Buffer Strips
Buffers strips are areas of permanent vegetation between rural lands and bodies of water such as agricultural drains, creeks, rivers, ponds and wetlands. Buffers can have trees, shrubs, grasses or wildflowers, in any combination. As their name suggests, they protect waterbodies from the impacts of neighbouring land uses.
Benefits
Reduced Water Pollution
Surface runoff from agricultural fields and rural properties can carry sediment, nutrients, pesticides, bacteria and pathogens. Buffer strip vegetation stops pollutants from reaching the adjacent waterbody by taking up nutrients, trapping and filtering sediment as the runoff is slowed down by the plants, and increasing the infiltration of runoff through plant root channels.
Erosion Control
Roots from grasses, shrubs and trees protect vulnerable soils and strengthen and stabilize stream banks.
Habitat Creation
Overhanging vegetation shades the water, helping to cool and regulate water temperature. Plant litter and organisms are an important food source for aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Riparian buffers also provide shelter and corridors for wildlife movement.
Planning
Work with someone familiar with riparian restoration who can design a buffer suited to your land, time, and budget. In general, the wider the buffer, the more effective it is at filtering runoff, stabilizing banks, and supporting wildlife. Factors like slope, soil type, and vegetation all influence performance. Steeper slopes or poorly drained, clay soils often require a wider buffer to slow runoff and prevent erosion. Choose plants suited to site conditions: grasses filter and absorb nutrients, trees and shrubs stabilize banks and provide habitat, and stiff-stemmed grasses at the field edge reduce runoff, especially outside the growing season.
Buffers work best during the growing season, when vegetation is active, and should be protected from pesticide runoff, which can weaken plant health and reduce effectiveness.
Buffer Width
- 5 m for bank stabilization
- 10-30 m for sediment removal
- >10 m for wildlife habitat
Maintenance
- Newly planted trees and shrubs may need watering during the first growing season.
- Weed control is critical until the planted vegetation becomes established.
- Inspect the buffer periodically to ensure that concentrated flows have not developed and the vegetative cover is maintaining its effectiveness.
- Fertilizers, pesticides and animal wastes should not be applied to the buffer.
- Limit grazing by livestock in the buffer strip.