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Bibliothèque Riparian habitat changes across the continental United States (1972-2003) and potential implications for sustaining ecosystem services

Riparian habitat changes across the continental United States (1972-2003) and potential implications for sustaining ecosystem services

Riparian habitat changes across the continental United States (1972-2003) and potential implications for sustaining ecosystem services

Resource information

Date of publication
Décembre 2010
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
AGRIS:US201301890103
Pages
1261-1275

Riparian ecosystems are important elements in landscapes that often provide a disproportionately wide range of ecosystem services and conservation benefits. Their protection and restoration have been one of the top environmental management priorities across the US over the last several years. Despite the level of concern, visibility and management effort, little is known about trends in riparian habitats. Moreover, little is known about whether or not cumulative efforts to restore and protect riparian zones and floodplains are affecting the rates of riparian habitat change nationwide. To address these issues, we analyzed riparian land cover change between the early 1970s and the late 1990s/early 2000s using existing spatial data on hydrography and land cover. This included an analysis of land cover changes within 180 m riparian buffer zones, and at catchment scales, for 42,363 catchments across 63 ecoregions of the continental US. The total amount of forest and natural land cover (forests, shrublands, wetlands) in riparian buffers declined by 0.7 and 0.9%, respectively across the entire study period. Gains in grassland/shrubland accounted for the 0.2% lower percentage of total natural land cover loss relative to forests. Conversely, urban and developed land cover (urban, agriculture, and mechanically disturbed lands) increased by more than 1.3% within riparian buffers across the entire study period. Despite these changes, we documented an opposite trend of increasing proportions of natural and forest land cover in riparian buffers versus the catchment scale. We surmise that this trend might reflect a combination of natural recovery and cumulative efforts to protect riparian ecosystems across the US. However, existing models limit our ability to assess the impacts of these changes on specific ecosystem services. We discuss the implications of changes observed in this study on the sustainability of ecosystem services. We also recommend opportunties for future riparian change assessments.

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Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Jones, K. Bruce
Slonecker, E. Terrence
Nash, Maliha S.
Neale, Anne C.
Wade, Timothy G.
Hamann, Sharon

Publisher(s)
Data Provider
Geographical focus