Influence of herbaceous riparian buffers on physical habitat, water chemistry, and stream communities within channelized agricultural headwater streams

Smiley, Peter C.; King, Kevin W.; Fausey, Norman R.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2011.03.020

Cited by 36 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Our results and others (Lerch et al, 2011a;Lerch et al, 2011b;Smiley et al, 2011) may have been influenced by the locations within the watershed where pesticide reduction practices and other conservation practices were implemented. We were not able to obtain information on the exact locations of atrazine reduction practices and other conservation practices within our study sites because this information is not available for privately-owned lands due to federal privacy regulations and bureaucracy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Concentrations of alachlor, atrazine, chlorothalonil, metalaxyl, metolachlor, and simazine did not differ between channelized agricultural headwater streams with and without grass filter strips in central Ohio (Smiley et al, 2011). Modification of 19% of the watershed land use within an Iowa stream by converting agricultural fields to prairie, adopting no-till tillage, and eliminating pre-emergence herbicide application did not reduce atrazine concentrations and occurrence (Schilling and Thompson, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Reduced pesticide application should be particularly effective in reducing pesticide concentrations within agricultural streams having tile-drained watersheds that enable agricultural runoff to bypass riparian zones and wetlands that might dissipate pesticides (Smiley et al, 2011). Small plot scale studies and watershed modeling analyses are supportive of this logical conclusion, but the impacts of pesticide reduction practices and other conservation practices at the watershed scale has not been quantified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The inability of grass filter strips to reduce herbicide and fungicide concentrations within agricultural headwater streams in central Ohio was attributed to the presence of tile-drains that enable agricultural runoff to bypass the grass filter strips (Smiley et al, 2011). The watersheds in our study are also tiledrained, but we do not feel that this is an influencing factor on our results because it is not possible for tile-drains to alter the effectiveness of atrazine reduction practices such as usage of different pesticides or reduced atrazine application rates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of Watershed Scale Atrazine Reduction Practices on Pesticides and Fishes within Channelized Agricultural Headwater Streams

Smiley¹,

King²,

Gillespie

et al. 2017

JSWSM

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Application of pesticides within the watersheds of agricultural streams typically leads to increased instream pesticide concentrations that reduces water quality and threatens aquatic life. Pesticide reduction practices that reduce pesticide application within agricultural watersheds should reduce concentrations of pesticides within agricultural streams. Unfortunately, the influence of pesticide reduction practices on pesticides and the biota within agricultural headwater streams has not been empirically evaluated. We evaluated the watershed scale influence of atrazine reduction practices on pesticides, pesticide mixtures, and fish communities within channelized agricultural headwater streams in central Ohio. Water samples for pesticide measurements and fishes were collected in the spring and summer from a treatment stream (watershed size – 3.89 km2) that received atrazine reduction practices within 26 to 31% of its watershed during the first two years and then the watershed usage of these practices was reduced to less than 6% in the last four years. We also collected water samples and fishes during the same time from a control stream (watershed size 4.54 km2) that received atrazine reduction practices in 6% or less of its watershed during the study. Only three of 15 pesticide response variables and two of 15 fish community response variables indicated a potential effect of atrazine reduction practices. Mean differences in atrazine desethyl concentration, atrazine desethyl percent occurrence, and the number of pesticides between the control and treatment streams were greater during the time period with atrazine reduction practices than the time period without atrazine reduction practices. Mean differences in trophic guild richness and fish species composition similarity between the control and treatment streams occurred between time periods with and without atrazine reduction practices only during the summer. Our results suggest that implementing atrazine reduction practices to reduce atrazine usage within small portions (30% or less) of the watersheds of channelized agricultural headwater streams may not influence pesticides, pesticide mixtures, and fish community structure during the spring and summer.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of Watershed Scale Atrazine Reduction Practices on Pesticides and Fishes within Channelized Agricultural Headwater Streams

Smiley¹,

King²,

Gillespie

et al. 2017

JSWSM

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“…Grass filter strips (CP21) are the most frequently planted riparian habitat type in the United States. The greatest usage of grass filter strips occurs in the Midwestern United States [14], a region dominated by intensive row crop agriculture and a significant source of the agriculturally derived nutrients and pesticides contributing to the formation of hypoxic conditions in the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Planting grass filter strips: Does it influence the structure and function of riparian habitats of agricultural headwater streams?

