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Riparian Forests: Longitudinal Biodiversity Islands in Agricultural Landscapes

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Biodiversity Islands: Strategies for Conservation in Human-Dominated Environments

Part of the book series: Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation ((TOBC,volume 20))

Abstract

Riparian buffers safeguard the only remaining forest fragments in many agricultural landscapes of the Colombian Andean region. These linear landscape elements contribute to the conservation of terrestrial biodiversity in agricultural landscapes by providing shelter, reproduction sites, food, and connectivity for arthropods, amphibians, mammals and birds. Thus, riparian buffers play a critical role as biodiversity islands. In addition, forested riparian buffers protect aquatic environments and water quality by reducing the input of pollutants from catchment areas, improving physical habitat with shade, and adding allochthonous materials that provide the main source of energy for stream ecosystems. This chapter summarizes the results of research conducted during the past two decades by the Center for Research in Sustainable Agricultural Systems (CIPAV) in the Central Andes coffee-growing region of Colombia. These studies highlight the critical role of forested riparian buffers for conservation and ecosystem services. We provide a synthesis of lessons learned on the effects of both cattle grazing and riparian forest cover on stream ecosystems. This body of research also demonstrates that streams protected by riparian forests support complex and biodiverse macroinvertebrate assemblages and may respond positively to the ecological restoration of riparian strips. The chapter concludes with recommendations for restoring and protecting riparian buffers from agricultural practices, partially through incentives to landowners. These insights have emerged from decades of research and institutional experience on riparian restoration initiatives.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Minciencias and the Colombian Autonomous Fund for Science, Technology and Innovation Francisco José de Caldas through contract 80740-006-2020, and the support to L.P. Giraldo through the scholarship for doctoral studies, call 567.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro para la Investigación en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción Agropecuaria (CIPAV), Cali, Colombia

    Lina Paola Giraldo, Julián Chará, Zoraida Calle D & Ana M. Chará-Serna

  2. Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia

    Lina Paola Giraldo

Authors
  1. Lina Paola Giraldo
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  2. Julián Chará
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  3. Zoraida Calle D
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  4. Ana M. Chará-Serna
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Correspondence to Lina Paola Giraldo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of the Environment, The Forest School, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Florencia Montagnini

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Giraldo, L.P., Chará, J., Calle D, Z., Chará-Serna, A.M. (2022). Riparian Forests: Longitudinal Biodiversity Islands in Agricultural Landscapes. In: Montagnini, F. (eds) Biodiversity Islands: Strategies for Conservation in Human-Dominated Environments. Topics in Biodiversity and Conservation, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92234-4_6

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