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Riparian Vegetation Research Paper

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Riparian Vegetation:
Can it influence the health of watercourses?
Harley Laing-Dipple
Queensland University of Technology
ENB274 - Design of Environmentally Sustainable Systems
ABSTRACT
Riparian vegetation can be classified as vegetation that inhabits shorelines and banks of water systems. They typically consist of three zoned areas that further helps break up the characteristics of the vegetation present in the riparian buffer. Riparian vegetation is of high ecological importance due to its impact on waterways and therefore needs high attention and precision in maintenance and rejuvenation to ensure there are no negative outcomes. Disturbances around riparian zones can affect the quality of the vegetation and in turn create an undesired impact …show more content…

If the incorrect riparian vegetation species are planted, it can have negative effects to the desired outcomes of the project. Generally speaking, an investigation should be made as to what species are currently found along the same waterway to give a good indication as to what species would be most suited to the environmental conditions of this area (OSU, 2015). Additionally, some soil types may change on the same aquatic system so there is still importance to identify the soil types to ensure they are of the same soil classification. If species are planted in incorrect soil types it can lead to a failure in rejuvenation. The key objective to riparian zones is to maintain the native vegetation unless it is unpractical to achieve (Gould & Spink, …show more content…

Without the vegetation that makes the riparian buffer, the pollutions and sediments that would normally be trapped and diluted into the soil are now washed into the waterways and decrease the overall quality of the aquatic system (Peterson, 2006). Where there was once a natural balance between disturbance and regeneration, activities such as running livestock, building developments, vehicles and disposal of rubbish disturb this balance. This in turn leads to oxygen depletion in the water and decreased rainwater filtration (Oates, 2000)
5 IMPROVEMENT OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION RESULTS 5.1 Sediment Reduction
Grassed riparian buffer zones act greatly in depleting the overall amounts of sediment flow into a water system and in reducing the flow of water. Although this reduction in water flow speed occurs, it still yields similar nutrient intake and may sometimes even increase (Department of Soil Science , 2015). Studies have shown that varying grassed buffer widths have an evident impact on trapping sediments which can sometimes be up to 90% (Table 1).
Table 1: Grass buffer width effects (Department of Soil Science , 2015)
Grass Buffer Width Plot %

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