Relation between fish communities and riparian zone conditions at two spatial scales

Journal of the American Water Resources Association
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Abstract

 The relation offish community composition to riparian cover at two spatial scales was compared at 18 streams in the agricultural Minnesota River Basin. The two spatial scales were: (1) local riparian zone (a 200 meter wide buffer extending 2 to 3 kilometers upstream of the sampling reach); and (2) the upstream riparian zone (a 200 m wide buffer on the mainstem and all perennial tributaries upstream of the sampling reach). Analysis of variance indicated that streams with wooded-local riparian zones had greater fish species richness (means = 20 and 15, respectively) and Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scores (means = 40 and 26, respectively) than streams with open-local riparian zones. Streams with wooded-upstream riparian zones tended (were not statistically significant) to have greater numbers of species (means = 19 and 15, respectively) and IBI scores (means = 33 and 28, respectively) than streams with open-upstream riparian zones. There was no significant interaction between the riparian zone conditions at the two scales. This study suggests that maintenance of wooded riparian cover along streams could be effective in maintaining or improving fish community composition in streams draining heavily agricultural areas.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Relation between fish communities and riparian zone conditions at two spatial scales
Series title Journal of the American Water Resources Association
DOI 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2001.tb03653.x
Volume 37
Issue 6
Year Published 2001
Language English
Publisher American Water Resources Association
Publisher location Herndon, Va
Contributing office(s) Minnesota Water Science Center
Description 9 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Journal of the American Water Resources Association
First page 1465
Last page 1473
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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