"Riparian zones can be identified by the presence of vegetation that requires free or unbound water or conditions that are more moist than normal (fig. 1) (Franklin and Dyrness 1973, Minore and Smith 1971). Riparian zones can vary considerably in size and vegetative complex because of the many combinations that can be created between water sources (fig. 2) and physical characteristics of a site. Such characteristics include gradient, aspect, topography,...