Buffer zone
A buffer zone is a neutral zonal area that lies between two or more bodies of land, usually pertaining to countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types of buffer zones are demilitarized zones, border zones and certain restrictive easement zones and green belts. Such zones may be comprised by a sovereign state, forming a buffer state.
This article is about buffer zones in general. For use relating to abortion, see Legal protection of access to abortion. For the Karachi neighbourhood, see Buffer Zone, Karachi.Buffer zones have various purposes, politically or otherwise. They can be set up for a multitude of reasons, such as to prevent violence, protect the environment, shield residential and commercial zones from industrial accidents or natural disasters, or even isolate prisons. Buffer zones often result in large uninhabited regions that are themselves noteworthy in many increasingly developed or crowded parts of the world.
Ecological functions of conservation[edit]
Water quality improvement[edit]
The quality of surface water in many countries is getting worse due to the misuse of land.[5] Although the buffer zone occupies a small area, it greatly improves the quality of water in the agricultural watershed due to its filtering effect on nutrients in the underground water and surface water.
Because farmland is sprayed with large amounts of pesticides, some of which can seep into surface water, fish and other aquatic life can be negatively affected, which in turn can lead to environmental damage. Vegetation buffer has been proved to be an effective filter for sediment, especially for sediment-bound pesticides.[6] When pesticides are sprayed in excess, a vegetation buffer can be built to reduce the penetration of pesticides into surface water. The buffer zone also prevents heavy metals or toxins from spreading to protected areas.[7]
Riverbank stabilization[edit]
When riverbanks are low due to plant roots entering the interior of the riverbank vertically, the sediment of riverbank is affected by the action of said plant roots, and the ability to resist erosion is higher than that without plant roots. But when the riverbanks are higher, the roots of the plants do not penetrate deeply into the soil, and the lakeshore soil is not very strong. Herbaceous plants can play a role to some extent, but in the long term, vegetation buffer zone can effectively solve the problem of water level rise and water erosion.
The adsorption capacity of a buffer zone can reduce the speed of surface runoff and increase the effective water content of soil. Through increasing soil organic matter content and improving soil structure, a buffer zone can have a positive effect on soil water storage performance. In addition, plant roots make the soil stronger, withstand waves and rainstorm, mitigate the erosion of riverbanks by floods, and effectively control the erosion of the beach.