Landuse Effects on Cirhanyobowa River Water Quality in D.R. Congo

Abstract

Cirhanyobowa River in D.R. Congo, is extensively used as washing and drinking water source by surrounding population as well as by gorillas. The study was carried out in three sites on Cirhanyobowa River to evaluate the effect of landuse (forest, mining and agricultural) on Cirhanyobwa River water quality. Surface water temperature, DO, BOD5, nitrogen and phosphorus were measured, and aquatic macroinvertebrates collected monthly for a period of one year and measured according to standards analytical and biological methods. Results have shown changes in water quality for the forest, mining and agricultural sites but slight changes in number of taxa at the forested and mining sites with respectively 43 and 42 species; and significant changes in agricultural site with 27 species. Chemical and physical parameters measured at the three sites did not seem sufficient to account for all observed differences in macroinvertebrate communities, suggesting some unmeasured toxicity. It was established that there is water quality deterioration along Cirhanyobwa River due to surrounding population anthropogenic activities.

Mapping Geospatial Processes Affecting the Environmental Fate of Agricultural Pesticides in Africa

“…Previous studies confirm that these processes take place in large amounts in these areas. For example, the soils of Madagascar tend to be vulnerable to erosion [89], the Upper Blue Nile Basin (Ethiopia) receives large quantities of sediments from agricultural areas in the catchments [90,91] and natural processes dominate the soil allocation in Congo [92], although agricultural development and deforestation has increased the sediment load over recent decades [93]. The maps for the process associated with erosion was compared to the global erosion map of the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC).…”