Effect of Land Use on Stream Water Quality and Biological Conditions in Multi-Scale Watersheds
Understanding the relation between watershed land use and stream conditions is critical for watershed planning and management. This study investigated the effects of land use on stream water quality and biological conditions in sub-watersheds and micro-watersheds across the Han River watershed in So...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/24/4210 |
| _version_ | 1797379062456385536 |
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| author | Jong-Won Lee Se-Rin Park Sang-Woo Lee |
| author_facet | Jong-Won Lee Se-Rin Park Sang-Woo Lee |
| author_sort | Jong-Won Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the relation between watershed land use and stream conditions is critical for watershed planning and management. This study investigated the effects of land use on stream water quality and biological conditions in sub-watersheds and micro-watersheds across the Han River watershed in South Korea. We developed random forest models for each water quality and biological indicator using the proportions of urban, agricultural, and forested areas. Our results indicate that water quality and biological indicators were significantly affected by forest area at both scales, and the sub-watershed models performed better than the micro-watershed models. Accumulated local effects were used to interpret the effect of each explanatory variable on the response variable. The plots for water quality and biological indicators with proportions of watershed land use demonstrated similar patterns at both scales, although the relation between land use and stream conditions was slightly more sensitive in micro-watersheds than in sub-watersheds. Urban and agricultural areas showed a lower proportion of water quality and biological condition variability in the micro-watersheds than in the sub-watersheds, while forests showed the opposite results. The findings of this study suggest that different spatial scales should be considered when developing effective watershed management strategies to maintain stream ecosystems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:16:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-150073439ed24db48a1b75fedb8ca14b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:16:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-150073439ed24db48a1b75fedb8ca14b2023-12-22T14:49:41ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-12-011524421010.3390/w15244210Effect of Land Use on Stream Water Quality and Biological Conditions in Multi-Scale WatershedsJong-Won Lee0Se-Rin Park1Sang-Woo Lee2Department of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of KoreaUnderstanding the relation between watershed land use and stream conditions is critical for watershed planning and management. This study investigated the effects of land use on stream water quality and biological conditions in sub-watersheds and micro-watersheds across the Han River watershed in South Korea. We developed random forest models for each water quality and biological indicator using the proportions of urban, agricultural, and forested areas. Our results indicate that water quality and biological indicators were significantly affected by forest area at both scales, and the sub-watershed models performed better than the micro-watershed models. Accumulated local effects were used to interpret the effect of each explanatory variable on the response variable. The plots for water quality and biological indicators with proportions of watershed land use demonstrated similar patterns at both scales, although the relation between land use and stream conditions was slightly more sensitive in micro-watersheds than in sub-watersheds. Urban and agricultural areas showed a lower proportion of water quality and biological condition variability in the micro-watersheds than in the sub-watersheds, while forests showed the opposite results. The findings of this study suggest that different spatial scales should be considered when developing effective watershed management strategies to maintain stream ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/24/4210land use/coverwater qualitybiological indicatorwatershed scalestream condition |
| spellingShingle | Jong-Won Lee Se-Rin Park Sang-Woo Lee Effect of Land Use on Stream Water Quality and Biological Conditions in Multi-Scale Watersheds Water land use/cover water quality biological indicator watershed scale stream condition |
| title | Effect of Land Use on Stream Water Quality and Biological Conditions in Multi-Scale Watersheds |
| title_full | Effect of Land Use on Stream Water Quality and Biological Conditions in Multi-Scale Watersheds |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Land Use on Stream Water Quality and Biological Conditions in Multi-Scale Watersheds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Land Use on Stream Water Quality and Biological Conditions in Multi-Scale Watersheds |
| title_short | Effect of Land Use on Stream Water Quality and Biological Conditions in Multi-Scale Watersheds |
| title_sort | effect of land use on stream water quality and biological conditions in multi scale watersheds |
| topic | land use/cover water quality biological indicator watershed scale stream condition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/24/4210 |
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