USE OF RIPARIAN FOREST BUFFERS IN THE MARYLAND CHESAPEAKE BAY TMDL

摘要

Riparian forest buffers (RFBs) are an important part of Maryland's Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) to meet the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Forest buffers are being used in agricultural and developed settings, and are favored as a low-cost, long-lasting practice, one that also creates other ecosystem benefits. Buffers are credited in two ways, first as a lower nutrient land use, then as treating a portion of the adjacent upland, 4 acres for nitrogen and 2 acres for phosphorus. Treatment efficiency varies according to the hydrogeomorphic region, ranging from 19% for tidally influenced lands to 65% for the Inner Coastal Plain.