Targeting Riparian Buffer Strips at Field Scale in the Upper Bann Catchment

The effectiveness of riparian buffer strips in their sediment and nutrient reduction capacity varies substantially due to differences in adjacent land use, slope, buffer design and soil type.

In order to assess the potential benefits of buffer strip designs in current Northern Ireland agri-environment policies, methods are required to a) characterize agricultural parcels as a function of soil attributes, and b) use these characteristic groups, in combination with slope, to evaluate the trapping efficiency of buffer strips in the Upper Bann Catchment. The REMM model has been used in this study to simulate buffer strip transport of phosphorus, and to evaluate the strength of different buffer strip designs in NI.