College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Center for Land Use Education and Research

Statewide: Riparian Corridor

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2006 Statewide Riparian Corridor Analysis

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Study Area

Study Area

The riparian corridor study area consists of land on either side of streams and on the outside of waterbodies covering the entire state of Connecticut. For more information about how the buffer zones were created, see About the Project.

The study area crosses the Connectcut boundary in many places. Dotted areas are partial sub-regional basins that are not covered with riparian information.

 

1985, 100 ft Riparian Zone

2006, 100 ft Riparian Zone
1985, 100ft zone, statewide pie 2006, 100ft zone, statewide pie

 

  Developed
  Turf & Grass
  Other Grass
  Agricultural Field
  Forest
  Water
  Wetland
  Barren

 

1985, 300 ft Riparian Zone

2006, 300 ft Riparian Zone
1985, 300ft zone, statewide pie 2006, 300ft zone, statewide pie

 

  Developed
  Turf & Grass
  Other Grass
  Agricultural Field
  Forest
  Water
  Wetland
  Barren
100ft Bar Chart
300 ft Bar Chart

100ft Riparian Zone Statewide Data Table

  1985 2006 Change
  acres % of 100ft zone acres % of 100ft zone acres change in % % change*
Developed 37902 12.7% 43044 14.4% 5142 1.7% 14%
Turf/Grass 12482 4.2% 15037 5.0% 2555 0.9% 20%
Other Grasses 2984 1.0% 4336 1.5% 1352 0.5% 45%
Agricultural Fields 16020 5.4% 14473 4.9% -1547 -0.5% -10%
Forest** 201934 67.7% 195907 65.7% -6027 -2.0% -3%
Water 19486 6.5% 16637 5.6% -2850 -1.0% -15%
Wetlands*** 5825 2.0% 6111 2.0% 286 0.1% 5%
Other**** 1621 0.5% 2710 0.9% 1089 0.4% 67%
*The Relative rate of change is shown in the table. It is calculated by: (area 1985 - area 2006) / area 1985. This is a way to measure how rapidly change has occurred relative to the 1985 baseline.
**Forest is the combination of deciduous forest, coniferous forest, forested wetland, utlity right-of-way.
***Wetlands is a combination of non-forested wetlands and tidal wetlands.
****Other consists of the barren class.

300ft Riparian Zone Statewide Data Table

  1985 2006 Change
  acres % of 300ft zone acres % of 300ft zone acres change in % % change*
Developed 123293 14.5% 142377 16.8% 19084 2.2% 15%
Turf/Grass 43692 5.1% 53654 6.3% 9962 1.2% 23%
Other Grasses 10773 1.3% 14755 1.7% 3982 0.5% 37%
Agricultural Fields 59420 7.0% 52844 6.2% -6576 -0.8% -11%
Forest** 569548 67.1% 544149 64.1% -25399 -3.0% -4%
Water 26689 3.1% 21849 2.6% -4840 -0.6% -18%
Wetlands*** 10344 1.2% 10877 1.3% 533 0.1% 5%
Other**** 5297 0.6% 8551 1.0% 3254 0.4% 61%
*The Relative rate of change is shown in the table. It is calculated by: (area 1985 - area 2006) / area 1985. This is a way to measure how rapidly change has occurred relative to the 1985 baseline.
**Forest is the combination of deciduous forest, coniferous forest, forested wetland, utlity right-of-way.
***Wetlands is a combination of non-forested wetlands and tidal wetlands.
****Other consists of the barren class.
Percent Forested in 300ft zone, 1985

1985 Percent of the
300 ft Zone
that is Forest*

Each sub-regional basin is colored based on the percent of the 300 riparian zone that was forested* land cover in 1985.

  2% to 20%
  21% to 40%
  41% to 50%
  51% to 60%
  61% to 80%
  81% to 97%
   
Area not covered by land cover. Only the portion of the basin covered by land cover in the riparian areas was included in the percent.

Forest is a combination of the deciduous forest, coniferous forest, forested wetland and utility right-of-way land cover classes.
Percent Forest in sub-regional basins,2006

2006 Percent of the 300 ft Zone that is Forest*

Each sub-regional basin is colored based on the percent of the 300 riparian zone that was forested* land cover in 2006.

  2% to 20%
  21% to 40%
  41% to 50%
  51% to 60%
  61% to 80%
  81% to 97%
   
Area not covered by land cover. Only the portion of the basin covered by land cover in the riparian areas was included in the percent.

Forest is a combination of the deciduous forest, coniferous forest, forested wetland and utility right-of-way land cover classes.

