ARS | Publication request: RESEARCH ON POLLUTION CONTROL BY RIPARIAN BUFFERS IN THE GEORGIA COASTAL PLAIN

Submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Journal
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 20, 2000
Publication Date: January 20, 2000
Citation: LOWRANCE, R.R., VELLIDIS, G., HUBBARD, R.K., SHERIDAN, J.M., BOSCH, D.D., WILLIAMS, R.G., WAUCHOPE, R.D., THOMAS, D.L. RESEARCH ON POLLUTION CONTROL BY RIPARIAN BUFFERS IN THE GEORGIA COASTAL PLAIN. SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL. p. 380, Abstract #45. 2000.

Technical Abstract: Riparian ecosystems control the quality and quantity of water in streams in middle Coastal Plain areas of Georgia. Early studies of naturally occurring riparian forest buffers provided estimates of N and P removal from subsurface flow on a 1568 ha agricultural watershed. Denitrification and vegetation uptake were important for N removal. Later watershed scale studies of existing forest buffers showed that long-term sediment deposition rates were consistent with the low-sediment delivery ratios for Coastal Plain streams. Nitrate availability controlled denitrification in typical riparian soils, especially the very poorly drained ones. In the 1990s, research focused on management and restoration of buffers to achieve specific water quality goals. Managed and restored forest and grass buffers controlled nitrogen movement from conventional row crops and dairy and swine lagoon effluent applications. Herbicides moving in surface runoff from row crops were removed by managed grass/forest buffers. In tests of the USDA riparian forest buffer specification, a managed forest buffer (Zone 2) was clear-cut without affecting water quality. Restoration of a riparian buffer on a first-order stream was effective in controlling N and P movement from dairy lagoon effluent and reduced herbicide movement. The Riparian Ecosystem Management Model (REMM) has been developed and tested using these extensive data sets on riparian buffer systems.