ABSTRACT
The landscape matrix is the most extensive and connected of the elements composing a landscape and, therefore, is functionally the most dominant landscape element. The overall pattern of landscape elements may include networks in which patch number and configuration, corridor connectivity, and boundary shapes affect flows and interactions of energy, matter, and species which is particularly relevant to riparian landscapes. Most riparian ecosystems serving as buffers in agricultural landscapes are functioning essentially as natural buffers with very little management. As fundamental components of agricultural landscapes, riparian buffers mitigate off-site effects of production systems, including increased nutrient, sediment, and pesticide loading. The ecological sustainability of the buffer systems, and in turn the ecological sustainability of the agricultural landscape, ultimately will be governed by properties of the buffer systems interacting with properties of the production system. Riparian forest buffers provide a large number of local and societal benefits in agricultural landscapes.
