GIS-based riparian buffer analysis: injecting geographic information into landscape planning

Abstract The establishment and maintenance of riparian buffer zones along shorelines or streams is a common best management practice (BMP) in the United States. These vegetated areas function as sinker, filter, and transformer to delay, absorb, or purify contaminated runoff before it enters surface waters. Their effectiveness for nonpoint source pollution control has been widely appreciated. Presented in this paper is a case study in which a GIS-based (geographic information system based) buffer analysis was conducted on a North Carolina watershed in support of landscape planners' planning activities. By implementing scientifically tested models on generally available data sets in a GIS framework, the study accomplished a series of tasks that would have been extremely difficult if done in conventional ways. These tasks include (1) calculating and mapping variable riparian buffer zones; (2) identifying inadequately regulated areas (i.e. areas outside the currently regulated buffer zones but within the calculated buffer zones); (3) estimating land acquisition costs associated with these inadequately regulated areas. The analytical results were well received by the decision makers and advanced their knowledge about landscape planning issues that they were facing.

[1]  George L. Ball.  Ecosystem modeling with GIS , 1994 .

[2]  Julius Gy. Fabos,et al.  Computerization of landscape planning , 1988 .

[3]  Ian D. Bishop,et al.  Prediction of scenic beauty using mapped data and geographic information systems , 1994 .

[4]  Wei-Ning Xiang,et al.  The b-Function and Variable Stream Buffer Mapping: A Note on 'A GIS Methof for Riparian Water Quality Buffer Generation' , 1996, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[5]  Jonathan D. Phillips,et al.  Evaluation of North Carolina's estuarine shoreline area of environmental concern from a water quality perspective , 1989 .

[6]  Ian D. Moore,et al.  Role of buffer strips in management of waterway pollution: A review , 1994 .

[7]  Frederick R. Steiner,et al.  Stream corridor management in the Pacific Northwest: I. Determination of stream-corridor widths , 1987 .

[8]  J. G. Fábos,et al.  An ecological approach to landscape planning using geographic information system technology , 1988 .

[9]  Wei-Ning Xiang,et al.  Application of a GIS-based stream buffer generation model to environmental policy evaluation , 1993 .

[10]  G. R. Foster,et al.  Simplified Equations for Filter Strip Design , 1989 .

[11]  Wei-Ning Xiang,et al.  A GIS Method for Riparian Water Quality Buffer Generation , 1993, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[12]  Brian Orland,et al.  Visualization techniques for incorporation in forest planning geographic information systems , 1994 .

[13]  Eckart Lange.  Integration of computerized visual simulation and visual assessment in environmental planning , 1994 .

[14]  R. Burchell,et al.  Future land use : energy, environmental, and legal constraints , 1976 .

[15]  L. E. Asmussen,et al.  Riparian Forests as Nutrient Filters in Agricultural Watersheds , 1984 .

[16]  Randy Gimblett,et al.  Autonomous rule generation and assessment for complex spatial modeling , 1994 .