Riparian Area Assessments
Understanding what riparian health looks like and why it matters is important to land and resource managers.
Why Riparian Areas Matter
Riparian areas are the lands adjacent to streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands, where vegetation and soils are influenced by the presence of water. Although they make up only a small fraction of the land, they are among the most productive and valuable of all landscape types and are often the focus of conflicts between resource users.
Ecosystem or ecological services are the benefits derived from physical, chemical, and biological functions of healthy ecosystems. These services contribute in many ways to making life possible, that is why we value them! For example carbon capture, the process of removing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide, is an important ecosystem service provided by healthy vegetation that ensures air quality. A healthy riparian buffer has the potential to sequester a large amount of carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. This is just one of the many ecosystem services that healthy riparian areas can provide.
Riparian Intactness and Health
Understanding what riparian health looks like and why it matters is important to land and resource managers. There are 3 common types of Riparian assessments: Field Based, Aerial Videography Method, and the Satellite desktop method.
The LSWC Has completed assessments using all 3 methods:
Satellite Method
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Lesser Slave Lake Shoreline Riparian Intactness Report (2024)
In 2023, the LSWC hired Fiera Biological Consulting to complete a riparian intactness assessment of the shoreline of Lesser Slave Lake. This report also considers riparian intactness and known fish spawning and rearing areas.
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Swan River Riparian Intactness Assessment Report (2023)
In 2023, the LSWC hired Fiera Biological Consulting to complete a riparian intactness and risk assessment of the 583km of riparian areas along the Swan, Inverness and Moosehorn Rivers.
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West Prairie River Riparian Intactness and Risk Assessment Report (2021)
in 2020, with support from the Environmental Damages Fund, the Watershed Restoration & Resiliency Program, and Municipal partners, the LSWC hired Fiera Biological Consulting to complete a riparian intactness and risk assessment for 600km of riparian area.
Aerial Videography Method
Aerial videography measures the health of riparian areas using video footage from low-level flights or drones that are flown along lake and wetland shorelines and river or stream banks. This method was most commonly used between 2005-2015.
Riparian areas are scored and rated in one of 3 categories: Good/Healthy; Fair/Moderately Impaired; OR Poor/Impaired
Like the Field-based Method, the area is scored according to the amount of:
- Area covered by any plant species, cattails and bulrushes, and woody plants (and signs of new growth)
- Human alteration via bare ground, plant community alterations, or changes to the physical site (including banks
- Human alteration via bare ground or changes to the physical site (including banks)
- Shoreline or bank stability
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Aerial Video Assessment of the Swan River System, Alberta (2011)
Low-level aerial videography, and the accompanying Riparian Health Score Sheets (assessed from collected aerial video) and GIS mapping were used to collect and display the Swan River and 2 tributaries’ riparian habitat.
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Aerial Videography Assessment of South Heart River & West Prairie River (2009)
Low-level aerial videography was used to assess the health and integrity of riparian areas along selected reaches of the South Heart and West Prairie Rivers.
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Aerial Video Assessment of Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta (2007)
The Alberta Conservation Association used aerial videography to broadly quantify the health of LSL’s shoreline habitat with respect associated landuse.
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Lesser Slave Lake Shoreline Health Assessment – East Basin
Map of the East Basin of Lesser Slave Lake with health ratings.
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Lesser Slave Lake Shoreline Health Assessment – West Basin
Map of the West Basin of Lesser Slave Lake with health ratings.