STARDUST II - Spatial and Temporal Assessment
of high Resolution Depth profiles Using novel Sampling Technologies The fate of pollutants in fluvial and marine sediments in cross-border zones
The impact of land use and spatial mediated processes on the water quality in a river system
Vrebos, D.; Beauchard, O.; Meire, P. (2017). The impact of land use and spatial mediated processes on the water quality in a river system. Sci. Total Environ. 601-602: 365-373. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.217
In: Science of the Total Environment. Elsevier: Amsterdam. ISSN 0048-9697; e-ISSN 1879-1026
River systems are highly complex, hierarchical and patchy systems which are greatly influenced by both catchment surroundings and in-stream processes. Natural and anthropogenic land uses and processes affect water quality (WQ) through different pathways and scales. Understanding under which conditions these different river and catchment properties become dominant towards water chemistry remains a challenge. In this study we analyzed the impact of land use and spatial scales on a range of WQ variables within the Kleine Nete catchment in Belgium. Multivariate statistics and spatial descriptors (Moran's and Asymmetric Eigenvector Maps) were used to assess changes in water chemistry throughout the catchment. Both land use and complex mixes of spatial descriptors of different scales were found to be significantly associated to WQ parameters. However, unidirectional, upstream-downstream changes in water chemistry, often described in river systems, were not found within the Kleine Nete catchment. As different sources and processes obscure and interact with each other, it is generally difficult to understand the correct impact of different pollution sources and the predominant pathways. Our results advocate for WQ management interventions on large and small scales where needed, taking the predominate pathways in to account.
Alle informatie in het Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) valt onder het VLIZ Privacy beleid
STARDUST II is a project funded by the INTERREG III A programme (France/Walloon Region/Flanders
French-Flemish subprogramme) of the European Community's Regional Development Fund.
Hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
