ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF LAND USE CONVERSION ON RUNOFF AND NUTRIENT LOAD

An agricultural land with intensive cultivation, large catchments with extended rivers and agricultural population of high-density are the primary reasons for higher pollutant loads in freshwater. However, there are problems in pursuing nutrient losses since several parameters, such as variability in soils and climate are associated with heavy rainfall, especially in tropic regions; plant management, limited resources, and insufficient technical support are not consistent in every crop management. Changes in agricultural practices and unmonitored point sources discharge from watershed, have led to algal bloom in abundance, and thus generated eutrophication at the downstream. The complex watershed processes and forecasting the effects of land use change on water quality can be determined by using tools of watershed models. The Hydrological Simulation Programme-FORTRAN (HSPF) uses lumped parameters, continuous model to predict the long-term evaluation, and deterministic for simulating the water quality and quantity process that occur at the watershed. Pervious land segments (PERLND), impervious land segments (IMPLND), and channel reach (RCHRES) modules were used to determine the general water quality and quantity on Johor watershed. Based on calibration and validation, the HSPF model was capable of simulating different runoff seasons. An increment of 60% in agricultural land had increased the annual mean total phosphorus (TP) load and total nitrogen (TN) load by 3.82% and 5.34%, respectively. A 2-fold increase in agricultural land would result in an approximately 2-fold increase in the quantity of annual TN and TP loads. Between TN and TP loads, TP load has potentially increased more than TN load during the dry, wet, and base-flow years. Upon the long-term of water quality and quantity simulation, this study provides essential knowledge for a method-based runoff and nutrient management plan for the Johor watershed.

Download Full-text

Effects of long-term flooding on biogeochemistry and vegetation development in floodplains – a mesocosm experiment to study interacting effects of land use and water quality

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-6-3263-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 3263-3301

Author(s):

A. M. Banach ◽

K. Banach ◽

R. C. J. H. Peters ◽

R. H. M. Jansen ◽

E. J. W. Visser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Sediment Pore Water ◽

Vegetation Development ◽

River Floodplains ◽

Fertilized Soil ◽

Agricultural Use ◽

Peat Formation ◽

Effects Of Land Use

Abstract. The frequent occurrence of summer floods in Eastern Europe, possibly related to climate change, urges the need to understand the consequences of combined water storage and nature rehabilitation as an alternative safety measure instead of raising and reinforcing dykes, for floodplain biogeochemistry and vegetation development. We used a mesocosm design to investigate the possibilities for the creation of permanently flooded wetlands along rivers, in relation to water quality (nitrate, sulphate) and land use (fertilization). Flooding resulted in severe eutrophication of both sediment pore water and surface water, particularly for more fertilized soil and sulphate pollution. Vegetation development was mainly determined by soil quality, resulting in a strong decline of most species from the highly fertilized location, especially in combination with higher nitrate and sulphate concentrations. Soils from the less fertilized location showed, in contrast, luxurious growth of target Carex species regardless water quality. The observed interacting effects of water quality and agricultural use are important in assessing the consequences of planned measures for ecosystem functioning (including peat formation) and biodiversity in river floodplains.

Download Full-text

Spring Creek Representative and Experimental Watershed Project

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc2016-013 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 92 (01) ◽

pp. 43-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Graham Hillman ◽

Richard Rothwell

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Forest Harvesting ◽

Water Yield ◽

The Novel ◽

Land Use Conversion ◽

Basin Morphology ◽

Effects Of Land Use ◽

Northern Alberta

The Spring Creek Representative and Experimental Watershed Project was initiated in 1965 to understand the effects of land-use conversion from boreal forest to agricultural land on mid-size watersheds typical to northern Alberta. The initial project was deactivated in 1986 and the treatment was never completed. In 1991, Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd. and the Alberta Department of Environmental Protection restarted the project with new objectives to determine the hydrologic effects of aspen harvesting and the hydrologic recovery of water yield post-harvest. The impacts of basin morphology and forest harvesting on water quality were also investigated. The objectives of this manuscript are to summarize the novel results and data collected for this project.

