The August newsletter from the Pike County Conservation District includes articles on riparian buffers and climate change and forests as part of the District's Forestry month education initiative.

Riparian Buffer Basics

Riparian buffer is the term for an area of vegetation that grows along a waterway to help prevent substances from reaching the water. The fact that this type of area has its own term should be telling of its importance.

As water flows across the land, or the watershed region, it carries with it a whole slew of pollutants: sediment, chemicals, nutrients, bacteria, litter, etc.

These pollutants are filtered and absorbed by the plants and soils growing in riparian buffers, and therefore prevented from entering the water.

Riparian buffers provide flood water storage and help to prevent soil erosion during high rain events and along high motion waters such as streams and lake shores.

They also provide cooling shade which helps heat-sensitive aquatic organisms survive (such as brook trout), and control algal growth by blocking sunlight.

Where do we need riparian buffers? Every stream, lake, wetland, and pond will benefit from these helper plants filtering out harmful substances, holding in the soil, and allowing excess water to infiltrate into the groundwater system.

These plants are most crucial along the waterway edge, and the greater the riparian buffer width, the better.

What makes a good riparian plant? Almost anything with roots, and preferably native species that are tolerant to wet conditions.

Trees and shrubs, grasses and forbs (wildflowers), and sedges and rushes, have strong root systems that lock in the soil and are adapted for surviving in our seasonal weather changes.

Trees are the most beneficial because they establish long-term roots, continue to grow over time, and provide the most shade, food and shelter proportional to the space they occupy.

A healthy riparian buffer mimics the natural habitat for the area in which it is located, whether it be a forest or a meadow, with a diversity of plant types and heights. Sod, or mowed grass, has leaves too short to aid in filtering, and roots too shallow to aid in erosion protection.

What else do they do? Riparian buffers add to the available habitat and food sources for wildlife such as birds, pollinators, mammals, and other critters, including aquatic ones. Did you know “trees feed trout”?

The aquatic insects at the bottom of the food chain, like caddisflies, munch on the tree leaves and their biofilm (algae and bacteria) that have fallen into the streams. Trunks and branches that fall into the stream create aquatic habitat variety as well.

Who can make a riparian buffer? You can! If your property borders a waterway, you can enjoy designing a grow zone that suits your liking. Though it will require some maintenance until the new plants establish, you can enjoy the beauty of the flowers right away. 

Lastly, riparian buffers can serve as a reminder to us that water levels fluctuate within the floodplain, and we should keep development a safe distance from the water’s edge.

Fun Facts--

-- 300,000 pounds of sediment can be trapped per riparian buffer acre per year.

-- Riparian buffers are essential travel paths, or corridors, that connect green spaces for wildlife.

Click Here for the complete article.

Forests And Climate Change

By Devan George, Communications Coordinator

Climate change is the long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns, often resulting in more frequent and severe weather events. While these shifts can have a major impact on the planet’s forests, the forests can also have a major impact on climate change.

Forests function as a “carbon sink”, removing carbon from the air as they grow, storing the carbon in their wood, the soil or other plant matter. Trees remove carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas, from the air and return the oxygen.

According to a 2021 World Research Institute study, since 2000, forests have removed approximately 2 billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere.

The careful management of forests can help to absorb some of the carbon in our atmosphere.

Cutting down or burning trees releases the carbon into the atmosphere and prevents any future absorption. To prevent the release, it is important to not only plant new tress, but to manage the number of trees cut down.

Climate change can also have a major impact on forests. Changing temperatures and annual rainfall can affect the geographic range that certain tree species are able to grow. Also, it means the diversity of forests will be decreased, only species resilient to the changes in climate will be able to survive.

The shift in climate can also alter the frequency of forest disturbances like fires, insect outbreaks, and invasive species.

Warm weather seasons in northern climates extending longer, and reaching higher temperatures, will allow insect pests and invasive species to move into ecosystems previously inaccessible due to weather.

The high temperatures and extended droughts are major contributing factors to wildfires in the western United States.

For more information on technical and financial assistance to landowners, upcoming events and more, visit the Pike County Conservation District website.

Related Articles:

-- Foundation For Sustainable Forests Loving The Land: Craig & Monica Schwegman Tell Their Story From Erie County [PaEN]

-- In Memoriam: Tom Erdman: A Life In Penn’s Woods  [PaEN]

-- DEP Blog: How We Killed Our Yard And Replaced It With A Native Habitat  [PaEN]

[Posted: August 1, 2022]

8/8/2022