Ground cover patterns near streams for urban land use categories

Land along the edges of streams in urban areas is used in many ways, with many objectives, including buffering streams from the effects of nutrient, sediment and pesticide runoff; maintaining shade to prevent the rise of stream temperature; and providing shelter for wildlife and aquatic life. A relatively narrow corridor of naturally vegetated land along stream edges has been cited to preserve many of these functions. This study documents the associations of the types and amounts of ground cover that occur within 25 m of stream edges for nine land use categories in Syracuse, New York.