Riparian Zone Soil Water Baseline Study along the Paint Rock River in Jackson County Alabama.

Overpopulation places serious demands and stresses on our natural resources. The demand for freshwater increases steadily while its rate of recharge does not. Furthermore, toxic byproducts leaching from both urban and agricultural sectors threaten to overwhelm the earth’s natural ability to filter water and because of this, clean, fresh water is an increasingly valuable and necessary resource. Since the majority of available freshwater comes from streams, lakes, rivers, and groundwater, it is imperative that these waters be preserved and protected. The vegetated corridors along freshwater systems, known as Riparian Zones, have been recognized as environmental factors with potential to buffer freshwater from excess nutrients and some toxins.  Continued research makes it increasingly clear that the Riparian Zone – water interaction can be very important in protecting our waters.

What information is necessary to aide scientists in managing and maximizing the effectiveness of Riparian Zone water buffering processes? Groundwater monitoring wells are common apparatuses used to collect data and identify trends in groundwater chemistry. Surface water monitoring programs do the same for water chemistry. These data are critical to understanding and quantifying pollution and identifying both natural and event driven changes in surface and ground water quality. Although both of these baseline studies are recognized as important, there are few, if any, Riparian Zone soil water chemistry baseline studies. This zone represents a unique interface between land and water and has been indicated as influencing surface water quality, so why is there such scarce baseline data about this region?  My project is a pilot, exploratory project to begin testing the usefulness and feasibility of establishing a quality baseline database for riparian zone soil water along the very biologically diverse, relatively pristine Paint Rock River in Jackson County Alabama.