Road building

Riparian zones tend to be flatter than the surrounding land which create attractive routes for road builders. Roads, however, may cause accelerated erosion, introduce oil and other pollutants to the stream, and threaten wildlife.

Farming

Farmers often clear riparian zones to increase the amount of available farmland. However, without the stabilizing effect of riparian vegetation, the banks of a field may erode during floods. Farmland is lost where the erosion occurs and sedimentation increases downstream. More and more farmers now maintain the health of their riparian areas to ensure long-term sustainability of their land.

Grazing

Just like other animals, cattle are attracted to cool, lush riparian zones. If managed correctly- herded or fenced out after a short time- cattle can be part of a healthy riparian zone. However, mismanagement , or overgrazing of the riparian zone can cause changes in the types of vegetation and the amount of cover and forage, increase erosion, and introduce increased amounts of nutrients and fecal coliform bacteria to the stream through manure.

Development

The aesthetic value of riparian zones makes them prime targets for housing and commercial development. However, construction often removes vegetation and alters the stream banks and may even result in concrete lined banks. These changes can increase the intensity of floods, increase the direct input of pollutants to water, and decrease wildlife.

Logging

Logging operations today realize the importance of healthy riparian zones and rarely log them. However, logging roads continue to be built through these zones, creating the same problems that all roads do. When we strip away upland vegetation, we allow too much water to flow down into the stream at one time, which can lead to bank erosion, deep and narrow channels and shrunken riparian zones. Along with the increased water flow may come increased loads of sediment.