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Water quality in streams around the world continues to be degraded by a series of human activities that feed pollutants into the vulnerable stream ecosystem via surface and subsurface runoff. This continues to accelerate global biodiversity and habitat losses within the stream environments and across entire watersheds with net adverse effects on public health and the ability of communities and ecosystems to adapt or become resilient to the prevalent impacts of climate change. One commonly used approach for protecting stream water from pollution is the use of vegetated riparian buffer zones to mitigate pollutants in surface and subsurface runoff prior to runoff entry into the stream channel. The optimal success of this approach requires land and water resource managers to understand the mechanisms by which riparian buffer zones function and the full range of factors that influence the effectiveness of riparian buffer vegetation in abating stream water pollution. Despite this need, resource managers in different geographical locations around the world still struggle to understand the linkages between riparian vegetation and stream chemical quality. This literature review therefore sought to synthesize findings from various scientific articles on the ways in which the major attributes of riparian vegetation [type, age, width, restoration and shading effect] influence the effectiveness of riparian vegetation in protecting the chemical quality of water in streams. This was aimed at generating conclusions and perspectives that could improve academic knowledge and natural resource managers’ understanding of the intricate linkage between riparian vegetation and changes in water chemistry. The study finds that the factors of riparian vegetation type, age, width, restoration and shading effects require due consideration in the development of riparian buffer zone and stream water chemical quality management interventions. I find that these factors require a high degree of integration, triangulation and context-specificity to achieve the objectives of riparian management intervention. I further find that stream water quality decision-making processes need to combine riparian vegetation-based approaches with other measures for mitigating and containing the spillage of pollutants at the source. / <p>Presentation was conducted via Skype</p>

Os estudos que envolveram os três capítulos da minha tese englobam padrões de distribuição dos insetos aquáticos, agregando informações sobre características funcionais dessas comunidades. No primeiro capítulo avaliei a influência da heterogeneidade do substrato sobre as características funcionais dos insetos bentônicos. Concluí que em ambientes naturais o substrato heterogêneo apresentou combinações específicas de atributos, associados principalmente ao tamanho do corpo e hábitos alimentares. Esses atributos exercem forte influência sobre o funcionamento do ecossistema dos riachos. No segundo capítulo verifiquei a variação temporal dos atributos funcionais dos insetos aquáticos, com enfoque para organismos especialistas e generalistas. Nos primeiros estágios da colonização organismos coexistem independente dos atributos, isso porque a comunidade mostrou atributos similares. Nos estágios mais avançados de colonização os organismos generalistas resistiram a fatores bióticos e abióticos, mostrando uma variedade de atributos superior à que foi encontrada no início da colonização. Conclui que a ausência ou diminuição de organismos especialistas pode ser um indicador de degradação ambiental. No terceiro capítulo avaliei se existe efeito da presença/ausência de cobertura vegetal considerando a distância entre os riachos sobre as comunidades de insetos. Concluí que a cobertura vegetal no entorno dos riachos é um fator determinante para a distribuição espacial dos insetos aquáticos. Em locais com cobertura vegetal, insetos aquáticos com maior habilidade de dispersão apresentaram decaimento da similaridade com a distância, contrário do que foi verificado para locais sem vegetação. Já para dispersores menos hábeis, riachos mais distantes apresentaram comunidades menos similares para locais come sem cobertura vegetal. Com isso, conclui que a presença de vegetação no entorno dos riachos pode ser uma barreira física que limita a dispersão dos insetos com maior capacidade de voo. Finalizando, este trabalho ressalta a influência de fatores locais (substrato) e regionais (vegetação/limitação de dispersão) sobre as características funcionais da fauna aquática. Além disso, a manutenção da heterogeneidade do substrato e da vegetação ripária, contribuiu para a manutenção da diversidade funcional das comunidades de insetos aquáticos. / Studies of my thesis include aspects of distribution patterns of aquatic insects and aggregate information on functional characteristics. In the first chapter, I evaluated the influence of substrate heterogeneity on the functional characteristics of benthic insects. I concluded that in natural environments, heterogeneous substrate select specific traits combinations associated mainly to body size and feeding