Abstract
MultiScale Analysis for Prioritizing Riparian Forest Buffer Restoration Opportunities Track: Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management Author(s): Peter Claggett, Howard Weinberg Riparian forest buffers provide multiple environmental benefits including nutrient uptake, bank stabilization, stream shading, sediment trapping, aquatic and terrestrial habitat, and stream organic matter. Buffer restoration is also one of the most popular and cost-effective watershed restoration techniques. The Chesapeake Bay Program Partners have committed to restoring 10,000 miles of riparian forest buffers by 2010 as part of an overall effort to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Research has shown that the effectiveness of riparian forest buffers in protecting water quality is dependent on a variety of geographic factors including slope, soils, depth to groundwater, and landscape context. This project demonstrates the use of multiresolution data to prioritize riparian forest buffer restoration activities in watersheds and nonforested stream reaches within those watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay region. The analysis relies on factors such as slope, soils, inverse distance flow weighting, and surrounding land cover to identify priority restoration sites. Peter Claggett U.S. Geological Survey 410 Severn Ave., Suite 109 Annapolis , MD 21403 US Phone: 410-267-5771 Fax: 410-267-5777 E-mail: pclagget@chesapeakebay.net Howard Weinberg University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences 410 Severn Ave., Suite 109 Annapolis , MD 21403 US Phone: 410-267-5735 Fax: 410-267-5777 E-mail: hweinber@chesapeakebay.net |
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