Preferred Name

Seth McCullough

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5648-6929

Date of Graduation

5-9-2024

Semester of Graduation

Spring

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Biology

Advisor(s)

Heather Griscom

Morgan Steffen

James Herrick

Abstract

Riparian buffer restoration represents a critical strategy for enhancing ecosystem health and resilience in agricultural landscapes. This study investigates the effects of riparian buffer restoration on soil properties, microbial communities, and carbon dynamics in Rockingham County, VA. Through a comprehensive field study, we assessed the physicochemical properties of soil, microbial biomass, community composition, and soil carbon storage in restored and unrestored riparian buffers. Our findings reveal significant improvements in soil physical properties in restored buffers, including increased soil moisture (p < 0.05) and decreased bulk density (p < 0.01), indicating enhanced soil structure and water retention capacity. While no significant differences were detected in soil pH or cation exchange capacity, restored buffers exhibited higher soil carbon stocks (p < 0.05) and carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, suggesting potential differences in nutrient cycling processes and organic matter decomposition rates. Moreover, restored buffers showed increased microbial biomass (p < 0.01), potentially driven by improved habitat conditions and shifts towards a fungal-dominated microbial community.

Although no significant differences were found in overall microbial community composition between restored and unrestored sites, specific shifts in bacterial groups were observed, including enrichment of Nitrosporia and Bdellovibrio and Like Organisms (BALO) in restored sites. These findings underscore the complex interactions between restoration, microbial communities, and nutrient cycling processes. Additionally, our study highlights the importance of long-term monitoring to assess the effectiveness of restoration interventions in influencing soil carbon dynamics.

Implications for ecosystem management and conservation practices are discussed, emphasizing the role of riparian buffer restoration in enhancing soil health, water quality, and habitat connectivity, while contributing to global initiatives for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. Recommendations for future research include the need for larger sample sizes, longer-term monitoring, and socio-economic analyses to inform evidence-based land management practices and promote sustainable environmental stewardship. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of research on the ecological benefits of riparian buffer restoration and underscores the importance of integrated approaches to ecosystem restoration in agricultural landscapes.

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