habits, attributes that exert a strong influence on the functioning of ecosystems. In the second chapter, I verified the temporal variation of the functional attributes of aquatic insects, focusing on specialist and generalist taxa. In early stages of colonization, organisms coexist independent of the attributes, because the community showed similar attributes. In the last stages, specialists were able to resist to biotic and abiotic factors showing a variety of attributes that was not founded at the beginning of colonization. In conclusion, the absence or decrease of specialists can be an indicator of environmental degradation. In the third chapter, I used a functional approach with emphasis on attributes related to dispersion. We conclude that the canopy cover of streams is a determining factor for the distribution of aquatic insects. Aquatic insects with greater ability to disperse showed a weak pattern of distance decay of similarity, only in streams with grassland. For weak dispersers patterns of was similar for the two streams (open and forest riparian vegetation). Thus, we conclude that the presence of vegetation streams can be a physical barrier that limits the insect dispersal, especially taxa with greater abilities to disperse. Finally, this study highlights the influence of local (substrate) and regional (limiting dispersion) factors on the functional characteristics of the aquatic fauna. In addition, maintaining the diversity of substrate and riparian vegetation, contributes to the functional and taxonomic diversity of aquatic insect communities.

Orientador: Virgínia Sanches Uieda / Resumo: A remoção da vegetação ripária pode ser uma importante causa de redução da diversidade e alterações na distribuição de invertebrados bentônicos ao longo do curso de riachos. O presente trabalho foi realizado em trechos de terceira ordem de dois riachos, um trecho com mata ripária (fechado) e outro sem (aberto) em cada riacho, e em dois meses da estação seca de dois anos consecutivos, a fim de verificar possíveis alterações espaciais e temporais na estrutura da fauna de invertebrados bentônicos. Também foram coletados dados de 12 variáveis ambientais e analisados junto com a abundância da fauna com o objetivo de verificar a interação entre estes dois grupos de dados na diferenciação entre as quatro amostras realizadas (dois trechos e dois anos, por riacho). A manutenção ou retirada da vegetação ripária não atuou isoladamente sobre a estrutura da fauna de invertebrados bentônicos, a qual foi também influenciada pela posição (montante ou jusante) do trecho fechado e por características estruturais próprias de cada trecho estudado, como presença de intervenções antrópicas nas proximidades (açudes) e tipo de substrato do leito. No riacho que apresenta o trecho fechado a montante, a mata contribui com matéria orgânica em suspensão e detritos vegetais para o trecho aberto a jusante, aumentando a oferta de abrigo e alimento para a fauna, diversificada e abundante nos dois trechos. Por outro lado, a grande quantidade de macrófitas no trecho aberto, localizado a montante no outro riach... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Removal of riparian vegetation can be an important cause of reduced diversity and changes in the distribution of benthic invertebrates along streams. The present work was carried out in third order stretches of two streams, one stretch with riparian (closed) and one without (open) forest in each stream, and in two months of the dry season of two consecutive years, in order to verify possible changes Spatial and temporal changes in the fauna structure of benthic invertebrates. Data were also collected from 12 environmental variables and analyzed together with the abundance of the fauna, in order to verify the interaction between these two data groups in the differentiation between the four samples (two stretches and two years, by stream). The maintenance or removal of riparian vegetation did not act alone on the structure of the benthic invertebrate fauna, which was also influenced by the position (upstream or downstream) of the closed section and by the structural characteristics of each section studied, such as the presence of anthropic Proximities (weirs) and type of substrate of the bed. In the creek that presents the enclosed stretch upstream, the forest contributes with organic matter in suspension and vegetal debris for the open stretch downstream, increasing the offer of shelter and food for the fauna, diversified and abundant in both stretches. On the other hand, the large amount of macrophytes in the open section, located upstream in the other stream, provides a hete... