Effects of land use types on dissolved trace metal concentrations in the Le’an River Basin, China

Abstract

Using land use types in multiple spatial scales (entire basin, buffer zones, and slopes) as well as statistical and spatial analysis, relationships between land use types and concentrations of dissolved trace metals were determined in the Le'an River Basin, China. The result showed that farmland and urban land were determined as the source of the pollutants, while forestland and grassland were identified as the sink of the pollutants. The temporal differences of relationships between land use types and concentrations of dissolved trace metals mainly due to the discrepancy of rainfall characteristics. Land use type close to river was a better indicator for the effectiveness of concentrations of trace metals, especially at scale of 0-200 m. Forestland and grassland on lower slopes greatly affected the water quality, and the former had no significant or weak influences on higher slopes. Urban land had the greater positive correlations with concentrations of dissolved trace metals on higher slopes, which are mainly due to frequent mining activity. Further analysis suggested that the buffer zones with low slope needed to be seriously taken into consideration for effective land use management in similar basin.

Distribution, Sources, and Water Quality Assessment of Dissolved Heavy Metals in the Jiulongjiang River Water, Southeast China

“… 1 SD: standard deviation; 2 CV: the coefficient of variation; 3 K-S test: the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test; 4 nd: no data. Data sources: 5 Chinese Ministry of Health [45]; 6 WHO (the World Health Organization) [49]; 7 US EPA (the United States Environmental Protection Agency) [50]; 8 Li [46]; 9 Ribeiro et al [48]; 10 Zuzolo et al [19]; 11 Jiang et al [10]; 12 Wang [47]; 13 Li et al [9]; 14 Li and Zhang [16]. …”

“…Globally, heavy metals are one of the most hazardous pollutants in water [1,2,3,4,5,6], and can be observed in dissolved phase [7,8,9,10], suspended particle phase [11,12,13], and sedimentary phases [14,15] in water systems. Dissolved heavy metals are generally more toxic than other phases [7,16].…”

“…Therefore, continued research on dissolved heavy metals may be key in order to shed further light on some of the effects of pollution. Moreover, evaluating the effects of dissolved heavy metals on human health and water systems is considered as one of the most direct and important ways in which to judge the pollution present in water [1,10,23,24,25]. Thus, it is of great significance to understand the concentration, distribution, and sources of dissolved heavy metals, to assess water quality and health risks, to control water pollution, and to protect water resources [25].…”

Spatial and Temporal Variation of Dissolved Heavy Metals in the Mun River, Northeast Thailand

“…Moreover, heavy metals are difficult to be degraded or relieved of harmfulness through physical, chemical, or biological purification in natural environments [5], and can cause severe diseases, such as nervous disorders, visceral dysfunction, and cancers, through food chains [6,7]. Heavy metals in the dissolved phase are one of the most harmful substances that can directly affect the water quality of drinking water and irrigation water [8][9][10][11], and they are of greater toxicity than those in suspended and sedimentary phases [12][13][14]. In order to control water pollution and protect local water resources, it is of great significance to understand the spatial distribution, temporal variation, and sources of dissolved heavy metals, as well as the water quality and health risk level of water.…”

Contamination of Trace Elements in River Ecosystem and Source Apportionment Based on Their Relationship with Landscape Patterns

“…Different slopes are crucial spatial factors that detect the relationships between landscape types and water quality in water ecosystems. Yu et al (2016) found that landscape types on various slopes are helpful to identify the relationship between landscape patterns and water quality [23]. However, we still lack the information on the effects of different topographic characteristics upon the relationship between the concentration of trace elements and landscape patterns.…”