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Chapter 7: Human Alterations to Riparian Areas
Structures to Stabilize Stream Banks
- Stabilizing structures such as rip-rap, concrete, dikes, asphalt, gabions, matting, and bulkheads are commonly used along the banks of streams/rivers particularly in urban settings.
- Benefits from these structures include: protection for stream banks, buildings, and other structures along the stream/river.
- These structures eliminate the microhabitat for riparian vegetation that provides shade and organic matter for the in-stream ecosystems, and severely impacts corridor functions (page 6, chapter 5).
- These structures also increase flow velocities due to the lower hydraulic roughness compared to vegetated banks.
Figure 7.9. Channelization and stabilizing structures along reaches in urban settings of Arizona.
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