Riparian Forest Buffers

A riparian forest buffer is an area adjacent to a stream, lake, or wetland that contains a combination of trees, shrubs, and/or other perennial plants and is managed differently from the surrounding landscape, primarily to provide conservation benefits. Riparian buffers can also be managed to include trees and shrubs that produce a harvestable crop along with the conservation benefits, although this is less common. Buffers are used in agricultural, row crop, range, suburban, and urban settings. A wide variety of state and federal programs support the installation of riparian forest buffers on public and private lands.

Riparian forest buffers can deliver a number benefits including filtering nutrients, pesticides, and animal waste from agricultural land runoff; stabilizing eroding banks; filtering sediment from runoff; providing shade, shelter, and food for fish and other aquatic organisms; providing wildlife habitat and corridors for terrestrial organisms; protecting cropland and downstream communities from flood damage; producing income from farmland that is frequently flooded or has poor yields; providing space for recreation; and diversifying landowner income.

Riparian forest buffers can be included in landscape-scale green infrastructure plans to serve a variety of functions, particularly along the rural-urban interface. Green infrastructure is an approach to conservation that involves creating a network of green areas to benefit people and wildlife.

Cattle grazing among scattered young pine trees. — Although riparian forest buffers are often designed primarily for water quality benefits, these practices can also include woody species that provide products such as nuts, fruit, and decorative woody florals. (USDA National Agroforestry Center illustration)

A number of factors can impact the effectiveness of riparian forest buffers in meeting these objectives. These include site conditions such as adjacent agricultural practices and crop types, stream size, topography, and soils; landscape conditions such as position in the watershed, adjacent land use, and buffer continuity; and other conditions such as markets and public interest. Riparian forest buffer planning and design is important for enhancing the effectiveness of riparian buffers.

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