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The Hard Work Behind “Going with the Flow”
An East Tennessee Introduction to the State’s New Community Riparian Restoration Program
By Madison Johnson, FWF Masters student, Dr. Andrea Ludwig, Associate Professor, Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, and Dr. Sharon Jean-Philippe, Professor, Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Department, The University of Tennessee
This article was originally published in Tennessee GreenTimes, Winter 2023. It is reprinted with the authors’ permission.
Riparian buffers, or riparian forests, are unique ecosystems that act as transitional parts of the landscape occurring between land and water (Figure 1) and that are typically bordered with a mixture of woody (Figure 2) and herbaceous vegetation (Figure 3). These riparian areas provide their buffer as a first line of defense in mitigating against anthropogenic impacts resulting from residential, commercial and/or agricultural activities (Figure 4). A healthy riparian forest provides essential ecosystem services to both the aquatic and terrestrial communities around them, such as erosion prevention, pollution reduction, and increased habitat biodiversity (Figure 5).
Figure 1. An example of healthy riparian habitat as the stream enters bordering woods.
Figure 2. A seedling sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) establishes its roots to stabilize the moist soil next to a riparian waterway.
Figure 3. Native herbaceous perennials can be encouraged or restored in impacted riparian habitats to increase biodiversity and enhance community partner experience with their landscape.
Figure 4. Undergraduate student volunteer Jessie Loewen takes notes along a stretch of urban/waterway intersection where the stream has become contained within a channel.
Figure 5. An American green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) “hides” in plain sight along an east TN stream.
Multiple issues confound efforts to successfully establish healthy riparian buffers in urban areas in Tennessee and nationwide, ranging from lack of public education to challenges in finding landowners willing to install riparian features and habitat. These challenges are made more difficult by increased development, harmful residential and agricultural management practices, and spread of invasive plant species (Figure 6). In response to these challenges, Tennessee’s Community Riparian Restoration Program (CRRP) is funded by the Tennessee Division of Forestry and operated through the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. This partnership serves as a multidisciplinary initiative that is focused on driving community involvement in riparian restoration through participation in applied research efforts. The CRRP team’s aim is to foster a sense of stewardship for riparian forests and waterways among Tennesseans through four main objectives:
1) Community Education
2) Community Involvement in Restoration
3) Development and Dissemination of Watershed Materials
4) Research and Analysis of Watershed and Forest Health
Figure 6. Undergraduate student volunteer Katherine Ballard works to cut and remove invasive plant materials from an impacted riparian habitat.
Each of these objectives is essential for providing the resources needed to facilitate riparian restoration projects across Tennessee. Currently, the CRRP team are centering efforts in ten counties in East Tennessee, but the program will be expanding into Middle and West Tennessee during the next few years. Understanding each objective helps to detail the scope of these efforts.
Community Education
Although we may not consciously think about their purpose and function, streams, and waterways contribute a valuable role to sustaining the health and resilience of our communities. Whether you own a home next to a creek or small tributary stream, take a walk on a greenway, or enjoy outdoor recreation activities such as kayaking & fishing, the quality of the riparian forests in your regional environment is something that has profound daily impacts on our lives. Unfortunately, many people may not recognize what a riparian buffer is or what a healthy riparian buffer looks like (Figure 7). The public may not be aware of the many pressures that challenge riparian buffer health. In addition, it is often daunting for the public to identify what resources are available to help interested stakeholders to improve and repair their degraded riparian buffer habitats. These problems can be especially difficult navigate for landowners trying to manage streamside properties. Landowners often want to care for their stream yet may not know where or how to get started.
Figure 7. A native Lobelia cardinalis adds a pop of color to a sun-dappled riparian shoreline.
Through Community Education outreach and programming, the CRRP addresses these issues by developing educational workshops for landowners, schools, neighborhoods, as well as anyone who wants to learn how to care for riparian forests in their area. These hands-on, interactive sessions are focused on identifying signs of an unhealthy stream and riparian forest, invasive plant identification and removal (Figure 8), and resources and demonstrations of Best Practices for bank re-vegetation (Figure 9). Our goal with this objective is to empower individuals by providing the knowledge they will need to take small steps towards healthier waterways in their neighborhoods.
