Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of Invertebrates
Patches of riparian woody vegetation potentially help mitigate environmental impacts of agriculture and safeguard biodiversity. We investigated the effects of riparian forest on invertebrate diversity in coupled stream-riparian networks using a case study in the Zwalm river basin (Flanders, Belgium)...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3070 |
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| author | Marie Anne Eurie Forio Niels De Troyer Koen Lock Felix Witing Lotte Baert Nancy De Saeyer Geta Rîșnoveanu Cristina Popescu Francis J. Burdon Benjamin Kupilas Nikolai Friberg Pieter Boets Martin Volk Brendan G. McKie Peter Goethals |
| author_facet | Marie Anne Eurie Forio Niels De Troyer Koen Lock Felix Witing Lotte Baert Nancy De Saeyer Geta Rîșnoveanu Cristina Popescu Francis J. Burdon Benjamin Kupilas Nikolai Friberg Pieter Boets Martin Volk Brendan G. McKie Peter Goethals |
| author_sort | Marie Anne Eurie Forio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Patches of riparian woody vegetation potentially help mitigate environmental impacts of agriculture and safeguard biodiversity. We investigated the effects of riparian forest on invertebrate diversity in coupled stream-riparian networks using a case study in the Zwalm river basin (Flanders, Belgium). Agriculture is one of the main pressures in the basin and riparian forest is limited to a number of isolated patches. Our 32 study sites comprised nine unshaded “unbuffered” sites which were paired with nine shaded “buffered” sites on the same stream reach, along with five ‘least-disturbed’ sites and nine downstream sites. We sampled water chemistry, habitat characteristics and stream and riparian invertebrates (carabid beetles and spiders) at each site. Three methods were used to quantify riparian attributes at different spatial scales: a visually-assessed qualitative index, quantitative estimates of habitat categories in six rectangular plots (10 × 5 m) and geographic information system (GIS)-derived land cover data. We investigated relationships between invertebrates and riparian attributes at different scales with linear regression and redundancy analyses. Spiders and carabids were most associated with local riparian attributes. In contrast, aquatic macroinvertebrates were strongly influenced by the extent of riparian vegetation in a riparian band upstream (100–300 m). These findings demonstrate the value of quantifying GIS-based metrics of riparian cover over larger spatial scales into assessments of the efficacy of riparian management as a complement to more detailed local scale riparian assessments in situ. Our findings highlight the value of even small patches of riparian vegetation in an otherwise extensively disturbed landscape in supporting biodiversity of both terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates and emphasize the need to consider multiple spatial scales in riparian management strategies which aim to mitigate human impacts on biodiversity in stream-riparian networks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:09:28Z |
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| id | doaj.art-db4b2e6839ec4f0489d306cd592c8663 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:09:28Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-db4b2e6839ec4f0489d306cd592c86632023-11-20T19:29:37ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-11-011211307010.3390/w12113070Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of InvertebratesMarie Anne Eurie Forio0Niels De Troyer1Koen Lock2Felix Witing3Lotte Baert4Nancy De Saeyer5Geta Rîșnoveanu6Cristina Popescu7Francis J. Burdon8Benjamin Kupilas9Nikolai Friberg10Pieter Boets11Martin Volk12Brendan G. McKie13Peter Goethals14Aquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumAquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumAquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, GermanyAquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumAquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Systems Ecology and Sustainability, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Systems Ecology and Sustainability, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, SwedenNorwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), 0349 Oslo, NorwayNorwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), 0349 Oslo, NorwayAquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Computational Landscape Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, SwedenAquatic Ecology Research Unit, Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumPatches of riparian woody vegetation potentially help mitigate environmental impacts of agriculture and safeguard biodiversity. We investigated the effects of riparian forest on invertebrate diversity in coupled stream-riparian networks using a case study in the Zwalm river basin (Flanders, Belgium). Agriculture is one of the main pressures in the basin and riparian forest is limited to a number of isolated patches. Our 32 study sites comprised nine unshaded “unbuffered” sites which were paired with nine shaded “buffered” sites on the same stream reach, along with five ‘least-disturbed’ sites and nine downstream sites. We sampled water chemistry, habitat characteristics and stream and riparian invertebrates (carabid beetles and spiders) at each site. Three methods were used to quantify riparian attributes at different spatial scales: a visually-assessed qualitative index, quantitative estimates of habitat categories in six rectangular plots (10 × 5 m) and geographic information system (GIS)-derived land cover data. We investigated relationships between invertebrates and riparian attributes at different scales with linear regression and redundancy analyses. Spiders and carabids were most associated with local riparian attributes. In contrast, aquatic macroinvertebrates were strongly influenced by the extent of riparian vegetation in a riparian band upstream (100–300 m). These findings demonstrate the value of quantifying GIS-based metrics of riparian cover over larger spatial scales into assessments of the efficacy of riparian management as a complement to more detailed local scale riparian assessments in situ. Our findings highlight the value of even small patches of riparian vegetation in an otherwise extensively disturbed landscape in supporting biodiversity of both terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates and emphasize the need to consider multiple spatial scales in riparian management strategies which aim to mitigate human impacts on biodiversity in stream-riparian networks.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3070streamsbuffer stripsspiderscarabidsEphemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera (EPT) taxabiodiversity |
| spellingShingle | Marie Anne Eurie Forio Niels De Troyer Koen Lock Felix Witing Lotte Baert Nancy De Saeyer Geta Rîșnoveanu Cristina Popescu Francis J. Burdon Benjamin Kupilas Nikolai Friberg Pieter Boets Martin Volk Brendan G. McKie Peter Goethals Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of Invertebrates Water streams buffer strips spiders carabids Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera (EPT) taxa biodiversity |
| title | Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of Invertebrates |
| title_full | Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of Invertebrates |
| title_fullStr | Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of Invertebrates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of Invertebrates |
| title_short | Small Patches of Riparian Woody Vegetation Enhance Biodiversity of Invertebrates |
| title_sort | small patches of riparian woody vegetation enhance biodiversity of invertebrates |
| topic | streams buffer strips spiders carabids Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera (EPT) taxa biodiversity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/3070 |
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