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
Additional Resources
- Soil Erosion and Sedimentation in the Great Lakes Region
- Sea Grant HazNet Coastal Erosion
- MDE: Maryland's Stormwater Management Program
To learn more about the major threats to aquatic biodiversity please select from the following: