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The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacific - Conservation in Asia-Pacific

The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

The Nature Conservancy in Central America - Conservation in Central America

The Nature Conservancy in North America - Conservation in North America

The Nature Conservancy in the United States - Conservation in the United States

The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

Stream Stabilization

Filter Strips
Filter strips are areas of grass, legumes, and other non-woody vegetation that filter runoff and waste water by trapping pollutants. 
© TNC

In order to maintain the integrity of the stream, it is important to keep the banks of the stream in a state where they do not erode away further or continue to slump into the river and degrade the habitat in the stream bottom. The goals are to stabilize the stream by using environmentally friendly materials - trees, shrubs and grass.

Filter strips can also benefit fish populations. Filter strips are areas of grass, legumes, and other non-woody vegetation that filter runoff and waste water by trapping sediment, pesticides, organic matter, and other pollutants. Filter strips are plants on cropland at the lower edge of a field or adjacent to bodies of water.

Riparian buffers are areas of trees and/or shrubs next to streams that filter out pollutants from runoff as well as providing shade for fish and other wildlife. The vegetation’s natural litter also provides food and shelter for valuable wildlife. Several rows of trees and/or shrubs along a stream bank form a filter strip that slows surface runoff and erosion and traps sediments. The extensive root systems bind soil in place, decreasing erosion and sedimentation.

Tree canopies provide shade that in turn decreases the temperature of the stream and creates a suitable environment for fish. This shade also decreases the growth of undesirable kinds of algae. And leaves falling into streams add large quantities of organic material needed for food.

Trees and other vegetation along a stream also provide wildlife habitat and travel corridors. A variety of trees and shrubs provide food and cover for a diversity of wildlife.

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