NATURAL BUFFER

A low sloping area of maintained grassy or woody vegetation located between a pollutant source and a waterbody. A natural buffer is formed when a designated portion of a developed piece of land is left unaltered from its natural state during development. A natural vegetative buffer differs from a vegetated filter strip in that it is natural and in that they need not be used solely for water quality purposes. To be effective, such areas must be protected against concentrated flow.