Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
Establishing Riparian Buffers
Landowners establish riparian buffers for a variety
of reasons. Some want to stop cropping the lowest, wet-
test end of the field because of the difficulty planting
and harvesting flood-prone areas. Many want to improve
wildlife habitat or the appearance of their farm, while
others seek to improve water quality.
A common reason is to take advantage of gov-
ernmental programs, such as the Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP), that will share the cost
of establishing a buffer area or pay annual rental
payments for a period of 10 or more years
for converting a portion of a crop field to a
riparian buffer.
The type of permanent vegetation
that is established depends on the desired
benefits and agency priorities, if government
funded. If the primary concern is the overland flow
of sediment-laden water, then a 30-foot-wide filter strip
of dense switch grass may be adequate. But if maximum
nutrient and pesticide uptake is the goal, a 150-foot-
wide buffer with a variety of trees and other vegetation
types is needed. Grass, shrubs, and trees provide different
benefits in the buffer area (Table 1).
Methods of establishment
There are several methods of establishing riparian
buffer vegetation. The most popular is planting bare-
root tree and shrub seedlings in early March and April.
This offers the most control over species composition
and spacing. Direct seeding, using the most desired
species — black walnut, pecan, oaks and hickories
— is an alternative. This method relies on the
wind to disperse the seed of cotton-
wood, sycamore and willow to fill in
the new stand.
Natural regeneration is the least
expensive, least certain method of estab-
lishing a riparian buffer. This requires a
nearby seed source of mature trees and is most
appropriate for cropland sites that experience flood-
ing almost annually. Flood waters deposit sediment that
makes a good seed bed and often carrie