The riparian landscape is unique among environments because it is a terrestrial habitat strongly affecting and affected by aquatic environments; it has a particular spatial configuration; it has use values derived from these features; and, like mountain or desert habitats, is diverse in its structure and function among regions while responding to the same primary factors. This work will primarily address the effect of the particular spatial configuration of riparian environments, as they differ among regions, on both the structures and functions in the environment.

Basic definitions

The link between the terrestrial and the aquatic realms in riparian zones is the most significant factor in their definition, although Forman and Godron (1986) prefer to view them as a corridor rather than an ecotone. Brown et al. (1979) began with a definition that might encompass most wetlands, i.e. ‘a high water table because of proximity to an aquatic ecosystem or subsurface water’ and ‘an ecotone between aquatic and upland ecosystems’. They then qualified this definition to include ‘only those types which are exposed to lateral water flow… We assume that lateral water flow becomes the main force that organizes and regulates the function of riparian wetlands including their biogeochemical cycles and their role in the landscape’.