Multiannual Assessment of the Risk of Surface Water Erosion and Metal Accumulation Indices in the Flysch Stream Using the MARS Model in the Polish Outer Western Carpathians

Abstract

The anthropogenic problems in richly sculpted areas (mountain and submontane) are mainly related to agricultural activity, which shapes the quality of surface waters. This paper presents an analysis of the results of the hydrochemical tests carried out in the years 2007–2018 at check-control spots. The heavy metal pollution index (HPI < 100) indicated a low risk for aquatic organisms. The statistical calculations obtained by means of multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) designated that the hazard quotient (HQ) index can be combined with the electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved substances (TDS) parameters used in the assessment of water erosion. The HQ index showed that the concentration of individual heavy metals is lower than their value in the 0.5 percentile of the value. In subsequent studies, it should be assessed whether the size of arable land has an impact on the increased concentration of heavy metals in the surface water. We recommend small retention reservoirs as a potential management measure to improve the quality of the surface water at a regional scale. This study has great potential to mitigate the degradation processes related to the insufficient storage capacity, and to promote natural water retention.

The Rainfall-Runoff Model for the Carpathian Flysch Catchment Using the Swat+ Hydrological Software

“…et al, 2007). The credibility of the results will be ensured when the surface erosion process in mountain catchments is captured and the appropriate frequency of the measurement series is conducted (Halecki et al, 2019). Hydrological research can be implemented from the theoretical and mathematical points of view (Panagos et al, 2015).…”

Estimating the distributions of inorganic nutrients and total suspended solids induced by soil erosion in an agricultural mountainous area using a revised SWAT+ model

“…Several factors influence the physicochemical quality of surface water, namely the concentrations of nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate anions (Akan et al, 2012), as well as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium cations (Purandara et al, 2012). In surface waters, agricultural activity is the major cause of poor physicochemical quality (Bedla and Misztal 2014;Halecki et al, 2019). Thus, a key objective of water erosion assessment is to determine the physicochemical quality of the surface water that flows out of a catchment (Robson 2014).…”