Anthropogenic Disturbances Have Contributed to Degradation of River Water Quality in Arid Areas

The earth has been reshaped for millennia. The accelerating pace of anthropogenic activities has generated enormous impacts on the water environment. As one of the main drivers of landscape change, anthropogenic disturbance has brought many negative effects on rivers. Studying the relationship betwe...

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Main Authors: Li Ji, Yuan Li, Guixiang Zhang, Yonghong Bi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-11-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/22/3305
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author Li Ji
Yuan Li
Guixiang Zhang
Yonghong Bi
author_facet Li Ji
Yuan Li
Guixiang Zhang
Yonghong Bi
author_sort Li Ji
collection DOAJ
description The earth has been reshaped for millennia. The accelerating pace of anthropogenic activities has generated enormous impacts on the water environment. As one of the main drivers of landscape change, anthropogenic disturbance has brought many negative effects on rivers. Studying the relationship between anthropogenic disturbances and river water quality is of significance for regional conservation and ecosystem management, while the relationship remains poorly understood in the current. In this study, we quantified anthropogenic disturbances by introducing the concept of the hemeroby index and evaluated rivers’ water quality in eight sub-watersheds on the Loess Plateau. The results indicated that 37.5% of the sub-watersheds were in Eutrophic status, and 62.5% were in Marginal water quality index. The river water quality was most poor in the southwestern region near the Yellow River with high-level anthropogenic disturbance. A correlation analysis between water quality indicators and hemeroby suggested that anthropogenic disturbance contributed to a significant water quality deterioration trend (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The river water quality was relatively sensitive to the changes of completely disturbed land-use covers, including urban and industrial land. Our findings provide theoretical guidance for regional water resources conservation and ecosystem management in arid areas.
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spelling doaj.art-35b8299b9d444303898cf4ef189dd7662023-11-23T02:01:54ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-11-011322330510.3390/w13223305Anthropogenic Disturbances Have Contributed to Degradation of River Water Quality in Arid AreasLi Ji0Yuan Li1Guixiang Zhang2Yonghong Bi3School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaSchool of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaThe earth has been reshaped for millennia. The accelerating pace of anthropogenic activities has generated enormous impacts on the water environment. As one of the main drivers of landscape change, anthropogenic disturbance has brought many negative effects on rivers. Studying the relationship between anthropogenic disturbances and river water quality is of significance for regional conservation and ecosystem management, while the relationship remains poorly understood in the current. In this study, we quantified anthropogenic disturbances by introducing the concept of the hemeroby index and evaluated rivers’ water quality in eight sub-watersheds on the Loess Plateau. The results indicated that 37.5% of the sub-watersheds were in Eutrophic status, and 62.5% were in Marginal water quality index. The river water quality was most poor in the southwestern region near the Yellow River with high-level anthropogenic disturbance. A correlation analysis between water quality indicators and hemeroby suggested that anthropogenic disturbance contributed to a significant water quality deterioration trend (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The river water quality was relatively sensitive to the changes of completely disturbed land-use covers, including urban and industrial land. Our findings provide theoretical guidance for regional water resources conservation and ecosystem management in arid areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/22/3305hemerobyland-use coversthe Loess Plateautrophic statewater quality
spellingShingle Li Ji
Yuan Li
Guixiang Zhang
Yonghong Bi
Anthropogenic Disturbances Have Contributed to Degradation of River Water Quality in Arid Areas
Water
hemeroby
land-use covers
the Loess Plateau
trophic state
water quality
title Anthropogenic Disturbances Have Contributed to Degradation of River Water Quality in Arid Areas
title_full Anthropogenic Disturbances Have Contributed to Degradation of River Water Quality in Arid Areas
title_fullStr Anthropogenic Disturbances Have Contributed to Degradation of River Water Quality in Arid Areas
title_full_unstemmed Anthropogenic Disturbances Have Contributed to Degradation of River Water Quality in Arid Areas
title_short Anthropogenic Disturbances Have Contributed to Degradation of River Water Quality in Arid Areas
title_sort anthropogenic disturbances have contributed to degradation of river water quality in arid areas
topic hemeroby
land-use covers
the Loess Plateau
trophic state
water quality
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/22/3305
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AT yuanli anthropogenicdisturbanceshavecontributedtodegradationofriverwaterqualityinaridareas
AT guixiangzhang anthropogenicdisturbanceshavecontributedtodegradationofriverwaterqualityinaridareas
AT yonghongbi anthropogenicdisturbanceshavecontributedtodegradationofriverwaterqualityinaridareas