ECOL 1000L Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Riparian Zone
How Land Use Affects Biodiversity and Water Quality in Streams
INTRODUCTION
The quality of water is an essential factor in an ecosystem because many animals,
plants, and other organisms live in the streams. An efficient way to measure the
biodiversity and health of the streams is to organize a bioassessment which refers to
the process of assessing the condition of a body of water by measuring the types of
organisms present. This bioassessment gives a bioindex, which can help determine
the approximate quality of the water. Streams with a higher bio index have better
water quality which can indicate fewer pollutants. There are three categories of
organisms: Sensitive, Somewhat Sensitive, and Tolerant Organisms. These three
categories determine whether or not the organism can survive an unhealthy
environment or if they need a clean and pure environment in order to survive. A
sensitive organism means that the organism is very unlikely to survive in polluted
waters and is more susceptible to be harmed by pollution or harsh environmental
conditions. Some examples of the condition of the water a sensitive organism needs
include: Higher DO, neutral pH, and cold water. A somewhat sensitive organism is
the middle ground between the other two categories and can survive polluted
waters to an extent or limit. Lastly, the tolerant species can tolerate and endure very
polluted water conditions such as low oxygen, low/high pH, and warm water.
Although there are many factors contributing to the pollutants contaminating bodies
of water, the riparian buffer zones of the stream helps to filter, absorb, and slow the
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