Why Care?

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    Why Care?

    Well functioning riparian zones are critical to a healthy watershed. Plants and animals depend on their unique, diverse, and productive habitats. Humans, as well, depend on riparian zones. Riparian zones provide the following:

    Erosion control
    The tough, tangled roots of sedges, shrubs and trees provide structure to stream banks and reduce soil loss to the stream.

    Groundwater recharge
    Riparian zones supply water to underground reservoirs. We call this process groundwater recharge. Well vegetated areas trap the overland flow of water, allowing it to infiltrate the soil and percolate downward. Underground stores provide the primary and sometimes only source of water for streams during dry periods. Without this supply, the aquatic ecosystem would collapse. Recharge is equally crucial for humans who depend on groundwater for drinking and agriculture.

     

    Filters

    As surface runoff flows through the riparian zone to the stream, vegetation traps much of the sediment, reducing turbidity levels. Riparian vegetation also pulls nutrients out of the soil before they can reach the stream.

    Flood control
    Riparian zones serve as reservoirs for flood waters. The vegetation and soil absorb overbank flow then releases it over time. This decreases the amount and energy of water flowing through the stream at any one time. People who live in floodplains benefit from the regulating effect of healthy upstream riparian zones.

     

     

    Wildlife
    Riparian zones concentrate water and nutrients from the stream and the surrounding uplands. In response, the vegetation grows dense and structurally complex- it takes on a variety ofshapes and sizes. This greater complexity translates into more niches for organisms to fill. 

    • The diversity and production of riparian zones surpass all other terrestrial (land) ecosystems.
    • Riparian zones in the Southwestern United States have a higher breeding diversity of birds than all other western habitats combined.
    • Aquatic organisms are just as dependent upon riparian zones for their survival. The leaves, sticks and bark that fall into the water may provide up to 99% of the energy for organisms in a small headwater stream (the other 1% comes from photosynthesis).