Monitoring the Landscape Pattern and Characteristics of Non-Point Source Pollution in a Mountainous River Basin

Yuepeng Liu, Chuanfeng Yang, Xinyang Yu, Mengwen Wang and Wei Qi
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Yuepeng Liu: College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Chuanfeng Yang: College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Xinyang Yu: College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Mengwen Wang: College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
Wei Qi: College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: This study aimed to assess the relationship between the landscape patterns and non-point source (NPS) pollution distribution in Qixia County, China. The sub-basin classification was conducted based on a digital elevation model and Landsat8 satellite images. Water samples were collected from each sub-basin, andtheir water quality during the wet and dry seasons was estimated. The correlation between the landscape indices and water pollution indicators was determined by Pearson analysis. The location-weighted landscape contrast index ( LWLCI ) was calculated based on the “source-sink” theory. Qixia was further divided into five sections based on the LWLCI score to illustrate the potential risk of NPS pollution. The results showed that the water quality in Qixia County was generally good. Cultivated land, orchards, construction areas, and unused land were positively correlated with the water pollution index and weredesignated as the “source” landscape categories, while forests, grasslands, and water bodies, which were negatively correlated with water pollution, were the “sink” landscapes; the LWCI was high in 36.94% of the study area. In these areas, measures such as increasing vegetation buffer zones are necessary to decrease the sediment and nutrient loads carried by precipitation.

Keywords: non-point source pollution; “source-sink” theory; location weighted landscape contrast index ( LWLCI ); landscape patterns (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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