Pannasastra University of Cambodia

Forest Ecology and Site VisitProf. Kao Dana

Topic: Riparian Management in the 21st CenturyPresented by SENG Bunthoeun

Contents

•Key Words

• Introduction

•Current Policies and Practices

• Future Direction

•Conclusion

Key Words

• Regulation: control over something, especially by rules.

• Aquatic: Living or growing in water.

• Ecological process: all ecosystems cycle matter and use energy, and the processes define the fundamental ecosystem functions.

• Retention: the act of keeping something.

• Corridors: a narrow area of land between cities or countries that have different qualities or features from the land around it.

• Floodplain: the large area of flat land on either side of river that is sometimes covered with water.

• Operational Constraint: something that limits your freedom to do what you want.

• Federal Policy: relating to the central government of the country, rather than to the government of one of it own.

• Riparian Revers: the state of changing the riparian area.

• Terrestrial: Living or relating to land rather than water.

• Eco-tone: It is a transition area between two communities which meet and integrate.

Introduction• Riparian area is the interface between land and

a river or stream.

Current Policies and Practice

• Regional managers have recognized the importance of ecosystem perspectives of riparian practices, but the nature of riparian areas as interfaces between ecosystem has been obscured in many applications.

• Ecosystems are unique assemblages of communities and their environment; riparian areas are eco-tones or interfaces between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

• Riparian Management practices frequently focus on existing rules and regulations.

• Current riparian management policies focus on several issues:• Width of riparian management zones• Retention of live trees and snags within the riparian zone• The extent of shade cover• Flood-plain protection• Yard corridors• Culvert dimensions• Road crossing• Felling technique• Erosion protection

Federal Policies

• The sequences of federal and state legislation that embodies changes in streamside management reveals a rapid evolution of approaches for achieving ecosystem goal.

• Federal manager began to use buffer strips and riparian protection measures in the late 1960s.

The FEMAT Report

• In 1993 the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team, convened by President Clinton, developed a range of options and a recommended alternative for ecosystem management,

• The FEMAT report’s designation of key watersheds was one of the first attempts to incorporate a network of watersheds into and ecosystem management plan at a landscape scale.

•Riparian reserves were established to1. Protect riparian dependent resources and aquatic

ecosystems .2. Provide habitat for and fulfill the environmental

requirements of upslope communities of plants and animals as well as riparian functions in ecosystem management.

Future Direction

Future trajectories of change in riparian practice reflect several emerging characteristics of ecosystem management:

• An emphasis on ecological function and natural forest pattern.

• Adoption of a landscape perspective of river network.

• Development of ecologically sound systems for restoring ecosystem property.

• Attention to social needs for riparian resources.

An Emphasis on Ecological Function and Natural Forest Pattern• Floodplain are a fundamental ecological component of stream

ecosystems that are vital to the survival, recolonization, and productivity of aquatic communities.

Adoption of a Landscape Perspective of River Networks

The goal is to :

1. Recognize the important ecological functions of riparian networks.

2. Developing practices to maintain or store those functions.

3. Implement a range of approaches across different forest.

Development of Ecologically sound systems for Restoring Ecosystem Properties• Restoration is the process of encouraging a system to maintain its

function and organization without continued human intervention.

Attention to Social Needs for Riparian Resources

Conclusion

• Protect water quality, stream flows, fish and wildlife habitat, and scenic values.

• Flood control and stream flow regulation, especially where the riparian area includes a river's floodplain.

• Maintain soil conservation, erosion, habitat biodiversity, and the influence on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grassland, woodland, wetland or even non-vegetative.

Thanks for Your Attention!!