Studies on the Spatiotemporal Variability of River Water Quality and Its Relationships with Soil and Precipitation: A Case Study of the Mun River Basin in Thailand

Zhonghe Zhao, Gaohuan Liu, Qingsheng Liu, Chong Huang and He Li
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Zhonghe Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Gaohuan Liu: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Qingsheng Liu: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Chong Huang: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
He Li: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Human activities can affect soil nutrients, thereby influencing river water quality. The spatial pattern of precipitation also impacts distributions of water quality. In this paper, we employed a method that combines point survey, soil, and water quality data to analyze the spatial relationships between precipitation, soil nutrient and water quality in the basin on the basis of field surveys and laboratory analysis. The ordinary kriging method was applied to interpolate the precipitation and soil data, and the spatial pattern was analyzed. The water samples on the main stream and soil samples in the field were collected during both the dry and rainy seasons to analyze the water quality and soil nutrients. The results indicate: (1) The water quality in the dry season is better than that in the rainy season, the water quality in the upper reaches is better than that in the lower reaches, and agricultural activity is the direct source of water pollution. (2) The precipitation in the rainy and dry seasons is differente and the dilution effect of precipitation on pollutant concentrations and transport of water flow affect the spatial distribution of water quality. (3) There is a significant difference in the spatial pattern of soil nutrients between the dry and rainy seasons, and the soil nutrient content and the surface runoff directly affect the water quality. Soil nutrients are affected by human activities, and they potentially act as nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in this river basin. To improve the water quality, suitable agriculture measures need to be implemented.

Keywords: soil nutrients; water quality; precipitation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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