragmented by various land uses. By adding this vegetated area of land near
360-542: The source of the application. It found that these buffers removed at least 60% of the nitrogen in the runoff, and at least 65% of the phosphorus from the fertilizer application. The same study showed that the effectiveness of the Zone 3 was much greater than that of both Zone 1 and 2 at removing contaminants. But another study in 2017 did not find efficiency (or a very limiting capacity) for reducing glyphosate and AMPA leaching to streams; spontaneous herbaceous vegetation RBS
380-412: The stream from the riparian zone, more stream habitat features are created. Carbon is added as an energy source for biota in the stream. Buffers increase land value and allow for the production of profitable alternative crops. Vegetation such as black walnut and hazelnut , which can be profitably harvested, can be incorporated into the riparian buffer. Lease fees for hunting can also be increased as
400-516: The water. Some pesticides can be especially harmful if they bioaccumulate in the organism, with the chemicals reaching harmful levels once they are ready for human consumption. Riparian buffers also stabilise the bank surrounding the water body which is important since erosion can be a major problem in agricultural regions when cut (eroded) banks can take land out of production. Erosion can also lead to sedimentation and siltation of downstream lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Siltation can greatly reduce
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