Action

Plant riparian buffer strips

How is the evidence assessed?

Study locations

Key messages

  • One replicated, controlled study in the USA found that planting buffer strips along streams did not increase amphibian abundance, numbers of species, or the ratio of adults to tadpoles.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A replicated, controlled study in 2006–2009 of channelized agricultural streams in Ohio, USA (Smiley, King & Fausey 2011) found that planting buffer strips along streams had no significant effect on amphibian communities. There was no significant difference in species richness, diversity, abundance or ratio of adult frogs to tadpoles between sites with and without buffer strips. Amphibians were monitored in three streams with planted non-woody buffer strips (<15 m) and three without. Two 125 m long sections were established along each stream (average 743 m apart). Six permanent transects (25 m apart) were sampled along each section in spring, summer and autumn each year.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Smith, R.K., Meredith, H. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Amphibian Conservation. Pages 9-64 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

Amphibian Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Amphibian Conservation
What Works 2021 cover

What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

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