Integrative conservation of riparian zones

González, Eduardo; Felipe‐Lucia, María R.; Bourgeois, Bérenger; Boz, Bruno; Nilsson, Christer; Palmer, Grant; Sher, Anna A.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.10.035

Cited by 141 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 115 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…; González et al. ). Even pragmatic approaches like the FPIT that leverage participatory processes carry some value in their ability to integrate soft and hard information (i.e., Seibert and McDonnell ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Leveraging a Participatory Process for Restoration Return on Investment: The Nature Conservancy's Floodplain Investment Tool

Lyon

Cunha

DiBlasio

et al. 2018

J American Water Resour Assoc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study, we develop the Floodplain Investment Tool (FPIT) to help stakeholders prioritize conservation efforts to maximize return on investments (e.g., ensure the most “bang for the buck”). We applied the FPIT for the 177 mi2 (458 km2) Paulins Kill watershed located in northwestern New Jersey, as a case study focusing on nutrient loading. The resultant FPIT reflected independently assessed habitat and ecosystem impairment scores across the watershed. Nutrient load (both total phosphorus [TP] and total nitrogen [TN]) estimates made with the FPIT were in relative agreement across scales with a more robust modeling approach and allowed for development of several application scenarios. For example, we estimated a well‐targeted budget of $2 million could reduce annual nutrient load to be approximately 530 lbs (240 kg) of TP and 5,835 lbs (2,647 kg) of TN for the watershed. Where the clear value for the FPIT can be seen is in the process by which it was pilot‐tested for application and stakeholder voices were integrated into its development. This allows for a level of transparency not available from more top‐down approaches where stakeholders are involved only at the end of the development process.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Leveraging a Participatory Process for Restoration Return on Investment: The Nature Conservancy's Floodplain Investment Tool

Lyon

Cunha

DiBlasio

et al. 2018

J American Water Resour Assoc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Water releases from reservoirs combined with geomorphic work (e.g., floodplain reconfiguration, site preparation, mechanical clearance of competing vegetation with land contouring) have been implemented to restore riparian vegetation in other rivers of semi-arid regions, such as the Middle Rio Grande in New Mexico (Taylor et al, 1999(Taylor et al, , 2006Sher et al, 2002) or the Lower Colorado River from the U.S.-Mexico border to the river delta (Shafroth et al, 2017). That even the positive results of one of the most effective river restoration techniques as reported in this paper were actually very small when framed in the context of the entire floodplain should raise an alarm on how management of riparian systems is not guaranteeing their proper ecological functioning (Gonzalez et al, 2017b). Successful experiences like those reported here should not leave room for complacency but rather help design integrative conservation strategies for riparian zones that combine even more ambitious ecological-technical actions with socio-economic, educational, political and legal ones (Gonzalez et al, 2017b).…”

Section: Lessons Learned From Upscaling Channel Widening To Entire Rimentioning

confidence: 90%

“…That even the positive results of one of the most effective river restoration techniques as reported in this paper were actually very small when framed in the context of the entire floodplain should raise an alarm on how management of riparian systems is not guaranteeing their proper ecological functioning (Gonzalez et al, 2017b). Successful experiences like those reported here should not leave room for complacency but rather help design integrative conservation strategies for riparian zones that combine even more ambitious ecological-technical actions with socio-economic, educational, political and legal ones (Gonzalez et al, 2017b).…”

Section: Lessons Learned From Upscaling Channel Widening To Entire Rimentioning

confidence: 99%

Dismantling artificial levees and channel revetments promotes channel widening and regeneration of riparian vegetation over long river segments

