The Benefits of 



By Rachel Wharton 



In the modern world of computer 

 technology and synthetic solutions, 



it's easy to overlook the 

 simple answers offered by nature. 

 But as scientists struggle 

 to understand the factors 

 troubling waters like North Carolina's 

 Neuse River, they're turning to the 

 age-old wisdom of the forest. 

 Ancient, strong, seemingly untoppable, 

 trees have fulfilled our 

 most basic needs for centuries, 

 perhaps more than we knew. 



There's been no rain in a few days 

 now, and the cornfields, grass and 

 forestland of the Piedmont riparian 

 buffer study are thirsty. Hidden behind a 

 canopy of trees, the creek is sluggish; 

 the water sampling equipment used by 

 N.C. State University researchers is 

 quiet. Except for the dissipating dust on 

 the road behind me, there's hardly a 

 movement for miles. 



But tomorrow morning, as the 

 summer sun bakes off the moisture from 

 the previous evening's thunderstorms, 

 the plants will awaken, quivering and 

 glistening with greenness. The students 

 will arrive to mow the grass and gather 

 the day's samples collected from the 

 troughs, wells, pumps and pipes snaking 



through the field. Back in the lab, 

 graduate researchers will test these 

 samples for nutrients, bacteria and 

 sediment. 



These pollutants — known as 

 nonpoint pollutants — are some of the 

 primary causes of water quality prob- 

 lems worldwide. Leaching from fields, 

 animal farms, golf courses, asphalt, 

 manicured lawns and development, 

 they've had scientists searching for 

 ways to control them and government 

 agencies spinning for ways to regulate 

 them for years. 



Studies such as the one at NCSU's 

 Piedmont site may provide an answer. 

 Recent research shows that riparian 

 buffers, those green strips of vegetation 



C.R. Edgerton 



and forest lining many of North 

 Carolina's streams, creeks and rivers, 

 are doing a great job of managing 

 nonpoint pollutants already. 



Leading the Piedmont riparian 

 buffer research project is Wendell 

 Gilliam, a soil scientist at NCSU. He's 

 been studying riparian buffers and their 

 effects on water quality for 10 years, 

 about as long as anyone in the field. 

 Though that's a small drop in the river 

 of research needed, the preliminary 

 results are in, and they look good. 



"Until recently," says Gilliam, 

 "riparian buffers were just for birds or 

 squirrels — we hadn't thought about the 

 water quality benefits." But it turns out, 

 he says, "riparian buffers are probably 



12 JULY/AUGUST 1996 