Percent Forest in sub-regional basins,2006

1985-2006 Change in Percent of the Forested* Portion of the 300 ft Zone

Each sub-regional basin is colored based on the change in percent of the forested* area in the 300 ft riparian zone.

Top 25 basins for change Top 25 basins experiencing the greatest percent loss of forest
Change in percent forest
  -12% or greater
  -11% to -6%
  -5.9% to -4%
  -3.9% to -2%
  -1.9% to -0.5%
  -0.5% to 0.5%
  0.6% to 2%
   
Area outside the study boundary Area not covered by land cover. Only the portion of the basin covered by land cover in the riparian areas was included in the percent.

Forest is a combination of the deciduous forest, coniferous forest, forested wetland and utility right-of-way land cover classes.

Percent Forest in sub-regional basins,2006

1985 Percent of the 100 ft Zone that is Forest*

Each sub-regional basin is colored based on the percent of the 100 ft riparian zone that was forested* land cover in 1985.

  2% to 20%
  21% to 40%
  41% to 50%
  51% to 60%
  61% to 80%
  81% to 97%
   
Area not covered by land cover. Only the portion of the basin covered by land cover in the riparian areas was included in the percent.

Forest is a combination of the deciduous forest, coniferous forest, forested wetland and utility right-of-way land cover classes.

Percent Forest in sub-regional basins,2006

2006 Percent of the 100 ft Zone that is Forest*

Each sub-regional basin is colored based on the percent of the 100 ft riparian zone that was forested* land cover in 2006.

  2% to 20%
  21% to 40%
  41% to 50%
  51% to 60%
  61% to 80%
  81% to 97%
   
Area not covered by land cover. Only the portion of the basin covered by land cover in the riparian areas was included in the percent.

Forest is a combination of the deciduous forest, coniferous forest, forested wetland and utility right-of-way land cover classes.

Percent Forest in sub-regional basins,2006

1985-2006 Change in Percent of the Forested* Portion of the 100 ft Zone

Each sub-regional basin is colored based on the change in percent of the forested* area in the 100 ft riparian zone.

Top 25 basins experiencing the greatest percent loss of forest
Change in percent forest
  -12% or greater
  -11% to -6%
  -5.9% to -4%
  -3.9% to -2%
  -1.9% to -0.5%
  -0.5% to 0.5%
  0.6% to 2%
   
Area not covered by land cover. Only the portion of the basin covered by land cover in the riparian areas was included in the percent.

Forest is a combination of the deciduous forest, coniferous forest, forested wetland and utility right-of-way land cover classes.
100ft Area

1985-2006 Absolute Change (acres) in the 100 ft Corridor by Land Cover Class.

300ft change (area)

1985-2006 Absolute Change (acres) in the 300 ft Corridor by Land Cover Class.

Percent Developed in the 300ft zone, 1985

1985 Percent of the 300 ft Zone that is Developed

Each municipality is colored based on the percent of the 300 ft riparian zone that was developed land cover in 1985.

  4% to10%
  11% to 20%
  21% to 30%
  31% to 50%
  51% to 71%
2006 Percent Developed in the 300ft Zone

2006 Percent of the 300 ft Zone that is Developed

Each municipality is colored based on the percent of the 300 ft riparian zone that was developed land cover in 2006.

  4% to10%
  11% to 20%
  21% to 30%
  31% to 50%
  51% to 71%
Percent Developed in the 100ft Zone, 1985

1985-2006 Change in Percent of the Developed Portion of the 300 ft Zone

Each municipality is colored based on the change in percent of the developed class in the 300 ft riparian zone.

  0% to 1%
  1.1% to 2%
  2.1% to 3%
  3.1% to 4%
  4.1% to 9%
Percent Developed in the 100ft Zone, 1985

1985 Percent of the 100 ft Zone that is Developed

Each municipality is colored based on the percent of the 100 ft riparian zone that was developed land cover in 1985.

  4% to10%
  11% to 20%
  21% to 30%
  31% to 50%
  51% to 71%

2006 Percent of the 100 ft Zone that is Developed

Each municipality is colored based on the percent of the 100 ft riparian zone that was developed land cover in 2006.

  4% to10%
  11% to 20%
  21% to 30%
  31% to 50%
  51% to 71%

1985-2006 Change in Percent of the Developed Portion of the 100 ft Zone

Each municipality is colored based on the change in percent of the developed class in the 100 ft riparian zone.

  0% to 1%
  1.1% to 2%
  2.1% to 3%
  3.1% to 4%
  4.1% to 7%