The evaluation of ecological status in Tunca (Tundzha) River (Turkish Thrace) based on environmental conditions and bacterial features

Abstract

It is inevitable that the running waters which are used for a lot of different activities like fishing, irrigation, domestic water usage are under threat because of the settlements, industrial or agricultural activities. To provide the sustainable usage of these ecosystems we have to know their current features and their balance under changing environmental conditions. In the present study, the ecological status of Tunca (Tundzha) River which is located on Turkish Thrace was evaluated based on environmental conditions and bacterial features of the river. For this aim, the research has been carried out at 5 different stations in the river between October 2010 and September 2011 at monthly intervals. Some environmental conditions (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, salinity, chloride, turbidity, hydrogen sulfide, magnesium, calcium, total hardness, NO3-N, NO 2 -N, sulfate, orthophosphate, suspended solid substances, biological oxygen demand) and bacterial features (total coliform, fecal coliform, and Escherichia coli bacterial abundances) were examined performing at the same time samplings. Consequently, it was determined that the water quality of Tunca River has proper physicochemical conditions allowing surviving of living things, but bacteriological findings belonging to the river was not found proper for direct use of water by human. Also, the correlations were evaluated between the obtained environmental features and the bacteria by using Spearman's index. While positive correlations were found between TMAB density and some environmental parameters (water-air temperature, EC, magnesium, nitrate nitrogen, sulfate, o-phosphate, and suspended solids); negative correlations were found between TMAB density and the other parameters (pH, hydrogen sulfide, calcium, total hardness, and BOD 5 ).

Nitrates in Turkish waters: sources, mechanisms, impacts, and mitigation

“…A maximum value of 135 mg L -1 was reported for NO 3 concentration in groundwater in Eskipazar region (Karabük) where the groundwater is used for drinking and domestic purposes (Keskin, 2010). Mimiroğlu et al (2020) showed that NO 3 concentration in drinking waters ranged from 0.12 to 19.30 mg L -1 across a rice-cultivated region in İpsala Township of Edirne and Davraz and Özdemir (2014) reported that approximately 20% of wellwater samples exceeded the recommended maximum allowable value of 50 mg NO3 L -1 in drinking water in Çelikli Plain (Burdur) where local people heavily depend on well water for drinking. Davraz et al (2016) reported that NO 3 concentrations in 37% of 50 well water samples exceeded 50 mg L -1 threshold for potable water set by WHO.…”