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:37:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jeferson_Klein.pdf: 625647 bytes, checksum: b23f97cce22e196b364903593684071f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-06-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho teve como objetivo testar o efeito de um protetor físico em pontos de semeadura no processo de revegetação de duas espécies nativas em matas ciliares usando a semeadura direta. As semeaduras foram realizadas em 22 março, 22 junho e 24 de setembro de 2004 em uma área de pastagem na propriedade de Atílio Neuman localizada na margem esquerda do rio Guavirá, no município de Marechal Cândido Rondon Paraná, situada no Lote 304 do 12º perímetro da Fazenda Britânia entre as coordenadas geográficas, latitude S -24º 32 20 e longitude W - 54º 03 39 , altitude de 420 metros. O delineamento experimental usado foi o de blocos casualidados. Usou-se as espécies timburi (Enterolobium contortisiliquu (Vell.) Morong.) e canafístula (Peltophorum dubium (Spreng.)) com ou sem a presença de protetores físicos. Como protetor físico foi utilizado garrafa de refrigerante com capacidade de 2000 ml. As sementes usadas foram obtidas por meio da fazenda experimental da UNIOESTE, Campus Santa Helena, Paraná, o teste de germinação e a quebra da dormência foi realizado no Laboratório de Sementes. As variáveis avaliadas foram: a) emergência ao final de 30 dias; b) sobrevivência, densidade populacional, altura da muda, comprimento da copa, e diâmetro de coleto 90, 180 e 270 dias após a semeadura. Os resultados obtidos possibilitam concluir que tanto timburi quanto canafístula apresentaram potencialidade para serem utilizados na revegetação de matas ciliares. O uso de garrafas se mostrou um eficiente material protetor tanto na emergência, sobrevivência e densidade populacional. O protetor físico possibilitou a formação de um microclima aumentando significativamente a temperatura do ar no interior dos recipientes em todas as épocas avaliadas. Ao final de 90, 180 e 270 dias pode se observar efeito benéfico do uso de protetores físicos no aumento da altura de mudas, no comprimento de copa e diâmetro de coleto

The increasing world population and with it the increased pressure on food production are likely to challenge the availability of quality fresh water resources in the near future. To compound the looming water crisis, caused by an increased demand for water available for agricultural production, the quality of our fresh water resources is also likely to suffer from the consequences of increased population pressure, i.e. urbanization of land and growth of industries, and food production, i.e. agricultural use of land. Moreton Bay, South East Queensland, Australia, is listed under the United Nations Convention on Wetlands and is also a declared Marine Park. The Moreton Bay area, however, is already one of the five fastest growing urban areas in the developed world. Prognoses about future population growth and urban and industrial development in the area, have hence given rise to growing concerns about the future water quality in this international environmentally important area. Therefore the aim of the current study was to investigate the fate of nutrients in freshwater streams in the Moreton Bay area in order to gain a better understanding of nutrient pathways in aquatic systems and assist in refining the National Water Quality Management Strategy to provide better management of our waterways. To achieve this, the effects of land use on water quality were determined at 22 study sites in the Brisbane River Catchment. Within the catchment five main types of land use were identified, including urban, rural residential, cropping, grazing and mixed types of land use. Water quality was sampled during three seasons: the pre-wet (October - November), wet (December - March) and dry (April - August) season. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in ambient stream water varied significantly spatially, i.e. types of land use, and temporally, i.e. seasons. At some sites, during certain times of the year, nutrient concentrations were found to exceed the range recommended by the Australian Water Quality guidelines. Nutrient concentrations were particular high in urban areas, especially during the dry season. It was also found that the 15N signatures in aquatic plants, i.e epipelic algae, correlated strongly with in-stream nitrogen concentrations. The large variability of in-stream nutrient concentrations, and the related changes in nitrogen isotopic signatures in aquatic plants, made it obvious to suggest that changes in land use may significantly impact on water quality in the catchment. Other changes in land use, for example riparian vegetation clearing, are also commonly observed in areas under urban, industry and/or agricultural growth pressure. This is of particular concern, given riparian vegetation is important not only in controlling nutrient and other organic matter input into streams, but also in regulating light levels for in-stream primary production. Previously riparian zones have been shown to be a prime source of carbon and energy for aquatic food webs in some studies, whereas other studies suggested the main driver of food webs is in-stream primary production. The current study used stable isotope analysis track carbon and nitrogen pathways through aquatic systems and determine the primary source of carbon and energy in aquatic food webs. Despite large spatial and temporal variability of 13C, aquatic consumers were closely tracking the carbon isotope signatures of plants and it was suggested that epilithic