2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
5/21/2019 | 9:45 AM - 10:00 AM | MOWERS VERSUS GROWERS: RIPARIAN BUFFER MANAGEMENT IN THE SOUTHERN BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, U.S.A. | 251 DE
MOWERS VERSUS GROWERS: RIPARIAN BUFFER MANAGEMENT IN THE SOUTHERN BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, U.S.A.
Maintenance of undisturbed soils and vegetation near streams (i.e. a riparian buffer) is fundamental to nonpoint source pollution Best Management Practices, yet the condition of stream buffers in the Southern Blue Ridge (SBR) is frequently determined by individual landowner decisions rather than protective statutes. We examined riparian condition over a 16-year period in the upper Little Tennessee River (ULT) basin in Macon County, North Carolina to quantify change. We then applied a mixed-methods approach to document why landowners are managing these areas, and how they view their actions.
Buffer width in 1999 and 2015 was remotely sensed and compared using USGS High Resolution 4-band Digital Orthoimagery. Streambanks without riparian vegetation decreased by 18%, while narrow (one tree width) and intermediate buffer categories increased by 13% each. Shrub buffer increased 73% over 1999 levels, but forested buffer remained essentially static, despite sustained education and restoration initiatives during this time. Interviews are ongoing to document attitudes and motivations for both mowing and replanting of riparian vegetation. The goal of this work is to inform education and management strategies, and to identify opportunities to reconcile landowner preference with stream restoration programs.
- Social Values
- Restoration
- Remote Sensing
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Presenters/Authors
Jenny Sanders
(), University of Georgia, jpsanders@uga.edu;
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Meredith Welch-Devine
(), University of Georgia, mwdevine@uga.edu;
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C. Rhett Jackson
(), Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, RJACKSON@warnell.uga.edu;
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