Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 9:30 AM
385

Benthic macroinvertebrate community structure under variable land-use and riparian buffer zones within an agricultural watershed

Leon S. Gaber1, Klaas Broersma2, and Asit Mazumder1. (1) Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3020, Station CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3N5, Canada, (2) Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Kamloops, BC V2B 8A9, Canada

Industrialized agricultural production is essential for world food production.  However, its by-products can have negative impacts on surrounding ecosystems.  For instance, many agricultural activities negatively affect benthic macroinvertebrate community dynamics in lotic ecosystems.  However, relatively little research has focused on gradients of agricultural land-use intensity, on explicit links between terrestrial activities and benthic macroinvertebrate community dynamics at the reach-scale, or on whether riparian buffer zones (a common Best Management Practice) mitigate the negative impacts of agricultural land-use intensification on benthic macroinvertebrate communities.  To address these questions, we conducted a biomonitoring study within a watershed affected along its length by various degrees of agricultural land-use intensity.  Results from this study indicate that within this watershed, agricultural land-use intensification measured at the reach-scale had a negative impact on benthic macroinvertebrate communities.  Also measured at the reach-scale, various characteristics of riparian buffer zones had a positive impact on benthic macroinvertebrate communities.  Finally, increasing soil acidity adjacent to stream sites were linked with altered macroinvertebrate populations.  These results highlight the utility of reach-scale studies in measuring gradients of land-use intensity and the importance of riparian buffer zones to mitigate the effects of agricultural pollution on lotic ecosystems.


Web Page: landuse, biomonitoring, benthic macroinvertebrates

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