Sammanfattning

Traditional approaches aiming at protecting surface waters from the negative impacts of forestry often focus on retaining fixed width buffer zones around waterways. While this method is relatively simple to design and implement, it has been criticized for ignoring the spatial heterogeneity of biogeochemical processes and biodiversity in the riparian zone. Alternatively, a variable width buffer zone adapted to site-specific hydrological conditions has been suggested to improve the protection of biogeochemical and ecological functions of the riparian zone. However, little is known about the monetary value of maintaining hydrologically adapted buffer zones compared to the traditionally used fixed width ones. In this study, we created a hydrologically adapted buffer zone by identifying wet areas and groundwater discharge hotspots in the riparian zone. The opportunity cost of the hydrologically adapted riparian buffer zones was then compared to that of the fixed width zones in a meso-scale boreal catchment to determine the most economical option of designing riparian buffers. The results show that hydrologically adapted buffer zones were cheaper per hectare than the fixed width ones when comparing the total cost. This was because the hydrologically adapted buffers included more wetlands and low productive forest areas than the fixed widths. As such, the hydrologically adapted buffer zones allows more effective protection of the parts of the riparian zones that are ecologically and biogeochemically important and more sensitive to disturbances without forest landowners incurring any additional cost than fixed width buffers.

Nyckelord

fixed width buffer zones; variable width buffer zones; forest management; groundwater discharge hotspots; costs efficiency; Heureka

Publicerad i

Water Resources Research
2016, Volym: 52, nummer: 2, sidor: 1056-1069

SLU författare

• Tiwari, Tejshree

  • Institutionen för skogens ekologi och skötsel, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Lundström, Johanna

  • Institutionen för skoglig resurshushållning, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Laudon, Hjalmar

  • Institutionen för skogens ekologi och skötsel, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Öhman, Karin

  • Institutionen för skoglig resurshushållning, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Ågren, Anneli

  • Institutionen för skogens ekologi och skötsel, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

Associerade SLU-program

SLU Future Forests


Globala målen

SDG6 Säkerställa tillgången till och en hållbar förvaltning av vatten och sanitet för alla


UKÄ forskningsämne

Skogsvetenskap


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR018014

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/75569