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• v� <br />Minnesota <br />Pollution <br />Control <br />Agency <br />Environmental <br />Outcomes <br />Division <br />GroundWater <br />Monitoring& <br />Assessment <br />Program <br />Vegetativebuffers <br />forprotectingandimproving <br />groundwaterquality <br />What isavegetativebuffer? <br />Vegetativebuffersareareasofvegetation <br />thatprovideatransitionbetweendifferent <br />landuses .Vegetativebuffersaremost <br />commonlyassociatedwithriparianzones, <br />whicharetransitionareasbetweenuplands <br />andlakes ,riversorwetlands.Riparian <br />forests (thoselocatedalongstreams) havea <br />highcapacitytopreventthemovementof <br />nitrateandothernutrientsinsurfacerunoff <br />andgroundwaterflowfromuplandareas. <br />Riparianzonesarealsowellsuitedas <br />farmland ,aslivestockgrazingareas,for <br />timberproductionorforcommercialand <br />residentialdevelopment .Ifnotproperly <br />managed ,theseusesdiminishthevalueof <br />vegetativebuffersforprotectingwater <br />quality. <br />February2000 <br />Howdovegetativebuffersprotect <br />groundwaterquality? <br />Theimpactsofvegetativebuffersupon <br />groundwaterarenotalwaysobvious. <br />Vegetationtakesupnutrientsfromshallow <br />groundwaterandproducesconditionsthat <br />arefavorableforthebreakdownof <br />chemicals ,suchasnitrateandherbicides. <br />Theamountofwaterinfiltratingthroughthe <br />soilandintothegroundwaterisoften <br />higherinpermanentlyvegetatedareasthan <br />inagriculturalareas ,andthisextrawater <br />maydilutechemicalconcentrations. <br />Vegetativebuffersalsoreducerunofffrom <br />uplandareas.Asthisrunoffwater <br />infiltratesthesoil ,nutrientsandother <br />chemicalsareadsorbed ,degradedorutilized <br />byvegetation. <br />—► Thickarrowsshowflowofwater <br />Row crop agriculture <br />Spring Grass <br />buffer <br />Forested <br />buffer <br />Nitratemovementtosoil <br />andgroundwater <br />D enitrification <br />• <br />Plantuptake <br />NOTE: Verticalscalegreatlyexaggerated .Arrowsdonotimplyratesofflow. <br />MinnesotaPollutionControlAgency, 520LafayetteRd .N.,SaintPaul,MN551554194 <br />(651 ) 2966300 ,tollfree(800)6573864,TTY(651) 2825332or(800)6573864 <br />Thismaterialcanbemadeavailableinalternativeformatsforpeoplewithdisabilities. <br />Printedonrecycledpapercontainingatleast2Opercentfibersfrompaperrecycledbyconsumers. <br />