Figure 8. Undergraduate student volunteer Jamie Pretorius prepares to flag native and invasive plant species along a section of riparian steam.
Figure 9. Lobelia siphilitica, another native lobelia species.
Community Involvement in Restoration
Planting trees is a great way to improve the health and sustainability of our cities and neighborhoods. Trees provide ecosystem services that contribute to improved human and biological system health, and that sustain community well-being with enhanced experiences. In riparian systems, planting trees for biodiversity, tree and shrub regeneration, and bank stabilization provides far reaching beneficial effects. We will be partnering with community groups and public citizens on projects that will target sections of streams in Tennessee that are prioritized for restoration. Prioritization will be based upon a variety of factors associated with watershed quality and community demographics.
For example, high priority areas will include watersheds that display characteristics of systems contributing to lower downstream water quality. Features in this category often include high impervious cover and heavily managed, vegetated areas like agricultural fields and suburban lawns. Other impacted watersheds have low forest cover or highly erodible soils. Other restoration priority areas will address habitats within low-income urban, suburban, and rural community areas that are often challenged by limited green space and reduced forest cover.
Our goal is to empower community members to take ownership of their waterways and forests, and to become stewards of their riparian forests long after these trees are planted. To help meet that goal, the CRRP will facilitate communication and planning with local watershed organizations, stormwater departments, landowners, and volunteer groups, and provide planting plans, and help coordinate events.
Development & Dissemination of Watershed Materials
This state-wide program is providing ready access to new and existing public resources that are related to riparian forest health. At our website riparian.utk.edu, we are creating a public database and interactive map that will showcase common problems impacting riparian forests in different watersheds in Tennessee. Information about current and future restoration and monitoring efforts will be available. In coming months, our leadership team (Figure 10) will also be creating tutorials and guides for riparian forest management packed with information on native plant selection and identification of invasive species. We are also excited to share progress updates and educational posts, as well as network with community members and organizations through Instagram & Facebook social media.
Figure 10. Maddy Johnson, Andrea Ludwig, and Sharon Jean-Philippe prepare to categorize a riparian site out of 10 east Tennessee counties participating in the CRRP program.
Analysis and Research in Watershed & Forest Health
To accomplish this objective, our team will initiate projects that will be designed to help identify the functional role that vegetation contributes to stream health, identify specific problems facing riparian forests in Tennessee, and track progression of mitigation in impacted systems following restoration activities. Success depends upon long-term documentation of benefits resulting from the methods that are deployed to support peer-reviewed research. For example, our team is actively assessing vegetation composition and stream temperature data on 45 impacted sites located across the most developed counties in East Tennessee (Figure 11). Most of these sites are privately owned, and partnerships will allow helpful insights into management practices available to private landowners. We will also be able to document the prevalence of invasive species and inadequate buffer widths that are occurring across these sites. The data we get will be used to inform future efforts and design modifications.
Figure 11. Undergraduate research assistant Sam Neary assists with taking water temperature measurements.
Community will always be our greatest resource in our efforts to restore and maintain the biodiversity and habitat around our waterways. Our mission for riparian restoration is to cultivate the knowledge and skills that individuals need to protect riparian forests in their neighborhoods. We are excited to be a partner in initiatives that we are forming between the CRRP and diverse groups of interested people across Tennessee who all are working toward a common goal.
CRRP Project Acknowledgements
This work and its impact on Tennessee’s ecological habitats and the state’s riparian systems would not be possible without the help of our community partners, local and state leaders, and volunteers. We appreciate the support and expertise shared through our partnership with the Tennessee Division of Forestry, and Tennessee Stormwater Association, and the Knox County Stormwater Department cooperators. We would like to particularly credit the hard work and help of our UT undergraduate student volunteers: Katherine Ballard, Jessie Loewen, Jamie Pretorius; and Sam Neary, our undergraduate research assistant, who were all vital members of our project team.
