Land-use effects on water quality in an intensively managed catchment in the Australian humid tropics

2002 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 931 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. V. Bramley ◽  
C. H. Roth
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Ecological Impact ◽  
Humid Tropics ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Total N ◽  
Sugarcane Production ◽  
Rural Land Use ◽  
Intensively Managed ◽  
Stream Waters

The minimization of environmental degradation that might arise as a result of agricultural production requires a detailed knowledge of the off-site effects of rural land use. This paper reports the results of an assessment of the effect of land use on water quality in the lower part of the catchment of the Herbert River, an intensively managed part of the humid tropics in north Queensland, where the major land uses are sugarcane production, cattle grazing and forestry. Compared with grazing and forestry, sugarcane production was found to have a significant impact on riverine water quality as evidenced by higher concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and total suspended solids (TSS) in stream-waters draining land under sugarcane, a finding that was unaffected by the inclusion of sampling sites dominated by upper-catchment grazing. However, land use had no significant effect on the partitioning of N and P between mineral, organic and particulate phases in stream-waters, although the proportion in particulate form tended to be least for sugarcane-dominated sites. Irrespective of land use, the concentrations of both total N and P were dominated by soluble fractions, particularly in organic combination. These results suggest that, irrespective of the ecological impact of these nutrient and sediment loadings on freshwaters and the near-shore zone, there is considerable room for improvement in land management in the Australian humid tropics in terms of minimizing off-site export of both nutrients and sediment.

scholarly journals Land Use and Stream Nitrogen Concentrations in Agricultural Watersheds Along the Central Coast of California

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 615-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Los Huertos ◽  
Lowell E. Gentry ◽  
Carol Shennan
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Total N ◽  
Nitrogen Concentrations ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
N Loading

In coastal California nitrogen (N) in runoff from urban and agricultural land is suspected to impair surface water quality of creeks and rivers that discharge into the Monterey Bay Sanctuary. However, quantitative data on the impacts of land use activities on water quality are largely limited to unpublished reports and do not estimate N loading. We report on spatial and temporal patterns of N concentrations for several coastal creeks and rivers in central California. During the 2001 water year, we estimated that the Pajaro River at Chittenden exported 302.4 Mg of total N. Nitrate-N concentrations were typically <1 mg N l–1in grazing lands, oak woodlands, and forests, but increased to a range of 1 to 20 mg N l–1as surface waters passed through agricultural lands. Very high concentrations of nitrate (in excess of 80 mg N l–1) were found in selected agricultural ditches that received drainage from tiles (buried perforated pipes). Nitrate concentrations in these ditches remained high throughout the winter and spring, indicating nitrate was not being flushed out of the soil profile. We believe unused N fertilizer has accumulated in the shallow groundwater through many cropping cycles. Results are being used to organize landowners, resource managers, and growers to develop voluntary monitoring and water quality protection plans.

Landscape metrics as indicators of river water quality at catchment scale

2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Uuemaa ◽  
Jüri Roosaare ◽  
Ülo Mander
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Landscape Metrics ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Shape Index ◽  
Landscape Configuration ◽  
Edge Density ◽  
Total N ◽  
Mean Shape ◽  
Total P

We investigated the relationship between land use parameters and FRAGSTATS-based landscape metrics (Edge Density, Patch Density, Mean Shape Index, Mean Euclidean Nearest Neighbour Index, Contagion, Patch Richness Density and Shannon's Diversity Index) and nutrient/organic-matter-based water quality indicators (BOD7 and CODKMnO4 values, total-N and total-P concentrations in water) in 24 catchments with various land use patterns in Estonia, using the CORINE Land Cover Map (1:100 000). Multiple regression analysis showed that, for BOD7, total-N and total-P, the most important predictor was the proportion of urban areas, but landscape metrics also had a significant relationship with water quality. Mean Shape Index and Contagion were the most important predictors for CODKMnO4. The knowledge that land use and landscape configuration impact water quality can be used in establishing and implementing water management plans in Europe.

scholarly journals River water quality changes in New Zealand over 26 years: response to land use intensity

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 1149-1171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason P. Julian ◽  
Kirsten M. de Beurs ◽  
Braden Owsley ◽  
Robert J. Davies-Colley ◽  
Anne-Gaelle E. Ausseil
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
River Water ◽  
River Water Quality ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Land Disturbance ◽  
Areal Coverage ◽  
Legacy Nutrients ◽  
Intensively Managed

