Nutrient retention of vegetated buffer strips on a cropped field and a pasture

The effects of 10-meter wide grass buffer strips (GBS) and vegetated buffer strips under natural vegetation (VBS) on losses of sediment, phosohorus and nitrogen from cropped soil plots has been studied for 15 years on Lintupaju field at Jokioinen. The results have been compared with those from 70-m-long and 18-m-wide plots without buffers

Nutrient retention by differently managed vegetation of buffer zones

Shoots growth and nutrient concentration of differently vegetated buffer zones(BZ) were studied in south-western Finland with clay soils. Aboveground plant biomasses differed greatly among each of the six vegetation types with different age and harvesting parctice. The concentration of P AAAc in soil surface increased with natural vegetation with no harvest. The preliminary results for the BZ plots emphasized the role of vegetation and grazing in an additional nutrient loading

Evaluating vegetated buffer zones for phosphorus retention in cereal and grass production

The buffer zones seem to be effective to stop erosion and trap particle bound P in surface runoff from the autumn ploughed clay soil. On pastures, the buffers are not so important, if P fertiliser is not surface applied and the grazing intensity is not too high. However, the high DRP loss to surface runoff may be a real problem on grass fields in spring. The buffers are not able to uptake nutrients in early spring when the runoff is highest

Town of New Durham Zoning & Land Use Odinance

The surface waters (streams, rivers, lakes and ponds) and wetlands of New Durham supply drinking water, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities for the community. In order to preserve these critically important resources New Durham shall require conservation and land management practices which minimize environmental degradation and alteration of scenic and rural character

The effects of vegetated buffer zones on erosion and nutrients in surface runoff

The buffer zones seem to be one tool in mitigating erosion and total nutrient losses from surface runoff on clay soils. However, to decrease the dissolved reactive phosphorus losses, the vegetation of buffer zones should be cut and the residue removed

Portsmouth Vernal Pool Inventory

West Environmental, Inc. (WEI) conducted a city-wide Vernal Pool Inventory to locate, document and map vernal pools in Portsmouth. This effort was coordinated with the Portsmouth Planning Department and Conservation Commission to help the City of Portsmouth in vernal pool identification and mapping. The goal of this project was to locate isolated wetlands that provide vernal pool habitat. Currently the City of Portsmouth’s wetland regulations exempt wetlands less than 5,000 square feet from the local 100’ buffer zone. This study identified smaller wetlands which have the potential to provide vernal pool habitat that may deserve the 100 foot buffer protection. It should be noted that vernal pool habitat can exist in a variety of freshwater wetlands including larger red maple swamps. These areas were also mapped when encountered. A field workshop was held for the Conservation Commission members to give them hands-on training in vernal pool ecology. The results of this Vernal Pool Inventory were presented to the Portsmouth Conservation Commission in July of 2008. Based on the results of this study and the recent revisions to the NHDES Wetlands Bureau regulations which added rules for vernal pool protection, the Portsmouth Conservation Commission has recommended a change to the Article 8 - Environmental Protection Standards of the City of Portsmouth to include vernal pool identification and protection with a 100’ buffer

Outreach Program to Develop And Implement Local Land Use Regulations to Protect the Remaining Undisturbed Natural Shoreland Buffers in the Towns of Candia and Deerfield, NH

The towns of Candia and Deerfield, New Hampshire, both situated within the Great Bay/Little Bay watershed and the Lamprey River subwatershed have agreed to participate with the Southern New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission (SNHPC) to develop and implement land use regulations to protect the remaining undisturbed natural shoreline buffers along the Lamprey and North Branch Rivers (2nd order or higher streams and tributaries) and other surface waters within these communities