Recreational all-terrain vehicles cause similar impacts. A degraded riparian area. The channel is downcut and banks are near vertical. There is little riparian vegetation to protect stream banks against further erosion or to slow run-off and reduce transportation of sediment downstream. Removing or altering vegetation exposes areas of bare ground, increasing the potential for erosion.
Water runs off the surface before it has an opportunity to soak into the soil.
Proper land management recognizes and maintains this difference so benefits can be realized. Every deteriorated riparian area can be rehabilitated. Natural water-courses that are cultivated are erosion prone. Grassed waterways are broad, shallow channels, seeded to perennial forages that carry surface run-off with a minimum of erosion. Protecting or establishing shrubs, trees, grass or other vegetation in riparian areas to help prevent shoreline erosion and filter agricultural run-off before it contaminates water bodies.