Plant Species Appropriate for Pennsylvania Buffers and Shorelines Water Pollution Solutions Appropriate vegetation is the key to effective buffer strips and shoreline stabilization. These plant species provide beneficial habitat, anchor shoreline soils, dissipate wave energy, and enhance the beauty of shoreline property. Some of the species listed here may not be appropriate in all areas. You should consult one of the organizations listed below to verify which plants will do best under your local conditions. Shrub/Brush Species Wildflowers (non-stabilizing) UNDESIRABLE SPECIES! Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Box Elder* Acer negundo Columbine Aquilegia canadensis S Red-Osier Dogwood Cornus stolonifera Garlic Mustard* Allilaria officianalis Jack-in-the-Pulpit Arisaema triphyllum S S Common Witchhazel Hamamelis virginiana Japanese Honeysuckle* Lonicera japonica Green Dragon Arisaema dracontium S Chokeberry Prunus virginiana Tartarian Honeysuckle* Lonicera tatarica Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata Shoreline S Peach-Leaved Willow Salix amygdaloides Purple Loosestrife* Lythrum salicaria Turtlehead Chelone glabra S Pussy Willow Salix discolor Reed Canary Grass* Phalaris arundinacea Shooting Star Dodecatheon meadia Sandbar Willow Salix interior Common Buckthorn* Rhamnus athartica Joe-Pye Weed Eupatorium maculatum S Buffer Strips Black Willow Salix nigra Glossy Buckthorn* Rhamnus frangula Spotted Jewelweed Impatiens capensis Cardinal FlowerS Lobelia cardinalis Elderberry Sambucus canadensis Multiflora Rose* Rosa multiflora Lower Bank and Nearshore Virginia BluebellsS Mertensia virginica Sweet Flag Acorus calamus Blue Phlox Phlox divaricata Banks and Slopes May AppleS Podophyllum peltatum Water Plaintain Alisma subcordatum S Sideflowering Aster Aster laterifolius S Bluejoint Grass Calamagrostis canadensis Solomon’s Seal Polyganatum canaliculatum Big Bluestem Andropogon gerardi Swamp ButtercupS Rannuculus septentrionalis Creeping Spike Rush Eleocharis acicularis S Gray Sedge Carex amphibola BloodrootS Sanguinaria canadensis Blue Flag Iris Iris virginica S Common Wood Sedge Carex blanda S Torrey’s Rush Juncus torreyi False Solomon’s Seal Smilacina racemosa Pennsylvania SedgeS Carex pennsylvanica Picture an idyllic lake or streamside setting. The sun The interrelationship between a lake or stream and its Switch Grass Panicum virgatum Spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis Brown Fox Sedge Carex vulpinoidea S Arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia White Trillium Trillium grandiflorum glimmering on clear, clean water. Children wading along shoreline is important. The shoreline, or riparian zone, Canada Wild Rye Elymus riparius S Hardstem Bulrush Scirpus acutus Prairie Trillium Trillium recurvatum Streambank Rye Elymus villosus S the shore. A fisherman casting for elusive bass. A lushly is the last line of defense against forces that may Dark Green Rush Scirpus atrovirens Big Merrybells Uvularia grandiflora Silky Wild Rye Elymus virginicus River Bulrush Scirpus fluviatilis Culver’s Root Veronicastrum virginicum vegetated shoreline that blends into the surrounding otherwise pollute a healthy body of water. A naturally- Fowl Meadow Grass Glyceria striata Prairie Cord Grass Spartina pectinata Golden Alexanders Zizia aurea Torrey’s Rush Juncus torreyi landscape. vegetated shoreline filters runoff generated by Blue Vervain Vebena hastata Evening Primrose Oenothera biennis Common Cattail+ Typha latifolia Cover Crops surrounding land uses in the watershed, removing Switch Grass Panicum virgatum + Cattails are invasive and can become a problem. Annual Ryegrass* Lolium multiflorium Indian Grass Sorghastrum nutans harmful chemicals and nutrients. At the same time, However, they are very effective at dissipating Perrenial Ryegrass* Lolium perenne Prairie Cord Grass Spartina pectinata wave energy and can become established under Smartweed Polygonum punctatum plant roots bind to the soil helping to keep it in place Blue Vervain Verbena hastata difficult situations. Other plantings should Yellow Coneflower Ratabida pinnata and prevent soil erosion. The riparian zone also Blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta be chosen accordingly. * not native, S shade tolerant provides critical habitat for aquatic insects, microorganisms, fish and other animals. As you can Pennsylvania Department of Further Assistance Pennsylvania Lake Management Society Environmental Protection P.O. Box 425 see, riparian zones are unique areas, linking the land Bureau of Watershed Management North American Lake Management Society Lansdale, PA 19446 with the water. P.O. Box 8555 P.O. Box 5443 570-226-3865 Harrisburg, PA 17105-8555 4513 Vernon Blvd., Suite 100 www.palakes.org Madison, WI 53705 Unfortunately, as landscapes are developed, natural 717-783-7420 Partners for Wildlife www.dep.state.pa.us 608-233-2836 www.nalms.org U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service shorelines often are damaged. In urban and rural Stream Releaf Program “Toolkit” 315 South Allen Street, Suite 322 environments, for instance, cutting, mowing, or Pennsylvania Department of Environmental PA Fish & Boat Commission State College, PA 16801 Protection Habitat Management Section 814-234-4090 removing vegetation can lead to soil erosion, Bureau of Watershed Management 450 Robinson Lane Bellefonte, PA 16823-9685 Forest Stewardship Program water pollution, degraded aquatic habitat, P.O. Box 8555 Pennsylvania Department of Harrisburg, PA 17105-8555 814-359-5185 impaired aesthetics, and a reduction in property www.fish.state.pa.us Conservation & Natural Resources 717-787-5267 Bureau of Forestry values. www.dep.state.pa.us P.O. Box 8552 Harrisburg, PA 17105-8552 717-787-2106 The Buffer Concept www.dcnr.state.pa.us Ecologists, water quality specialists, Water Pollution Solutions is a series of publications produced by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation land planners and lake managers all Districts, Inc. with funding provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of agree that a naturally-vegetated Watershed Management and the US Environmental Protection Agency, Section 319 Program. buffer strip along the edge of a lake, The objective of the series is to provide residents with a greater understanding of how human actions can help protect water quality. For stream or wetland, is