and epipelic algae are the main contributors to the carbon and energy budget of aquatic consumers.In realizing this importance of algae in aquatic systems, the next step in this study was to examine the relative importance of light and nutrient availability to periphyton and the effects of changes of these variables on plant biomass and primary production. In an in-situ experiment the levels of light and nutrients available to periphyton, were altered. Although nutrients and light may have colimited standing crop of periphyton, other variables were clearly limited by light. Parallel to this experiment on periphyton, the nutrient availability to Vallisneria spp. was experimentally altered to investigate the effects of changes in nutrient availability and nutrient limitation on other aquatic plants. The biomass of this submerged macrophyte increased three-fold in nitrogen and phosphorus sufficient areas over nutrient limited treatments. The physiological response, i.e. changes in concentrations of amino acids, of periphyton to changes in environmental conditions was also investigated on a large scale, i.e. spatial and temporal variability of amino acids, and a local scale, i.e. amino acid changes in artificially altered light and nutrient availability. This response was of particular interest in this study, as it was previously shown that physiological changes in plants impact on the quality of plants as food for consumers. The physiological changes in aquatic plants could thus provide an important link between nutrient input into streams (e.g. from terrestrial sources), impacts on aquatic plants (e.g.. nutrient uptake and physiological responses in plants) and effects on aquatic consumers (e.g. changes in food quality of plants and therefore impacts on biomass, growth and overall health of aquatic consumers).

Healthy riparian vegetation has a positive impact on the adjacent river. Unfortunately, riparian vegetation is often threatened by human impacts such as dam construction and clearing. To gain the knowledge underlying the effects of such impacts and to aid riparian rehabilitation, the objective of this thesis was: to determine riparian vegetation association with, and response to, variation in fluvial geomorphology over several scales and consequently to fluvial disturbance. Only woody riparian plant species were considered. Flood disturbance was the unifying theme of this thesis. Linked to this theme and arising from the main objective was the supposition that plant interactions with the abiotic environment, but not biotic interactions between species, control riparian species distribution because of frequent fluvial disturbances. Woody riparian vegetation and riverine environmental variables were recorded along the upper Murrumbidgee River at three spatial scales based on a geomorphic hierarchy for Chapter 2. Multivariate analysis was used to group species and to associate environmental variables with vegetation at the three spatial scales. Observations at the two larger scales, of river segment (site) and riparian reach (transect), identified a river-longitudinal speciescomposition gradient associated with geology, river width and stream channel slope. Observations at the smallest scale of geomorphic units (plot) identified a lateral riparian gradient and also the longitudinal gradient; these gradients were associated with geomorphic variation, land use, plot elevation and also river longitudinal variables. Using the same data set, but varying the spatial scale of analysis caused the species composition pattern to change between scales. Increase in scale of observation, that is from geomorphic unit to reach and segment scales, resulted in disproportionate importance of rarer species and decreased importance of some key riparian species at the larger scales. It would appear that in this instance the geomorphic unit scale best described patches of different species composition because this scale had high spatial resolution and was also able to identify multiple gradients of environmental variation. It was recommended that riparian sampling take place at scales that represent dominant gradients in the riparian zone. These gradients are represented by geomorphic scales, indicating the appropriateness of using geomorphic based scales for observation of riparian vegetation. Chapter 3 considered whether there is a geomorphic template upon which riparian vegetation is patterned and whether it is associated with process variables, such as flooding and soil type. This question was investigated at different spatial scales in three ways: i) by an experiment to determine whether soil nutrient condition affects plant growth; ii) by graphical analysis of trends between geomorphic units, species and process variables; and iii) by analysis of vegetation distribution data. The smallest scale (meso) found experimental differences in plant growth because of soil type. Plants growing in sand had the lowest performance, with an average plant Relative Growth Rate (RGR) of 0.01, compared to plants growing in soils with small amounts of silt or clay particles, with an average plant RGR of 0.04. This pattern was