Multivariate Analysis for Assessing Irrigation Water Quality: A Case Study of the Bahr Mouise Canal, Eastern Nile Delta

Water scarcity and suitable irrigation water management in arid regions represent tangible challenges for sustainable agriculture. The current study aimed to apply multivariate analysis and to develop a simplified water quality assessment using principal component analysis (PCA) and the agglomerativ...

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Main Authors: Mohamed K. Abdel-Fattah, Sameh Kotb Abd-Elmabod, Ali A. Aldosari, Ahmed S. Elrys, Elsayed Said Mohamed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2537
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author Mohamed K. Abdel-Fattah
Sameh Kotb Abd-Elmabod
Ali A. Aldosari
Ahmed S. Elrys
Elsayed Said Mohamed
author_facet Mohamed K. Abdel-Fattah
Sameh Kotb Abd-Elmabod
Ali A. Aldosari
Ahmed S. Elrys
Elsayed Said Mohamed
author_sort Mohamed K. Abdel-Fattah
collection DOAJ
description Water scarcity and suitable irrigation water management in arid regions represent tangible challenges for sustainable agriculture. The current study aimed to apply multivariate analysis and to develop a simplified water quality assessment using principal component analysis (PCA) and the agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) technique to assess the water quality of the Bahr Mouise canal in El-Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. The proposed methods depended on the monitored water chemical composition (e.g., pH, water electrical conductivity (ECiw), Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>, Cl<sup>−</sup>, and SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>) during 2019. Based on the supervised classification of satellite images (Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI)), the distinguished land use/land cover types around the Bahr Mouise canal were agriculture, urban, and water bodies, while the dominating land use was agriculture. The water quality of the Bahr Mouise canal was classified into two classes based on the application of the irrigation water quality index (IWQI), while the water quality was classified into three classes using the PCA and AHC methods. Temporal variations in water quality were investigated, where the water qualities in winter, autumn, and spring (January, February, March, April, November, and December) were classified as class I (no restrictions) based on IWQI application, and the water salinity, sodicity, and/or alkalinity did not represent limiting factors for irrigation water quality. On the other hand, in the summer season (May, June, July, August, and October), the irrigation water was classified as class II (low restrictions); therefore, irrigation processes during summer may lead to an increase in the alkalinity hazard. The PCA classifications were compared with the IWQI results; the PCA classifications had similar assessment results during the year, except in September, while the water quality was assigned to class II using the PCA method and class I by applying the IWQI. Furthermore, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) around the Bahr Mouise canal over eight months and climatic data assisted in explaining the fluctuations in water quality during 2019 as a result of changing the crop season and agriculture management. Assessments of water quality help to conserve soil, reduce degradation risk, and support decision makers in order to obtain sustainable agriculture, especially under water irrigation scarcity and the limited agricultural land in such an arid region.
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spelling doaj.art-2da2bd3c59dc4d69bb29f81b1fedbd882023-11-20T13:26:09ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-09-01129253710.3390/w12092537Multivariate Analysis for Assessing Irrigation Water Quality: A Case Study of the Bahr Mouise Canal, Eastern Nile DeltaMohamed K. Abdel-Fattah0Sameh Kotb Abd-Elmabod1Ali A. Aldosari2Ahmed S. Elrys3Elsayed Said Mohamed4Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, EgyptSoils and Water Use Department, Agricultural and Biological Research Division, National Research Centre, Cairo 1262, EgyptGeography Department, King Saud University, 11451 Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaSoil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, EgyptNational Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, Cairo 11843, EgyptWater scarcity and suitable irrigation water management in arid regions represent tangible challenges for sustainable agriculture. The current study aimed to apply multivariate analysis and to develop a simplified water quality assessment using principal component analysis (PCA) and the agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) technique to assess the water quality of the Bahr Mouise canal in El-Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. The proposed methods depended on the monitored water chemical composition (e.g., pH, water electrical conductivity (ECiw), Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>, Cl<sup>−</sup>, and SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2−</sup>) during 2019. Based on the supervised classification of satellite images (Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI)), the distinguished land use/land cover types around the Bahr Mouise canal were agriculture, urban, and water bodies, while the dominating land use was agriculture. The water quality of the Bahr Mouise canal was classified into two classes based on the application of the irrigation water quality index (IWQI), while the water quality was classified into three classes using the PCA and AHC methods. Temporal variations in water quality were investigated, where the water qualities in winter, autumn, and spring (January, February, March, April, November, and December) were classified as class I (no restrictions) based on IWQI application, and the water salinity, sodicity, and/or alkalinity did not represent limiting factors for irrigation water quality. On the other hand, in the summer season (May, June, July, August, and October), the irrigation water was classified as class II (low restrictions); therefore, irrigation processes during summer may lead to an increase in the alkalinity hazard. The PCA classifications were compared with the IWQI results; the PCA classifications had similar assessment results during the year, except in September, while the water quality was assigned to class II using the PCA method and class I by applying the IWQI. Furthermore, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) around the Bahr Mouise canal over eight months and climatic data assisted in explaining the fluctuations in water quality during 2019 as a result of changing the crop season and agriculture management. Assessments of water quality help to conserve soil, reduce degradation risk, and support decision makers in order to obtain sustainable agriculture, especially under water irrigation scarcity and the limited agricultural land in such an arid region.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2537water quality criteriaIWQIarid regionPCAland use
spellingShingle Mohamed K. Abdel-Fattah
Sameh Kotb Abd-Elmabod
Ali A. Aldosari
Ahmed S. Elrys
Elsayed Said Mohamed
Multivariate Analysis for Assessing Irrigation Water Quality: A Case Study of the Bahr Mouise Canal, Eastern Nile Delta
Water
water quality criteria
IWQI
arid region
PCA
land use
title Multivariate Analysis for Assessing Irrigation Water Quality: A Case Study of the Bahr Mouise Canal, Eastern Nile Delta
title_full Multivariate Analysis for Assessing Irrigation Water Quality: A Case Study of the Bahr Mouise Canal, Eastern Nile Delta
title_fullStr Multivariate Analysis for Assessing Irrigation Water Quality: A Case Study of the Bahr Mouise Canal, Eastern Nile Delta
title_full_unstemmed Multivariate Analysis for Assessing Irrigation Water Quality: A Case Study of the Bahr Mouise Canal, Eastern Nile Delta
title_short Multivariate Analysis for Assessing Irrigation Water Quality: A Case Study of the Bahr Mouise Canal, Eastern Nile Delta
title_sort multivariate analysis for assessing irrigation water quality a case study of the bahr mouise canal eastern nile delta
topic water quality criteria
IWQI
arid region
PCA
land use
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2537
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