Estimating Riparian Area Extent and Land Use in the Midwest

The ecological and social importance of riparian areas as landscape elements is undisputed however, there is great uncertainty about the cumulative importance of riparian areas in many landscapes and regions. This is a consequence of inadequate inventory data on the extent, type, and land use/ land cover of riparian resources. The seven-State Midwest Region of the continental United States, yet we are not aware of any general accounting of amount, type, or land use of riparian resources.