attributed to differences in nutrients. Clear relationships were demonstrated at the larger geomorphic unit scale between species distribution and process variables. For example, hydrology and substratum type were found to be associated with geomorphic units and species. The largest scale considered in Chapter 3 was the riparian reach scale. At this scale species were clearly grouped around reach type. Therefore, geomorphology was considered to be a template for riparian species distribution. Findings in this chapter suggested that geomorphic variables should be good predictors of riparian species distribution. This hypothesis was tested and supported in Chapter 6. The experiments reported in Chapter 4 aimed to determine whether inundation depth and duration affected plant performance and survival for five common riparian zone species. Riparian seedling patterns in the field were also compared with experimental results to test whether species performance was reflected by field distribution. The experiments that were conducted included an inundation period and depth experiment, and a survival period test whilst under complete inundation. Biomass and height relative growth rates were determined, and the results were analysed using factorial Analysis of Variance. Obligate riparian species (Callistemon sieberi, Casuarina Cunninghamiana, Leptospermum obovatum) were found to be tolerant of inundation duration and depth, to the point where inundation provided a growth subsidy. On the other hand, non-obligate riparian species (Acacia dealbata, Kunzea ericoides) were either just tolerant of inundation or showed a negative growth response. For instance, C. sieberi demonstrated an average height RGR of 0.04 after complete inundation and 0.007 when not inundated, while A. dealbata had an average height RGR of 0.001 after complete inundation and 0.01 when not inundated. These experimental findings were found to closely reflect both seedling and adult plant distribution in the field such that inundation tolerant species were found close to the river and intolerant species further away. Thus, the conclusion was drawn that riparian species establishment and distribution is affected by inundation and that change to the flood regime could have serious impacts on riparian zone plant composition. The other aim of this chapter was to determine whether optimum germination temperatures were associated with flood or rainfall. Growth chamber germination trials were conducted at air temperatures of 15�C, 20�C and 25�C to determine the 'best' germination temperature. These germination patterns at different temperatures were then related to annual variation in field temperature, flooding period and rainfall. No evidence was found to suggest a relationship between ideal germination temperature and flood season, rather it was suggested that germination was patchy through time and may simply reflect recent rainfall. Investigations that were reported in Chapter 5 aimed to elucidate relationships between species and flow velocity variables. Two experiments were conducted: i) a flume experiment to determine the effect of flow velocity on plant growth; and ii) an experiment to observe the response of plants to damage (imitating flood damage) and inundation. Field observations of species distribution and flow velocity related variables were also conducted to put the flume results into a real-world context. Treatments for the flume experiment were fast flow velocity (0.74 m s-1), slow velocity (0.22 m s-1) and no velocity (control) but still inundated. All treatments were flooded completely for four days. Subsequent biomass and height relative growth rates were determined, and the results were analysed using factorial Analysis of Variance. Results were unexpected, given that obligate species exposed to the fastest velocity had the highest growth rate with an average height RGR of 0.046, compared to plants in still water, which grew the least with an average height RGR of 0.013. It was hypothesised that this response was because relatively greater carbon dioxide and oxygen levels were available in the moving water compared to the still water. With regard to shoot damage, the species that were nonobligate riparian species lost more leaves from velocity treatment than the obligate riparian species. The cut and flood experiment found growth of the obligate species (Casuarina cunninghamiana) to be greater after cutting than the non-obligate species. Flooding was not found to have an effect in the cut and flood experiment, probably because the period to sampling after flood treatment was longer (4 weeks) than other flooding experiments (3 weeks). Field observations were found to support the experimental findings, with a gradient of species across the riparian zone that reflected potential flood velocities. Therefore, velocity is one of a suite of riparian hydrological factors that are partially responsible for the gradient of species across the riparian zone. Potentially the absence of flooding could result in a homogeneous mix of species, rather than a gradient, except on the very edge of the river. The study that was reported in