Sedimentation

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Some land management practices including urbanization, farming and forestry practices, and industrialization have all contributed to the increased flow of sediments, in turn impacting aquatic resources. Over time, demands on land space and associated resources have caused the removal of important stabilizing vegetation and riparian buffers, altered wetlands, and increased the amounts of impervious surfaces covering the land. As a result of these activities, sediment runoff into rivers, lakes, streams, and estuaries has increased and is adversely affecting the biodiversity of these areas in a number of ways including:

Changing the physical structure of habitats and endangering those species requiring specific depth, light, and water velocity conditions through increased deposition
Carrying pollutants such as heavy metals, organic pollutants, and nutrients through sediment runoff
Interfering with the respiration of species that rely on gills to breathe and damaging delicate organisms such as corals in reef communities
Covering important spawning habitats of fish and other organisms

Soil erosion from construction - photo by MDSOS

Additional Resources

To learn more about the major threats to aquatic biodiversity please select from the following:

Biological Indicators | Aquatic Biodiversity | Statistical Primer

Sedimentation

To learn more about the major threats to aquatic biodiversity please select from the following:

Additional Resources

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