critical to more information about other publications in this series visit the PACD website or contact the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation maintaining a healthy water body. The Districts, Inc. at 25 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 238-PACD (7223) or your county conservation district. buffer concept is fairly simple: A riparian buffer should ideally be comprised of a Special Credit is given to Lake Notes, October 1996, (Prepared by the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission with financial support provided by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency) which served as a model for this mixture of trees, shrubs or grasses that publication. naturally exist in an area. Buffers usually Revised June 2004 require little maintenance, and the use of fertilizers vegetation often has dense, deep root systems How to Create Effective and pesticides within the buffer is discouraged. Buffer that firmly anchor shoreline soils. Buffer Strips strip characteristics such as plants sizes may vary. A Buffer Strips • Preservation of fish and wildlife habitat: buffer may be twenty-five feet wide around a small Before beginning any activity that alters an urban pond, or hundreds of feet wide along a pristine Many aquatic organisms, particularly insects, spend substantial portions of their life cycles existing lake, stream or wetland, contact your rural lake. Intrusions into the buffer may be strictly County Conservation District for required controlled, or flexible to allow for user access. in upland environments. Buffers provide a critical transition zone between upland and permitting and other helpful information. lowland aquatic/wetland areas. Buffer plants Buffer Strip Benefits Buffer characteristics can vary widely also can shade shorelines providing necessary depending on local circumstances. However, habitat for fish and other wildlife. Depending The benefits of buffer strips include: it is important to understand certain basic, on the width, buffers also can shield sensitive minimum criteria. • Runoff filtering: As runoff from adjacent species, particularly birds, from potentially lands flow through a buffer, pollutants and disruptive activities occurring on adjacent land • Buffer width: Any width of natural sediment are filtered and removed. Excess uses. vegetation will provide some benefits, appropriate if noise screening is desired—but it may nutrients from lawn fertilizers, animal manure however, a 25 foot minimum width is most not be appropriate if local residents desire an • Screening noise: Beyond protecting wildlife and failing septic systems, for instance, can often recommended. Wider buffers (e.g., 50 unobstructed view. Similarly, some property owners uses, buffers also can preserve the quality of be taken up and used by plants. In addition, to 100 feet) should be established for larger or will prefer a greater mix of showy wildflowers that lake recreational uses by filtering noise. buffer grasses can help slow down the more sensitive lakes. The U.S. Department of may be less functional than other plants but will Forested buffers, in particular, can effectively velocity of surface runoff. Agriculture recommends “filter strips” of 66 enhance the beauty of the shoreline. intercept noise from adjacent highways and to 99 feet for water quality protection. Depending on the width and characteristics industrial operations. Buffer installation often begins with the removal of of the buffer, as much as 70 to 95 percent of • Buffer intrusions: While a continuous, unin- existing, undesirable vegetation. (Removal methods • Preservation of aesthetic values: Lake and incoming sediment, and 25 to 60 percent of terrupted buffer is preferable for protection of involving earth disturbances may require a permit.) streamside property owners often have incoming nutrients and other pollutants can water quality and habitat, some flexibility may Planting should begin at or below the normal water varying opinions about what constitutes be removed from the runoff. be needed to provide access to beaches, piers elevation with wetland species and should proceed “appropriate” shoreline landscaping. However, and for other uses. Access typically is provided up the shoreline slope with water-tolerant and upland • Bank stabilization: Natural buffers that most will agree that “natural” is better than via a mown footpath. Less intrusive pedestrian species. While buffer vegetation is being established, extend down to the water’s edge can be very “artificial.” Even a narrow buffer can enhance access could be provided via a stepping stone mowing and/or selected use of approved herbicides effective in stabilizing banks and preventing the view. In addition to reducing noise levels, trail. Paving through a buffer is discouraged. may be necessary to control the spread of aggressive, erosion. In contrast to conventional turfgrass forested buffers can help provide privacy from non-native or other undesirable plants. (which is shallow-rooted), natural riparian surrounding developments. • Buffer vegetation: Planting native plant species is preferred over using non-native • Buffer maintenance: Once the buffer is well species. Because, in general, native species are established (typically within 1-3 years), established more successfully and are easier maintenance will involve occasional mowing to maintain. Properly selected native plants, or measures to control weeds and maintain for instance, are usually able to withstand native plant diversity. If certain noxious weeds extended periods of drought or inundation. As need additional control, limited use of you can see, planting native species can approved herbicides may be appropriate in potentially save a landowner replanting time localized areas. Use of fertilizer is not and money. necessary and should be avoided in the buffer strip. Non-native species on the other hand, often called exotics, can create many problems for the landowner For additional information and the surrounding community and be difficult to on establishing or establish and maintain. Many exotics become maintaining buffer invasive, choke out preferred plants and can pose other strips, contact your risks to lakes and streams. county conservation district or Penn State Buffer vegetation also should reflect local needs and extension office. conditions. For example, a forested buffer is