Chapter 6 investigated a technique for predicting riparian vegetation distribution. One of the aims of this investigation was to address a current riparian rehabilitation shortfall, which was how to objectively select species to plant for rehabilitation. Field data were collected from three confined river valleys in south-eastern New South Wales. Using data on plant species occurrence and site and plot measures of soils, hydrology and climate, an AUSRIVAS-style statistical model, based on cluster and discriminant analysis, was developed to predict the probability of species occurrence. The prediction accuracy was 85 % when tested with a separate set of plots not used in model construction. Problems were encountered with the prediction of rarer species, but if the probability of selection was varied according to the frequency of species occurrence then rarer species would be predicted more often. Various models were tested for accuracy including three rivers combined at the geomorphic unit (plot) scale and riparian reach (transect) scale in addition to a Murrumbidgee River plot scale model. Surprisingly, the predictive accuracy of the all rivers and single river models were approximately the same. However, the difference between the large scale and small scale models pointed to the importance of including small scale flood-related parameters to predict riparian vegetation. When these riparian predictions were compared to predictive outcomes from a hill slope model, which was assumed to be affected by fewer disturbances (i.e. flooding), predictive accuracies were not very different. Overall though, predictive accuracy for riparian vegetation was high, but not good enough to support the supposition that riparian vegetation is abiotically controlled because of frequent flood disturbance. Nevertheless, geomorphology and consequently flood effects are still important for the determination of the riparian community composition. Overall, riparian vegetation was found to be closely linked to its environment (evidenced in Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5) in a predictable manner (Chapter 6). Species pattern relied on flood disturbance affecting species distribution. Some riparian species were found to be highly tolerant of flooding and gained a growth advantage after flooding (Chapters 4 and 5). Therefore, flood tolerance was important for the formation of a species gradient across the riparian zone. These species tolerances and growth requirements reflect riparian geomorphic pattern (Chapter 3), which was suggested to form a template on which riparian vegetation is structured.

No description available.

Riparian systems are comprised of interacting aquatic and terrestrial elements that contribute distinctively to the natural capital of arid landscapes. Riparian vegetation is a major component of riparian systems, providing the ecosystem services required to support watershed health. The spatial and temporal distributions of riparian vegetation are influenced by hydrologic and disturbance processes operating at scales from local to regional. I believe both these processes are well suited to monitoring using synoptic and multitemporal approaches.The research in this dissertation is presented as 3 related studies. The first study focused on historical riparian dynamics related to natural disturbance and land use. Using current and historical riparian vegetation maps, we examined vegetation change within catchments of varying land use intensity. Results suggest that land use activities and wastewater subsidy affect the rate of development and diversity of riparian community typesThe second study used moderate resolution satellite imagery to monitor changes in riparian structure and pattern within a land cover change framework. We classified Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite imagery of the Upper Santa Cruz River watershed using Classification and Regression Tree (CART) models. We tested the ability of our models to capture change at landscape, floodplain, and catchment scales, centering our change detection efforts on a riparian tree die-off episode and found they can be used to describe both general landscape dynamics and disturbance-related riparian change.The third study examined historical and environmental factors contributing to spatial patterns of vegetation following two riparian tree die-offs. We used high resolution aerial imagery to map locations of individual live and dead trees and collected a suite of environmental variables and historical variables related directly and indirectly to land use and disturbance history. We tested for differences between groups of live and dead trees using Multi-response Permutation Procedures and found strong relationships between historical factors and mortality incidence.The results from these studies demonstrate the importance of examining historical information and spatial linkages across scales when monitoring riparian vegetation. From a land management perspective, the results identify the need for landscape-level, ecosystem-based management programs to maintain functioning and spatially connected riparian systems.