Download Full-text

Influence of climate,geology and humans on spatial and temporal nutrient geochemistry in the subtropical Richmond River catchment, Australia

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf99025 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 235 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Lester J. McKee ◽

Bradley D. Eyre ◽

Shahadat Hossain ◽

Peter R. Pepperell

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Point Sources ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Wet Season ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

River Catchment

Water quality was monitored on a spatial and temporal basis in the subtropical Richmond River catchment over two years. Nutrient concentrations varied seasonally in a complex manner with highest concentrations (maximum =3110 µg N L – 1 and 572 µg P L –1 ) associated with floods. However, median (444 µg N L – 1 and 55 µg P L – 1 ) concentrations were relatively low compared with other parts of the world. The forms of nitrogen and phosphorus in streams varied seasonally, with greater proportions of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus during the wet season. Minimum nutrient concentrations were found 2—3 months after flood discharge. With the onset of the dry season, concentration increases were attributed to point sources and low river discharge. There were statistically significant relationships between geology and water quality and nutrient concentrations increased downstream and were significantly related to population density and dairy farming. In spite of varying geology and naturally higher phosphorus in soils and rocks in parts of the catchment, anthropogenic impacts had the greatest effects on water quality in the Richmond River catchment. Rainfall quality also appeared to be related both spatially and seasonally to human activity. Although the responses of the subtropical Richmond River catchment to changes in land use are similar to those of temperate systems of North America and Europe, the seasonal patterns appear to be more complex and perhaps typical of subtropical catchments dominated by agricultural land use.

Download Full-text

Assessment of runoff nitrogen load reduction measures for agricultural catchments

Open Geosciences ◽

10.1515/geo-2018-0032 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 403-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marta Martínková ◽

Tomáš Hejduk ◽

Petr Fučík ◽

Jan Vymazal ◽

Martin Hanel

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Nitrate Nitrogen ◽

Nitrogen Sources ◽

Point Sources ◽

Pollution Sources ◽

Agricultural Land Use ◽

Physical Factors

AbstractWater quality in rural catchments is influenced by many societal and bio-physical factors (e.g. different pollution sources, land use and land cover changes). Good ecological status and surface water quality are currently challenged mainly due to different poorly identified pollution sources. The main objective of this study is to estimate the potential of different measures (land use changes and/or reduction in point sources) and their combinations in decreasing the nitrate-nitrogen load from Jankovský stream catchment. The eco-hydrological model SWIM, which simulates dynamics of nutrients in a catchment was used in the study. The simulations for scenario measures showed that nitrate-nitrogen loads at the outlet can be decreased more by reduction of municipal nitrate-nitrogen sources rather than by agricultural land-use change. Overall, the modeling results demonstrated that the most effective scenario was the combination of total reduction of municipal nitrate-nitrogen sources and agricultural land-use change.

Download Full-text

Effects of long-term flooding on biogeochemistry and vegetation development in floodplains; a mesocosm experiment to study interacting effects of land use and water quality

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-6-1325-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 6 (7) ◽

pp. 1325-1339 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

A. M. Banach ◽

K. Banach ◽

R. C. J. H. Peters ◽

R. H. M. Jansen ◽

E. J. W. Visser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Floodplain Wetlands ◽

Vegetation Development ◽

River Floodplains ◽

Fertilized Soil ◽

Agricultural Use ◽

Effects Of Land Use

Abstract. Raising safety levees and reinforcing dykes is not a sufficient and sustainable solution to the intense winter and summer floods occurring with increasing frequency in Eastern Europe. An alternative, creating permanently flooded floodplain wetlands, requires improved understanding of ecological consequences. A 9 month mesocosm study (starting in January), under natural light and temperature conditions, was initiated to understand the role of previous land use (fertility intensity) and flooding water quality on soil biogeochemistry and vegetation development. Flooding resulted in severe eutrophication of both sediment pore water and surface water, particularly for more fertilized soil and sulphate pollution. Vegetation development was mainly determined by soil quality, resulting in a strong decline of most species from the highly fertilized location, especially in combination with higher nitrate and sulphate concentrations. Soils from the less fertilized location showed, in contrast, luxurious growth of target Carex species regardless water quality. The observed interacting effects of water quality and agricultural use are important in assessing the consequences of planned measures for ecosystem functioning and biodiversity in river floodplains.

