LAUSR

A lot of attention has been given to the importance of riparian zones as a nitrogen buffer during the last 30 years. Expectations were high and have resulted often in mismanagement practices. This paper aims at revisiting during this period the main research advancement, questions generated, and the progress in understanding the role of interactions between land and water in river system functioning. We describe how the seminal papers published in the 1980s on the role of riparian zone as nitrogen buffer have triggered several fundamental and applied questions related to the mechanisms at stake or their long efficiency in different hydrological and climatic contexts. We then address how this local riparian buffer capacity can be evaluated at the small drainage basin scale. We finally touch upon the restoration and protection of riparian zones in the context of climate change and especially its potential role on local and global water fluxes and other key aquatic ecosystem functions.