Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2008DE123B

The Effect of Riparian Forested Corridors on Fish Biodiversity in Suburban and Agricultural Landscapes

Institute: Delaware
Year Established: 2008 Start Date: 2008-03-01 End Date: 2009-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $1,750 Total Non-Federal Funds: $3,500

Principal Investigators: Erin Dilworth, Chris Williams

Project Summary: Forested riparian corridors have the potential to be greatly beneficial to the biodiversity of a stream community due to their buffering capacity against fertilizer and pesticide runoff, soil erosion, and general stream degradation. Although there are guidelines for corridor widths, there is no hard data showing how wide a riparian buffer needs to be in order to protect the stream from such pollutants. Understanding the factors governing the corridors function as a filtering buffer increases understanding of how best to utilize riparian forests to protect watersheds in agricultural areas and suburban developments. The primary objective of this study is to understand the factors governing the ability of riparian forest corridors to preserve native biodiversity in the midst of anthropogenic land use; particularly in croplands and suburbia.