Martínez-Fernández

González

López-Almansa

et al. 2017

Ecological Engineering

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Longitudinal structures manipulation can re-activate channel migration and thus restore flood-dependent riparian plant communities in human-constrained floodplains. However, it has been rarely implemented over long restored river segments and has been infrequently assessed while taking into account river conditions prior to restoration. This study describes the morphological and vegetation response to this type of restoration in a project completed in 2012 along a 21.6 km river segment in the Orbigo River (NW Spain). Land cover changes and channel planform evolution in the restored segment were compared with a downstream non-restored (control) segment and to an upstream unregulated (reference) segment before (2011) and shortly after (2014) the restoration implementation. Riparian vegetation was surveyed in 18 gravel bars of the three river segments four years after restoration completion (2016). The restored segment presented the largest increase of active channel area. Rejuvenation of landforms predominated over transition toward mature stages (succession) in the restored and the reference segment, while succession predominated in the control segment. The sinuosity and braiding indexes in the restored segment increased much more than in the reference and, especially, than in the control segment. Riparian plant communities that colonized gravel bars in the restored segment resembled those found in the unregulated segment and slightly differed from that found in the non-restored segment. Withinsegment variability was much higher, indicating the dependence of riparian plant communities on local processes. Although positive, our results showed that the high stability of floodplain areas in the human-constrained rivers of industrialized societies limits the short-term effectiveness of longitudinal structures manipulation as a restoration strategy. We also showed that assessments using relatively simple aerial photointerpretation and vegetation surveys in pioneer habitats can illustrate trajectories in river restoration projects shortly after their completion. Long-term monitoring of the geomorphic trajectory and associated plant communities, however, will help define the timing of future additional interventions to assure the natural resilience of riparian habitats.

show abstract

“…In both systems, the amount of biomass-C was significantly lower than that found under cool-season grass (C3) (327 mg C kg soil −1 ). Scott [1] observed that a threefold difference in root biomass among the grass species did not alter the proportion of macroaggregates or the amount of C associated with aggregates 10 years after the establishment of Fergus Falls grass (C4). Franzluebbers et al [16] reported that soil organic matter and total N, to a depth of 200 mm, was accumulated at greater rates under grazed tall fescue (C3) than under bermudagrass (C4), and that storage of soil organic C occurred at a rate of 100 g m −2 year −1 during the first 10 years of establishment under fescue (C3) grasses and at a rate of 33 g m −2 year −1 under grazed bermudagrass (C4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They have a disproportionate ecological role in the landscape considering their narrow extent, which makes them a good example of small natural features. Characteristically, riparian zones increase species richness in the landscape and provide key services to society, such as soil fertility, water purification, and recreation [1]. Healthy riparian areas stabilize stream channels, provide sediment storage, serve as nutrient sinks for the surrounding watershed, and improve the quality of water leaving the watershed [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Soil Aggradation through Soil Aggregation and Particulate Organic Matter by Riparian Switchgrass Buffers

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The restoration of riparian zones has been an important issue in many regions for the recovery of ecosystem functions. The objective of this study was to assess soil aggradation in a 7-year established riparian switchgrass buffer (SGB) and in a non-buffered riparian zone with an annual row crop (ARC). We measured the aggregate size distribution and stability of macroaggregates, aggregate-associated soil organic carbon, soil organic matter fractions and the chemical composition of light particulate organic matter to monitor soil aggregation in a riparian soil following the conversion of agricultural row crops to switchgrass filters. Aggregate size fractions were separated by wet sieving using the aggregate size-stability protocol. The proportion of soil and total organic C was quantified for each aggregate size class. Soil organic matter fractions were isolated by size and density into light particulate organic matter and heavy particulate organic matter and mineral fraction organic matter. The categorization of aggregates by size and water stability (slaking resistance) showed a significantly larger (p < 0.001) proportion of water-unstable large macroaggregates (>2000 µm) under SGB (34%) compared to that under ARC (29%), while the proportion of water-unstable small macroaggregates (250-2000 µm) was significantly higher under ARC (14%) than under SGB (10%). Our results showed that the amounts of light and heavy particulate organic matter did not change in the short-term (7 years) after SGB establishment. It appears that the lower soil stabilization and soil organic C storage under SGB is related to (i) the large number of coarse roots; (ii) lower inputs of light and heavy particulate organic matter; (iii) no changes in the alkyl-C/O-alkyl-C ratio over time; and (iv) light particulate organic matter with a high C/N ratio.

show abstract

Integrative conservation of riparian zones

Cited by 141 publications

References 115 publications

Leveraging a Participatory Process for Restoration Return on Investment: The Nature Conservancy's Floodplain Investment Tool

Leveraging a Participatory Process for Restoration Return on Investment: The Nature Conservancy's Floodplain Investment Tool

Dismantling artificial levees and channel revetments promotes channel widening and regeneration of riparian vegetation over long river segments

Assessment of Soil Aggradation through Soil Aggregation and Particulate Organic Matter by Riparian Switchgrass Buffers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About