Riparian areas provide many ecosystems services to humans that have been utilized for thousands of years and are the main reason why these areas are degraded. Their importance for maintaining biodiversity and stream channel health is even more important in semi-arid and arid region, such as the south-western United States. A common practice to protect riparian areas and streams in the region is the exclusion of human activities with a prime example the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area. In this study, we examine if the exclusion of human activities has benefited the Bonita Creek that flows through this conservation area. Cross sections at five locations along Bonita Creek were taken in 1994 and 2013. Based on the comparison of the thalweg depth, the width-depth ratio, the channel erosion/deposition and the floodplain erosion/deposition the stream channel of the two surveys, Bonita Creek appears, in general, to be benefiting from the current exclusion of human activities. Still recovery rates are not very fast indicating landscape and ecosystem-based approaches should be adopted for more effective and sustainable conservation of the area.

中文翻译：

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在美国亚利桑那州博尼塔克里克河岸地区，人类活动被排除后的航道变化

河岸地区为人类提供了许多生态系统服务，这些服务已有数千年的历史，这是这些地区退化的主要原因。它们在维护生物多样性和河流健康方面的重要性在半干旱和干旱地区（例如美国西南部）更加重要。保护该地区河岸地区和河流的一种常见做法是排除人类活动，例如吉拉·博克斯河岸国家保护区。在这项研究中，我们研究了排除人类活动是否有益于流经该保护区的Bonita Creek。1994年和2013年沿Bonita Creek的五个位置截取了横截面。根据thalweg深度，宽深比的比较，在两次调查的河道侵蚀/沉积和洪泛区侵蚀/沉积河道沉积中，Bonita Creek总体上似乎受益于当前人类活动的排斥。恢复速度仍然不是很快，这表明应该采用景观和基于生态系统的方法来更有效和可持续地保护该地区。