| Abstract from DBPedia | A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants. Riparian zones are important in ecology, environmental resource management, and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their habitat biodiversity, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, or even non-vegetative areas. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".水辺（みずべ）とは、水面に近接した岸の周辺をさす。河川、湖沼、湿原、海浜の水辺などがある。なお、海浜は水辺と呼ぶよりも海辺か海岸と呼ぶ場合が多い。 水辺には砂浜、岩場、干潟、藻場、葦原、水辺林（河畔林・渓畔林）、マングローブ林、塩性湿地、汽水域など多様な環境が含まる。近年では水生生物や鳥類などの生息域としての水辺地帯はエコトーンと呼ばれ、積極的に自然環境を保護・保存し、ビオトープのように人工的に回復・復元されるようになっている。 独特の生物が色々いる上、多くの場合、陸上動物は水辺に水を飲みに来るので、絶好の観察ポイントである。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Riparian_zone) |
