A RIPARIAN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

The word riparian is derived from the Latin ripa meaning “banks.” Although a long–established word, it did not come into common usage until the early 1970s. Now the terms “riparian habitat” and “riparian system” are well known to wildlife and recreation managers. In the most restricted sense, the word riparian refers to the banks of a stream or river (Langbein and Iseri 1960; Oxford English Dictionary [Unabridged] 1979), although the Oxford Dictionary gives “riparial” for either a stream or lake. In its vaguest sense riparian refers to “the banks of a body of water” (American Geological Institute 1962) or