Responses of Periphyton and Insects to Experimental Manipulation of Riparian Buffer Width along Forest Streams

1. Riparian trees regulate aquatic ecosystem processes, such as inputs of light, organic matter and nutrients, that can be altered dramatically when these trees are harvested. Riparian buffers (uncut strips of vegetation) are widely used to mitigate the impact of clear-cut logging on aquatic ecosystems but there have been few experimental assessments of their effectiveness. 2. Forests along 13 headwater stream reaches in south-western British Columbia, Canada, were clear-cut in 1998, creating three riparian buffer treatments (30-m buffer, 10-m buffer and clear-cut to the stream edge), or left as uncut controls, each treatment having three or four replicates. 3. We predicted that periphyton biomass and insect consumers would increase as buffer width decreased, because of increased solar flux. We used two complementary studies to test this prediction. 4. In one study, we compared benthic communities before and after logging in all 13 streams; a second study focused on periphyton and insect colonization dynamics over 6-week periods in each of four seasons in four streams, one in each treatment. 5. Photosynthetically active radiation, and mean and maximum water temperature, increased as buffer width narrowed. 6. Periphyton biomass, periphyton inorganic mass and Chironomidae abundance also increased as buffer width narrowed, with the largest differences occurring in the clear-cut and 10-m buffer treatments. 7. Photosynthetically active radiation, water temperature, periphyton biomass and periphyton inorganic mass were significantly greater in the 30-m buffer treatment than in controls during some seasons. 8. Synthesis and applications. We have shown that a gradient of riparian buffer widths created a gradient in light and temperature that led to non-linear increases in periphyton biomass and insect abundance. For example, Chironomidae abundance was generally greater in the 10-m and 30-m buffer treatments than in controls, whereas this was not always the case in the clear-cut treatment. This pattern may be due to the high sediment content of the periphyton mat in the clear-cut treatment, which potentially limited the response of some insects to increased food resources. Overall, our results indicate that uncut riparian buffers of 30-m or more on both sides of the stream were needed to limit biotic and abiotic changes associated with clear-cut logging in headwater, forested watersheds.