Riparian Buffers And Erosion

Plants along streams and rivers help keep the water clean by holding onto soil and filtering out pollutants.

Credits

Created by Stephanie Bilodeau, additional voice by Christine Stephens. Explore Natural Communities Intern Summer 2017, NatureServe.

Sounds: River Sounds, and Indigo Bunting, recorded by ENC Interns 2017. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0. Thunder, recorded by NPS. Public Domain. Gravel Walking, recorded by tigersound (freesound.org). Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0.

Photo: Eno River, by Kerry Skiff, courtesy of NatureServe. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0.

Transcript

Podcast time: 2:54 minutes

[sound of thunder and rain, followed by birdsong and footsteps; running water plays throughout podcast]

[Voice 1] Hey, didn't it rain last night?

[Voice 2] Yeah, it poured. Why?

[Voice 1] Well, look at the stream! The water's so clear. I thought it would be muddy like the creek in my backyard. It always looks terrible after a rainstorm when all the soil washes down the hill behind my house. I know it can't be healthy for the plants and animals that live there.

[Voice 2] Yeah, you're right. A lot of soil in the water will suffocate the fish and insects that live there and bury the plants. When soil washes into a stream, it can also build up and change the shape and depth of the streambed. Imagine having your home remodeled every time it rains!

[Voice 1] What?! I had no idea streams change so much during storms! So wait, why doesn't this stream look all murky?

[Voice 2] Good question. You see all that vegetation along the streambanks? Water-loving plants that grow along streams like that are called “riparian species,” and they play a really important role in preventing the banks from eroding and keeping soil or sediment out of the stream.

[Voice 1] Really?

[Voice 2] Yeah, the plants slow down the flow of water, and their roots help anchor the soil and keep it from washing downhill in a rainstorm. They can even protect the stream by filtering out some of the harmful pollutants that the rainwater collects from roads and chemically-treated lawns in the neighborhood.

[Voice 1] Oh! So, it's like a buffer?

[Voice 2] Exactly! In fact, these communities are sometimes called riparian buffers because of how they protect the stream from stormwater runoff and improve water quality.

[Voice 1] Mmm...but I have a lot of plants on the edge of the stream in my backyard, so why is it still muddy?

[Voice 2] If there's lots of sediment coming from upstream, it probably means there's someone in that direction who doesn't have a riparian community like you do.

[Voice 1] Hmm. What would someone upstream have to do to help keep the stream clean?

[Voice 2] The best thing to do is to restore the natural riparian buffer that used to be there. Natural riparian communities can be forested areas with trees like river birch , sycamore , and red maple , or more open communities with native floodplain grasses and all kinds of different species of herbs and bushes. Even plants that grow farther up the slope, like oak trees (Quercus spp.) and mountain laurel bushes , help keep soil out of the stream during storms.

[Voice 1] Oh, cool!

[Voice 2] Everyone lives downstream from someone else, so it's really important for people all along the stream to protect waterways. By planting a buffer of native riparian species, maybe you and your neighbors could improve the creek running through your yard, making it clear and beautiful after a storm.  

[running water fades out]

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