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Alternatives for Coastal Development: One Site, Three Scenarios
Vegetated Buffers Indicator Information
In the ScenariosA buffer provides a cushion between potential pollution sources and vital water resources or between human development and natural habitats. Vegetated buffers such as forests and wetlands support diversity, provide animal habitat, and act as giant sponges, filtering sediments and other polluted runoff from roads and other impervious surfaces. Buffers also provide open space, privacy, and aesthetic values to neighborhoods. Georgia state law mandates 25-foot buffer areas adjacent to waterways, where construction and land disturbance are restricted. This requirement plays out differently in each of the three scenarios. The indicator calculation only accounts for buffers designated as natural open space parcels. The conventional scenario's buffer total is low because this scenario extends residential lots through the 25-foot marsh buffer area. The conservation and new urbanist scenarios capitalize on buffer areas as open space and include buffer acreage beyond the minimum required. For details on how buffer areas are calculated for each scenario, refer to the Indicator Methods section. What Are the Benefits of Vegetated Buffers?![[photograph of riparian buffer]](images/buffer.jpg)
Vegetated buffers are strips of natural or manicured vegetation located between developments and waterways, including fresh and saltwater marshes, tidal creeks, rivers, beaches, and oceans. Vegetated buffers are, or replicate, natural systems. They retard surface flow, especially storm water, enhance infiltration, and filter contaminants. Vegetated buffers, especially those consisting of native plants, provide food resources, natural corridors, and wildlife habitats. Vegetation also provides shade for rivers, streams, and lakes, which maintains appropriate water temperatures and levels necessary for aquatic life , and reduces erosion through stream bank stabilization. In coastal areas, buffers reduce flooding by providing waterways space to naturally expand within the floodplain. When the natural vegetative cover is replaced by impervious surfaces the potential for flooding increases substantially. Reduced capacity for infiltration and storage leads to larger and more rapid discharges to receiving streams. Downstream flooding, changes in stream morphology (straightening, downcutting, etc.), and erosion are a few of the problems that can result from too much water leaving a site too quickly. Storm sewers are not connected to wastewater treatment plants, but instead convey everything that flows or is poured into them to the nearest water body. Vegetative buffers counteract these effects because the preserved trees and vegetation absorb water and nutrients, like fertilizers, and their roots hold topsoil and stream banks in place. Vegetated buffers should contain a variety of plant types, which includes trees, shrubs, and ground cover. For example, an urban stream buffer should consist of three zones: the streamside zone, the middle zone, and the outer zone. Vegetative buffers also vary in type, width, and height.
What Can I Do?Encourage local and state governments to incorporate ordinances governing buffer widths into law. Review required buffer widths for your locality and state. Collaborate with other groups to create or revise buffer ordinances if needed. Work with state outreach and extension professionals to bring the Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program to your state or locality. Individual citizens and developers can also play a large role by not clearing all the vegetation on their properties, especially those adjacent to waterways. Citizens interested in planting vegetated buffer zones can contact their local university's U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service program or private landscapers for information on buffers and native plants. References and ResourcesThe Center for Watershed Protection provides many resources, tools, and publications on watershed management including resources on aquatic buffers. The Center is a nonprofit that provides local governments, activists, and watershed organizations around the country with the technical tools for protecting streams, lakes, and rivers. The University of Georgia Institute of Ecology's Office of Public Service and Outreach provides riparian buffer model ordinances and outlines state riparian protection requirements. The Institute of Ecology's mission is to provide expertise in the development of policies and practices to protect Georgia's natural resources, which are critical to the state's economic well-being. The Stormwater Manager's Resource Center (SMRC) provides various resources on stormwater management including fact sheets and model buffer ordinances. SMRC is maintained by the Center for Watershed Protection. South Carolina's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management provides three resources on buffers: Backyard Buffers for the South Carolina Lowcountry, Vegetated Riparian Buffers and Buffer Ordinances, and A Model Buffer Ordinance. Triangle J. Council of Governments. 1999. "An Introduction to Riparian Buffers." TJCOG Technical Memo: Riparian Buffer Series, No.1. January 1999. U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides information on buffers, other aquatic resources, and technical assistance, mostly through local conservation districts. Cost shares and financial incentives are available in some cases. NRCS fosters partnerships to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment. Environmental Protection Agency. Watershed Academy Web. "Tool 3: Aquatic Buffers." Eight Tools of Watershed Protection in Developing Areas. The Watershed Science Institute (WSI) provides information on conservation buffers such as the handbook Conservation Corridors Planning at the Landscape Level: Managing for Wildlife Habitat. The WSI is a program of U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service that improves watershed processes and functions by adapting technology to further effective analysis of watershed-based resource issues. Wenger, Seth. 1999. A Review of the Scientific Literature on Riparian Buffer Width, Extent, and Vegetation. Office of Public Service and Outreach, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia. March 1999. |
