Assessing the Impact of Land Use and Land Cover on Water Quality in the Watershed of a Reservoir

Abstract

Abstract. Natural forest of Río Tercero watershed (Argentina) was replaced by urban expansion and agricultural activities causing negative impacts in water quality of Río Tercero reservoir. This paper classifies land use and land cover (LULC) in the watershed, trying to find a relationship with nutrient loads of the reservoir's tributaries. Each tributary was analysed during 2006 bimonthly for physicochemical variables. LULC was determined using a Landsat 5 TM image. Statistical analyses were carried out to identify relationships between water quality and LULC. Results suggest that urban and agricultural activities are the primary driving forces behind the variations in nutrient loads measured in tributaries. Sub-watershed most affected by human activities displayed the highest values of nutrient loads. If agricultural and urban activities continue to increase, water quality at watershed scale will decline. It is recommended the development of a global approach management plan at a watershed scale.

Land-Cover Patterns and Hydrogeomorphology of Tributaries: Are These Important Stressors for the Water Quality of Reservoirs in the Mediterranean Region?

“…The other parameter that showed high fluctuation and, in this case, not only seasonal but also spatial was the EC, being Zebro the stream that presented the highest values, during the dry season. The results showed a high influence of LULC in this parameter, being in agreement with other studies that reported the agriculture and urban/industrial classes as the main LULC responsible for the increase of this parameter in the water of streams [7,12,58]. Further, the increase of ion concentrations, which results in the increase of EC during dry seasons, may be justified by low flows, decrease of runoff, and high evaporation rates, causing the water volume reduction in permanent hydrologic regimes, and water cessation in temporary [59].…”

“…The results point to the great influence of LULC classes in the concentrations of nutrients and organic descriptors in water, the urban/industrial and olive groves, vineyards, and orchard classes being the most polluting. Several studies already reported this linkage in different climate and LULC scenarios, as in rural-urban regions with a humid-subtropical climate (rural-urban fringe, Georgia Piedmont, USA; [7]), or in bare land and natural forest areas with tropical climate and intensive rainfall (Natural Forest of Córdoba Province, Argentine; [12]). Furthermore, Shi et al [60], already stated that the urban class of LULC is the one with a major influence on the raise of the nitrogen and phosphorus forms in streams, via runoff, during and after precipitations events.…”

Dynamics of Land Cover Changes and Delineation of Groundwater Recharge Potential Sites in the Aguanaval Aquifer, Zacatecas, Mexico

“…Therefore, the rapid economic development and the accelerated urbanization in recent decades have resulted in the serious degradation of water resources (Su et al, 2015) via urbanization, industrialization, and intensive agriculture that result in rapid landscape change with the loss of ecological capacities (Ricca and Guagliardi, 2015). Human activity is one of the major driving forces leading to changes in land cover characteristics and subsequently hydrologic processes (Bonansea, 2016).…”

An Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics and Causative Drivers in a Thickly Populated Yamuna River Basin of India

“…Forests with fertile soil, particularly in Indo-Gangetic plains, are generally more prone to deforestation for agriculture expansion (Geist and Lambin, 2004). While expansion of agricultural activity, as observed during the study period, is expected to have impact on freshwater ecosystem (Tilman, 1999), urban expansion and agriculture activities affect the water quality of the streams and reservoirs via increase in concentration of nutrients (Bonansea et al, 2016). Habitat loss and degradation are the major causes of biodiversity loss (Convention on biological diversity, 2010).…”