Water resources in the Jijia catchment basin are limited and often polluted. The catchment basin of Jijia is situated in northeastern Romania and it crosses the Moldavian Plain on the north-west-south-east direction. The purpose of the present study is to analyze 26 physico-chemical parameters providing the annual and multiannual water quality index. Two water-sampling points were selected: Jijia-Victoria [S.1] and Jijia-Opriseni [S.2]. The high values of nitrates are caused by the use of nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers and of manure. Contamination with nitrites (N-NO2-) and nitrates (N-NO3-) of wetlands and deepwater habitats in the floodplain of Jijia is still high because of agricultural and zootechnical activities. The phosphorus within freshwater habitats is a consequence of anthropogenic pressure: improper storage of animal waste and/or use of phosphates-based fertilizers. Global water quality index (WQi) shows that both monitoring stations are included in the Medium high class.

The evaluation of organic carbon contributes to the delimitation of wetlands in the context of the degradation of the edaphic shell in the temperate zone. The quantification of the total carbon (TC) and the total organic carbon (TOC) from the soil is a key analysis in regards to the management of soil quality. In the common floodplain of Jijia-Prut rivers, the hydrotechnical and agricultural facilities deeply changed the aquatic scenery, lowering the organic carbon quantity, and deeply impacting the biodiversity of the relict wetlands. Currently, the hydromorphic soils are affected both by natural factors (climate change, the changing of the soil's texture, the diminution of the areas covered by natural vegetation, and in situ biodegradation) as well as anthropogenic factors (irrational land usage). This study targets the evaluation of TC and TOC quantities from the transition perimeters of the wetlands corresponding to common floodplain of Jijia-Prut rivers. The analysis was realized on 55 ground samples collected from 5 reference points. The samples were collected using a pedological corer from the summer of 2016. In order to determine the organic carbon, we used a TOC analyzer equipped with a solid sample module, operated at 1,000°C (Analytik Jena multi N/C with HT 1300). The values were situated between 6.61 g/kg and 45.02 g/kg, with an average of 19.98 g/kg. The highest values were registered in the wetlands that were the least anthropogenically affected. The lowest values correspond to the areas from outside the aquatic perimeter. The drop in TOC is directly proportional to the diminution of wetlands and riparian zone.