Abstract. Relationships between land use and water quality are complex with interdependencies, feedbacks, and legacy effects. Most river water quality studies have assessed catchment land use as areal coverage, but here, we hypothesize and test whether land use intensity – the inputs (fertilizer, livestock) and activities (vegetation removal) of land use – is a better predictor of environmental impact. We use New Zealand (NZ) as a case study because it has had one of the highest rates of agricultural land intensification globally over recent decades. We interpreted water quality state and trends for the 26 years from 1989 to 2014 in the National Rivers Water Quality Network (NRWQN) – consisting of 77 sites on 35 mostly large river systems. To characterize land use intensity, we analyzed spatial and temporal changes in livestock density and land disturbance (i.e., bare soil resulting from vegetation loss by either grazing or forest harvesting) at the catchment scale, as well as fertilizer inputs at the national scale. Using simple multivariate statistical analyses across the 77 catchments, we found that median visual water clarity was best predicted inversely by areal coverage of intensively managed pastures. The primary predictor for all four nutrient variables (TN, NOx, TP, DRP), however, was cattle density, with plantation forest coverage as the secondary predictor variable. While land disturbance was not itself a strong predictor of water quality, it did help explain outliers of land use–water quality relationships. From 1990 to 2014, visual clarity significantly improved in 35 out of 77 (34∕77) catchments, which we attribute mainly to increased dairy cattle exclusion from rivers (despite dairy expansion) and the considerable decrease in sheep numbers across the NZ landscape, from 58 million sheep in 1990 to 31 million in 2012. Nutrient concentrations increased in many of NZ's rivers with dissolved oxidized nitrogen significantly increasing in 27∕77 catchments, which we largely attribute to increased cattle density and legacy nutrients that have built up on intensively managed grasslands and plantation forests since the 1950s and are slowly leaking to the rivers. Despite recent improvements in water quality for some NZ rivers, these legacy nutrients and continued agricultural intensification are expected to pose broad-scale environmental problems for decades to come.

scholarly journals Evaluating Land Use Effects on Groundwater Quality in Lagos-Nigeria Using Water Quality Index

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 397 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. I. Balogun ◽  
I. S. Akoteyon ◽  
O. Adeaga
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Quality Index ◽  
Total Dissolved Solids ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Total Hardness ◽  
Rural Land ◽  
Rural Land Use

The study relates groundwater quality to land use types in Lagos State. Fourteen samples were collected from hand dug wells and boreholes, seven each from rural and urban land uses in the study area. Ten parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, chloride, nitrate and sulfate) were determined using standard methods. The resulting water quality indices revealed that 58.09% of the samples were rated very poor while 21.73%, 9.08% and 11.1% were rated poor, good and excellent, respectively in rural land use. The analysis of samples drawn from urban land use revealed that 76.55% of the water was unfit for drinking while 14.4%, 6.42% and 2.63% were found to be very poor, good and excellent, respectively. pH, total dissolved solids, chloride, total hardness and nitrate were beyond the permissible limits for urban land use while, pH, total hardness and nitrate were above permissible limits for rural land use. These parameters were found to be responsible for the poor water quality rating in the study areas. The paper recommends a comprehensive effective sewerage system for safe disposal of sewage, efficient waste water handling and control of urban runoff to prevent groundwater quality deterioration in the study areas.Keywords: Evaluation; Groundwater; Quality; Land use; Water quality index; Lagos-Nigeria.© 2012 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved.doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsr.v4i2.7142 J. Sci. Res. 4 (2), 397-409 (2012)

Monitoring land use change in the Lake Taupo catchment between 1975, 1990 and 2002 using satellite remote sensing data

2007 ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
H. Lilienthal ◽  
A. Brauer ◽  
K. Betteridge ◽  
E. Schnug
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Satellite Remote Sensing ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Lake Water Quality ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Slow Decline

Conversion of native vegetation into farmed grassland in the Lake Taupo catchment commenced in the late 1950s. The lake's iconic value is being threatened by the slow decline in lake water quality that has become apparent since the 1970s. Keywords: satellite remote sensing, nitrate leaching, land use change, livestock farming, land management

LAND USE TYPES AND SOIL CHARACTERISTICTS: A CASE STUDY IN HUONG VINH COMMUNE, HUONG TRA TOWN, THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE

2017 ◽  
Vol 126 (4B) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trần Thanh Đức
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Sweet Potato ◽  
Soil Analysis ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Low Ph ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Total N ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Total P

This research carried out in Huong Vinh commune, Huong Tra town, Thua Thien Hue province aimed to identify types of land use and soil characteristics. Results showed that five crops are found in Huong Vinh commune including rice, peanut, sweet potato, cassava and vegetable. There are two major soil orders with four soil suborders classified by FAO in Huong Vinh commune including Fluvisols (Dystric Fluvisols<em>, </em>Gleyic Fluvisols and Cambic Fluvisols) and Arenosols (Haplic Arenosols). The results from soil analysis showed that three soil suborders including Dystric Fluvisols<em>, </em>Gleyic Fluvisols and Cambic Fluvisols belonging to Fluvisols were clay loam in texture, low pH, low in OC, total N, total P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> and total K<sub>2</sub>O. Meanwhile, the Haplic Arenosols was loamy sand in texture, poor capacity to hold OC, total N, total P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> and total K<sub>2</sub>O

Urban and rural land use in Puerto Rico

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Martinuzzi ◽  
William A. Gould ◽  
Olga M. Ramos Gonzalez ◽  
Maya Quinones ◽  
Michael E. Jimenez
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Rural Land ◽  
Rural Land Use
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