Smiley¹,

Rumora²

2015

Riparian Ecology and Conservation

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Grass filter strips are strips of cool or warm season grasses planted adjacent to agricultural streams to reduce nutrient, pesticide, and sediment input. This conservation practice is the most frequently planted riparian buffer type in the United States. Previous studies have not evaluated how grass filter strips alter the structure and function of riparian habitats of agricultural streams. Our objective was to examine the research hypothesis that planting grass filter strips will influence the structure and function of riparian habitats of channelized agricultural headwater streams. We sampled riparian vegetation, quantified coarse particulate organic matter input and nutrient input, and measured water temperature within two unplanted riparian habitat sites, two riparian habitat with grass filter strips sites, and two forested riparian habitat sites of agricultural headwater streams in central Ohio. Forested riparian habitats exhibited greater percent maximum frequency of woody vegetation and reduced water temperatures than unplanted riparian habitats and grass filter strips. Forested riparian habitats also exhibited greater canopy cover, woody vegetation taxa richness, and coarse particulate organic matter input than grass filter strips and greater riparian widths and woody vegetation abundance than unplanted riparian habitats. Grass filter strips did not differ in structure and function from unplanted riparian habitats. We conclude that planting grass filter strips does not influence the structure and function of riparian habitats of channelized agricultural headwater streams.

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The effect of planting grass filter strips on fishes in agricultural headwater streams

Smiley

2024

Aquatic Conservation

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Grass filter strips (i.e., herbaceous riparian buffers) are a widely used conservation practice in the United States to mitigate the impacts of agriculture on streams and rivers. Yet, only a limited amount of information is available on the effects of grass filter strips on stream fishes and instream habitat conditions and long‐term assessments are rare. The objective of this research was to document the long‐term effects of planting grass filter strips adjacent to channelized agricultural headwater streams on fish community structure and instream habitat. Fishes, instream habitat and riparian characteristics were sampled from three channelized agricultural headwater streams without grass filter strips, three channelized agricultural headwater streams with grass filter strips and two unchannelized streams having forested riparian habitats in central Ohio from spring of 2006 to autumn of 2015. Fish species richness, abundance, darter species richness, per cent darters, sunfish species richness, minnow species richness and per cent headwater fishes did not differ among riparian habitat types. Darter species richness and per cent darters differed annually. Mean water depth, velocity, wetted width, instream habitat diversity, dominant grain size and per cent instream wood did not differ among riparian habitat types. Mean water depth, water velocity, wetted width and instream habitat diversity exhibited annual differences. Additionally, mean riparian width, woody vegetation density and per cent canopy cover were greater in forested streams than the unplanted and grass filter strip streams. Riparian characteristics did not differ annually. The lack of fish community responses 10–13 years after planting grass filter strips is probably due to the lack of corresponding changes in hydrological characteristics, substrate and instream wood amounts. These results suggest that grass filter strips should not be implemented alone but in conjunction with conservation practices that will improve physical habitat quality and water quality.

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Influence of herbaceous riparian buffers on physical habitat, water chemistry, and stream communities within channelized agricultural headwater streams

Cited by 36 publications

References 39 publications

Influence of Watershed Scale Atrazine Reduction Practices on Pesticides and Fishes within Channelized Agricultural Headwater Streams

Influence of Watershed Scale Atrazine Reduction Practices on Pesticides and Fishes within Channelized Agricultural Headwater Streams

Planting grass filter strips: Does it influence the structure and function of riparian habitats of agricultural headwater streams?

The effect of planting grass filter strips on fishes in agricultural headwater streams

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