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Riparian Forest Buffers

Riparian forest buffers provide substantial water quality and wildlife benefits if designed and constructed properly. Leverage our restoration capabilities to recreate beautiful, functional, durable buffers.

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Site Evaluation

Explore and document the unique soil composition, hydrologic profile, and existing vegetation of each riparian buffer. 

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Species Selection

Use our models to choose an optimal set of species attuned to the site. Decide shrub/tree composition and species proportions.

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Plant Palette

Decide the most effective plant forms for the project. Choose an ideal mix of live stakes, bare root, Containerless™, restoration gallons, or air-pruned plants.

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Layout and Planting

Ecologists perform meticulous layouts to optimize long-term survival and natural aesthetics. Our planters achieve 95% establishment success. 

ArcheWild is Pennsylvania’s premier riparian forest buffer contractor. One phone call mobilizes our team to walk you through the entire process to get the job done right. Our project and nursery teams collaborate to deliver outstanding designs and high-quality yet affordable native plants for successful results.

Ecologists design the planting, choosing the correct species and performing the layout. Our nursery grows the plants in multiple forms including our “containerless” process. We can plant hundreds of trees and shrubs – grown in-house, caged and staked – in just a few days.

Contact us to discuss your project.

Contact a Riparian Buffer Specialist

Complete this form to have an ecologist contact you within 24 hours.

Riparian Buffer Portfolio

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Large Mechanical Clearing

For dense, extensive infestations of hardy invasives like barberry, autumn olive, wineberry, multiflora rose, bamboo, kudzu, and more, a large clearing event is often an important first step of an invasive species management program. Specialized equipment is used to mow down invasives and pile or chip the debris.

Care is taken to preserve any desirable native species during clearing, and this type of project often entails a preliminary botanical survey to identify and mark any valuable vegetation. This type of clearing leaves the understory open and readily accessible and brings any invasive regrowth down to a manageable size for follow-up treatment.

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French Creek Riparian Buffer

French Creek is an exceptional quality (EQ1) stream in southeastern Pennsylvania. ArcheWild was awarded the project after a competitive bidding process under the C2P2 grant program.

This project involved extensive invasive control and streambank protection along a 1/2-mile section prior to planting the buffer, which was composed of custom-grown shrubs and trees.

The project also included establishing a 5-acre riparian meadow.

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Aquatic and Riparian Invasives

Riparian and aquatic ecosystems face a number of challenges from highly aggressive invasive species like reed canary grass, phragmites, cattail and Japanese knotweed. These species are particularly difficult to control, and it can take years of investment to achieve long term suppression. 

Additionally, aquatic ecosystems are particularly sensitive, meaning not all control methods are suitable in these settings.

Our trained pesticide applicators utilize specially designed, aquatic-safe herbicide formulations on these sites to ensure there are no unintended impacts to these ecosystems. ArcheWild® has successfully converted many overgrown shorelines to thriving native riparian buffers.

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Cultural Control of Invasives

Once invasive species populations have been managed sufficiently that establishing competitive vegetation is possible, a cover crop of native grasses or perennials can be a highly effective technique for combating invasive regeneration.

The cover crop may or may not be part of the intended long-term plant community for the site, but its primary purpose is to utilize open space and light, making those resources less available to invasive regrowth. The reduced regrowth in turn reduces the amount of investment that is needed to maintain the site.

In the right setting, a cover crop can be one key component of an integrated pest management approach. We can help select the most appropriate cover crop species for your site based on its unique environmental conditions.

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Manual Control Techniques

In some specific settings, mechanical control, or even hand-weeding, may be effective on its own.

This includes situations where invasive species populations are small enough for a mechanical control approach to be cost effective and successful, or in select areas where invasive species are growing in close proximity with desirable native plant populations.

In such settings, selectively cutting, digging or pulling invasive species at the appropriate time may be a suitable method of control.

Our team can help you determine whether this is a suitable approach for your particular situation.

ArcheWild
2191 Hillcrest Rd
Quakertown, PA  18951

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