The constant analysis of the condition of ciliary vegetation is fundamental in the management and conservation of natural resources as well as in the maintenance of local biodiversity. The main objective of this study is to detect and analyze the changes of vegetation cover of riparian areas in the Rio Vacacaí Mirim basin, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, using the technique of Radiometric Rotation Controlled by Axis of Non-Change (RCEN). The RCEN technique allows the control of the digital algorithm of the detection of these changes, through the radiometric rotation of the multitemporal image and band of the visible spectrum, generating an image detection of these changes. In this study, images from the remote sensor Thematic Mapper - Landsat 5 were used to visualize and obtain information from research areas and GIS to perform RCEN procedures and image visualization. At work, pairs of images were analyzed, between the years of 2001 and 2011, in periods of 5 to 10 years, allowing the analysis of these changes over time. The resulting detection images, after statistical analysis, were categorized into three classes: degradation, preservation and recovery of vegetation cover. These results are based on the values of the pixels analyzed in each of the studied scenes: in the areas of degradation the pixels present themselves with positive (clearer) values, in the preservation areas the pixels present themselves with values close to zero and in the recovery areas present negative (darker) values. The analysis of the resulting cartographic material allowed a broader and more detailed view of the change of the scene along the Vacacaí Mirim basin, resulting from the impact of the anthropic actions suffered and the new landscape of soybean cultivation, replacing the bovine farming areas. In the study it was verified how much the basin was degraded during 10 years, but in the analysis of the drainage along the same approximately 30% of the same one was in stage of conservation and regeneration. Increasingly, the need for studies, monitoring and inspection of riparian areas, so important in maintaining the aquatic ecosystem, availability and quality of water and preservation of biodiversity, as a consequence, with the mandatory registration of all rural owners in the Environmental Registry Rural, demonstrating the importance of research. / A análise constante da condição das vegetações ciliares é fundamental na gestão e conservação dos recursos naturais assim como na manutenção da biodiversidade local. O objetivo principal desse estudo é detectar e analisar as mudanças de cobertura vegetal de áreas ciliares na bacia do Rio Vacacaí Mirim, no estado do Rio Grande do Sul utilizando a técnica de Rotação Radiométrica Controlada por Eixo de Não Mudança (RCEN). A técnica RCEN permite o controle do algoritmo digital da detecção dessas mudanças, através da rotação radiométrica da imagem multitemporal e banda do espectro visível, gerando uma imagem detecção dessas mudanças. Neste estudo foram utilizadas imagens do sensor remoto Thematic Mapper - Landsat 5, para visualização e obtenção de informações das áreas de pesquisa e SIG para realização dos procedimentos da técnica RCEN e visualização das imagens detecção de mudanças. No trabalho, pares de imagens foram analisados, compreendidos entre os anos de 2001 e 2011, em períodos de 5 a 10 anos, possibilitando a análise dessas mudanças ao longo do tempo. As imagens detecção resultantes, após análises estatísticas, foram categorizadas em três classes: degradação, preservação e recuperação da cobertura vegetal. Estes resultados se baseiam nos valores dos pixels analisados em cada uma das cenas estudadas: nas áreas de degradação os pixels se apresentam com valores positivos (mais claros), nas áreas de preservação os pixels se apresentam com valores próximos a zero e nas áreas de recuperação, apresentam valores negativos (mais escuros). A análise do material cartográfico resultante, possibilitou uma visão mais ampla e detalhada da mudança da cena ao longo da bacia do Vacacaí Mirim, através do resultado do impacto das ações antrópicas sofridas e da nova paisagem de cultivo da soja em substituição a áreas de bovinocultura. No estudo verificou-se o quanto a bacia foi degradada ao longo de 10 anos, porém, na análise da drenagem ao longo da mesma aproximadamente 30% da mesma encontrou-se em estágio de conservação e regeneração. A cada dia aumenta a necessidade de estudos, monitoramento e fiscalização de áreas ciliares, tão importantes na manutenção do ecossistema aquático, da disponibilidade e qualidade da água e preservação da biodiversidade, consequentemente, com a obrigatoriedade da inscrição de todos os proprietários rurais no Cadastro Ambiental Rural, demonstrando a importância da pesquisa.