To demonstrate the benefits of properly functioning riparian zones in the heavily row-cropped midwestern U.S., the Agroecology Issue Team of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Iowa State Agroforestry Research Team (!StART) are conducting research on the design and establishment of integrated riparian management systems. The purpose of these systems is to restore the essential ecological functions that these riparian areas once provided. Specific objectives of such buffers are to intercept eroding soil and agricultural chemicals from adjacent crop fields, slow flood waters, stabilize streambanks, provide wildlife habitat, improve the biological integrity of aquatic ecosystems, and provide diversified marketable products (biomass, wood products, etc.)