Riparian areas are truly special places
Last time you went for an outdoor adventure – did you experience a riparian area? You probably did. Lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, ponds, canals, and reservoirs are all surrounded by a riparian zone, a transition between land and water.
The term “riparian” is derived from the Latin word riparious, meaning the bank of a stream. Nowadays, riparian areas can be generally defined as the land surrounding a body of water, most commonly used in freshwater contexts.
Riparian zones are highly biodiverse and important ecosystems. Layers of forest canopy, understory vegetation, and soils filter runoff to preserve water quality. Solar radiation – becoming increasingly intense with climate change – is absorbed or reflected by leaves in the riparian area, protecting streams and shorelines from warming. Intact riparian zones sequester carbon, reduce erosion, flood, and fire risk, and provide habitat for important groups of taxa such as pollinators.
Riparian areas are truly special places, and they deserved to be treated as such.
Freshwater under threat
Despite immense value for human society and biodiversity alike, riparian zones are among the most degraded ecosystems on Earth. Waterways are areas of high human use and settlement, which over time has led to hydropower development, infilling of floodplains for agriculture, timber harvesting, urbanization, road building, and various other activities. The reduction in function and complexity of healthy riparian zones – such as forests – has contributed to a global loss in freshwater biodiversity.
Europe has lost 80% of it’s natural riparian area over the past 200 years, similar to 85 – 95% riparian losses in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Historically intact prairie grasslands and old growth forests have declined significantly in Canada since colonization due to expansion of industrial-scale forestry and agriculture, contributing to >12% of freshwater plants and animals now at risk of extinction.
Current approaches to conserve riparian areas
Watercourse ‘buffers’ gained traction to reduce human impacts on riparian areas beginning in the 1970-80s in North America, but were voluntary at the time. Degradation continued through the 90’s and early 2000’s in some jurisdictions until lawmakers introduced regulations that made mowing down riparian forests illegal. Today, riparian buffers are mandatory for some activities (e.g., timber harvesting) on public land across North America, ranging from 10 – 80+ metres from the edge of waterways and only limited amounts of disturbance allowed within the buffer zone.
Government-funded incentive programs have also increased agriculture riparian buffer uptake along crop fields to offset potential lost revenue. The widespread recognition of riparian zones for ecosystem services has prioritized freshwater-riparian systems for new protected areas, essential to meeting global biodiversity targets.
What else could be done?
Despite societal shifts placing greater value on riparian zones, they continue to be degraded.
Raising awareness of the ecosystem services provided by riparian zones (e.g., flood mitigation) is a good first step. Planning authorities could do a better job at proactively communicating with landowners about how maintaining healthy riparian areas may actually raise property values.
Canada has committed billions in funding for implementation of the 2030 global biodiversity framework, and should focus on riparian zone conservation and restoration wherever possible. Research investigating cumulative effects on riparian-freshwater systems, in partnership with First Nations, would help narrow down critical areas to conserve or restore.
The vitality of riparian areas is integral to the well-being of ecosystems, wildlife, and communities that depend on them. More work is needed to ensure riparian zones are protected for the future.
Image: Toadfish Lakes Wilderness Area, Nova Scotia
