Impact of Land Use on Karst Water Resources—A Case Study of the Kupa (Kolpa) Transboundary River Catchment

Abstract

This paper presents a qualitative approach for assessing land-use pressures on the water resources of a transboundary Dinaric karst catchment of the Kupa River in Southeast Europe. Spatial analyses of the water quality indices for surface water and groundwater were carried out in a GIS environment, as well as a detailed assessment of man-made hazards based on recommendations of COST Action 620. The produced maps provide an insight into the qualitative status of water resources at a regional scale by indicating areas of potential negative impacts of land use through the identification of point and diffuse sources of pollution. Higher values of the water quality indices for surface water and groundwater are observed in lowland areas, karst plateaus and poljes, where the impacts of anthropogenic activities such as agriculture and quarries take place on karstified permeable carbonate rocks. Hazard assessment showed how transport infrastructure induces a low hazard level. Settlement areas without proper sewerage systems impose moderate hazard levels, while direct wastewater discharges into groundwater and waste illegally disposed in karst swallow holes and caves located near settlements were classified as having high hazard levels. The applied methods proved to be suitable even in challenging karst environments where the complex properties and structure make the exploration and monitoring of groundwater resources difficult and scarce.

Uloga nagiba padina, gustoće vrtača i analize vodne bilance u izdvajanju kompleksnog slivnog područja rijeke Slunjčice (Hrvatska)

“…Trend analysis of flows in the Kupa River showed almost equal amount of negative and positive trends in the period 1984-2013, with extremes during a wet period more pronounced than during arid periods (Pavlić et al, 2017). Furthermore, Selak et al (2020) showed that very low and low water quality indices prevail for groundwater and surface water resources in Kupa River catchment. Cross-correlation and cross-spectral analysis of hydrographs in the northern part of the Dinaric karst of Croatia showed that the hydrogeological characteristics of karstic aquifer systems can present more controlling factor related to the runoff regime when compared to climate change influence (Pavlić and Parlov, 2019).…”