Accumiilated landscape ecological effects of riparian management in river catchments used for agriculture

摘要

Centuries of modification of river catchments for agriculture and more recent intensification of agricultural management accounts for the legacy of alteration and degradation of the ecology of river catchments. This has driven a decline in terrestrialand aquatic wildlife, a deterioration of water quality and an increased incidence of flooding of settlements. Attempts to ameliorate these consequences have focused upon the riparian zone. A desirable response of the aquatic ecosystem to rural Best Management Practices (BMPs), especially riparian buffer strips, has been observed but a corresponding beneficial effect of natural habitat restoration in the riparian zone has not been demonstrated. Can piecemeal applications of such BMPs in the context of high input agriculture enhance natural riparian habitat and associated wildlife? Can accumulated habitats derived from rural BMPs restore landscape ecological functions, namely providing missing habitat, inter-connecting existing semi-natural habitats andrestoring terrestrial - aquatic foodwebs at the landscape scale? We provide a summary of results from a systematic ecological appraisal of rural BMPs in two river catchments in NE Scotland. Particular emphasis is placed on the contribution of efforts torestore riparian biotopes for: nectar sources for bumblebees and butterflies in the farm landscape cover and feeding habitat for nesting birds moist, waterside habitat for amphibious and riparian beetles that are not capable of surviving either in adjacent farmland or running waters.