Tropical forests undergo continuous transformation to other land uses, resulting in landscapes typified by forest fragments surrounded by anthropogenic habitats. Small forest fragments, specifically strip-shaped remnants flanking streams (referred to as riparian remnants), can be particularly important for the maintenance and conservation of biodiversity within highly fragmented forests. We com...

Historically, forested riparian buffers have been created to provide protection for aquatic organisms and aquatic ecosystem functions. Increasingly, new and existing riparian buffers are being used also to meet terrestrial conservation requirements. To test the effectiveness of riparian buffers for conserving terrestrial fauna, we conducted a meta-analysis using published data from 397 comparis...

The global water cycle is intimately linked to vegetation structure and function. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the arid west where riparian forests serve as ribbons of productivity in otherwise mostly unproductive landscapes. Dioecy is common among tree species that make up western North American riparian forests. There are intrinsic physiological differences between male and female di...

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Artide history: Keywords: Desmognathus quadmmculatus Ellrycea wilderae Headwater stream Riparian buffer Salamander larvae Sedimentation Headwater streams are an important and prevalent feature of the eastern North American landscape. These streams provide a wealth of ecosystem services and support tremendous biological diversity, which is predominated by salamanders in the...

A 4-yr on-farm study was conducted in the Philippines between 2006 and 2009 to determine if there are any long-term impacts of Bt corn on the arthropod community on commercial farms and in adjacent riparian areas. Arthropod counts were gathered by visual inspection of corn plants in three pairs of commercial farms and by sweep sampling in riparian sites close by. Sampling showed that species c...

We monitored the riparian bird community for two years following the 1995 Vision Fire in the Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS), Marin County, Cal i for nia. We compare bird and vegetation data on burned and unburned sites within PRNS and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Bird abundance, as indexed by fi xed-radius point counts, was higher for sev er al shrub-nesting species at burned...

If differences in ecological requirements result in juvenile birds using different habitats from breeding birds, then habitat management to protect those birds must protect both breeding and postbreeding habitats. We examined habitat selection by juvenile black-capped vireos (Vireo atricapilla) following their independence from parental care, in 2010–2013 on Fort Hood Military Reservation in ce...

Fluvial processes such as flooding and sediment deposition play a crucial role in structuring riparian plant communities. In rivers throughout the world, these processes have been altered by channelization and other anthropogenic stresses. Yet despite increasing awareness of the need to restore natural flow regimes for the preservation of riparian biodiversity, few studies have examined the eff...

Riparian buffers have potential for reducing excess nutrient levels in surface water. Spatial variation in riparian buffer effectiveness is well recogrnzed, yet researchers and managers still lack effective general tools for understanding the relevance of different hydrologic settings. We present several terrain-based GIS models to predict spatial patterns of shallow, subsurface hydroiogic flux...

Roughly 45% of the assessed lakes in the United States are impaired for one or more reasons. Eutrophication due to excess phosphorus loading is common in many impaired lakes. Various strategies are available to lake residents for addressing declining lake water quality, including septic system upgrades and establishing riparian buffers. This study examines 25 lakes to determine whether septic u...