Abstract Vegetated buffers and filter strips are a widely used Best Management Practice (BMP) for enhancing streamside ecosystem quality and water quality improvement through nonpoint source pollutant removal. Most existing studies are either site-specific, rely on limited data points, or evaluate buffer width and slope as the only design variables for predicting sediment reduction, not considering other parameters such as soil texture, vegetation types, and runoff loads that can significantly influence the buffer efficiency. In this paper, we carry out a meta-analysis of published studies and fit regression models to explore the sediment removal capacity of riparian buffers. We compiled 905 data points from over 90 studies (including data from an online BMP database) documenting sediment trapping by vegetated buffers and recorded data regarding buffer characteristics such as buffer width, slope, area, vegetation type, sediment loading, water flow rates, and sediment removal efficiency. We found that an exponential regression model describing the relationship between sediment removal efficiency by the buffer and water inflow/outflow volume ratio explained 44% of the variance. Adding the square root of roughness increased the R2 to 0.50. The model performance was compared with other sediment reduction regression models reported in the literature. The results point towards the importance of considering flow parameters in vegetative buffer design. The improved empirical relationships derived here can be used at local scales to understand sediment trapping potential by vegetated buffers for water quality mitigation purposes and can be built into extant hydrologic models for improved watershed-scale assessments.

中文翻译：

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植被缓冲区对沉积物捕获效率的二次评估

摘要 植被缓冲区和过滤带是一种广泛使用的最佳管理实践 (BMP)，用于通过非点源污染物去除来提高河滨生态系统质量和水质改善。大多数现有研究要么针对特定地点，要么依赖有限的数据点，要么将缓冲区宽度和坡度评估为预测沉积物减少的唯一设计变量，而不考虑其他参数，如土壤质地、植被类型和径流载荷等可能显着影响的参数缓冲效率。在本文中，我们对已发表的研究和拟合回归模型进行了荟萃分析，以探索河岸缓冲区的沉积物去除能力。我们从 90 多项研究（包括来自在线 BMP 数据库的数据）中收集了 905 个数据点，记录了植被缓冲区捕获沉积物，并记录了有关缓冲区特征的数据，例如缓冲区宽度、坡度、面积、植被类型、沉积物载荷、水流速和沉积物去除效率。我们发现，描述缓冲液去除沉积物效率与进水/出水体积比之间关系的指数回归模型解释了 44% 的方差。加上粗糙度的平方根，R2 增加到 0.50。该模型性能与文献中报道的其他减沙回归模型进行了比较。结果表明在植物缓冲液设计中考虑流动参数的重要性。