Download Full-text

Effects of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change on Nitrogen Transport in Northern Taihu Basin, China during 1990–2017

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12093895 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 3895

Author(s):

Xi Chen ◽

Yanhua Wang ◽

Zucong Cai ◽

Changbin Wu ◽

Chun Ye

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Land Surface ◽

Nitrogen Transport ◽

Overlying Water ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Taihu Basin ◽

Effects Of Land Use

Different land uses have varying degrees of impact on nitrogen transport in the catchments. In recent decades, rapid urbanization has dramatically changed the Earth’s land surface, which may cause excessive nitrogen losses and a negative influence on the environment. In the long-term scale, it is important to explore how the nitrogen transport responds to land use change and its effects on aquatic habitats. In this study, the water and sediment samples were collected from northern Taihu Basin, and nine periods of land use data were obtained using the techniques of supervised classification. Results revealed that the proportion of farmland area decreased from 28.33% to 7.09%, while that of constructed land area increased from 23.85% to 61.72% during 1990–2017. Most of the constructed land originated from farmland, which makes it the dominant land use type due to rapid urbanization. In spatial distribution, high total nitrogen (TN) losses regions remain distributed over constructed land and farmland, which may aggravate the trend of local water quality deterioration. Of these regions, constructed land was the dominant contributor (46.29%–63.62%) of TN losses from surface runoff. In temporal variation, the TN losses of runoff decreased by 47% from 175 t N·a−1 in 1990. However, they increased by 2.91% from 75.28 t N·a−1 after 2013 with rapid population growth and high fertilizer application (>570 kg·ha−1). The nitrogen load in sediments also has a significant response (t = 2.43, p = 0.02) to the effects of land use change on the overlying water, indicating that the role of nitrogen in the sediment as a source and/or sink to the waterbody may change frequently. Given the increasing accumulation of nitrogen loads in highly urbanized regions, water quality would cause more aggravation in the long-term without reasonable land management measures.

Download Full-text

Effects of land use and water management on water quality in the western South New River Canal basin: southeast Florida, 1974-75

10.3133/wri7830 ◽

1978 ◽

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Effects Of Land Use

Download Full-text

N:P ratio in water input to lakes: long-term variation and effects of land use

SIL Proceedings 1922-2010 ◽

10.1080/03680770.2001.11901903 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 1661-1664

Author(s):

Joanna Rybak

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

N:P Ratio ◽

Term Variation ◽

Effects Of Land Use

Download Full-text

A cost-effectiveness analysis of water security and water quality: impacts of climate and land-use change on the River Thames system

Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences ◽

10.1098/rsta.2012.0413 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 371 (2002) ◽

pp. 20120413 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

P. G. Whitehead ◽

J. Crossman ◽

B. B. Balana ◽

M. N. Futter ◽

S. Comber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Algal Blooms ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Point Sources ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

River Thames

The catchment of the River Thames, the principal river system in southern England, provides the main water supply for London but is highly vulnerable to changes in climate, land use and population. The river is eutrophic with significant algal blooms with phosphorus assumed to be the primary chemical indicator of ecosystem health. In the Thames Basin, phosphorus is available from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and from diffuse sources such as agriculture. In order to predict vulnerability to future change, the integrated catchments model for phosphorus (INCA-P) has been applied to the river basin and used to assess the cost-effectiveness of a range of mitigation and adaptation strategies. It is shown that scenarios of future climate and land-use change will exacerbate the water quality problems, but a range of mitigation measures can improve the situation. A cost-effectiveness study has been undertaken to compare the economic benefits of each mitigation measure and to assess the phosphorus reductions achieved. The most effective strategy is to reduce fertilizer use by 20% together with the treatment of effluent to a high standard. Such measures will reduce the instream phosphorus concentrations to close to the EU Water Framework Directive target for the Thames.

Download Full-text