A Study on the Relationship between Land Use Change and Water Quality of the Mitidja Watershed in Algeria Based on GIS and RS

Dechao Chen, Acef Elhadj, Hualian Xu, Xinliang Xu and Zhi Qiao
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Dechao Chen: National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Acef Elhadj: National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Hualian Xu: National and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Municipal Sewage Resource Utilization Technology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Xinliang Xu: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Zhi Qiao: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-20

Abstract: Many catchments in northern Algeria, including the coastal Mitidja Basin in the north central part of the country have been negatively affected by the deterioration of water quality in recent years. This study aims to discover the relationship between land use change and its impact on water quality in the coastal Mitidja river basin. Based on the data of land use and water quality in 2000, 2010 and 2017, the relationship between land use change and surface water quality index in the Mitidja Watershed was discussed through GIS and statistical analysis. The results show that the physical and chemical properties of the Mitidja river basin have obvious spatial heterogeneity. The water quality of upstream was better than that of downstream. There was a significant spatial relationship between the eight water quality indicators and three land use types, including urban residential land, agricultural land and vegetation. In most cases, settlements and agricultural land are the dominant factors leading to river pollution, and higher vegetation coverage helps to improve water quality. The regression model revealed that percentage of urban settlement area was a predictor for NH 4 -N, BOD 5 , COD, SS, PO 4 -P, DO and pH, while vegetation was a predictor for NO 3 -N. The analysis also showed that during this period, urban settlement areas increased sharply, which has a significant impact on water quality variables. Agricultural land only had a significant positive correlation with PO 4 -P. The results provide an effective way to evaluate river water quality, control water pollution and land use management by landscape pattern.

Keywords: water quality; land use change; Mitidja Basin; GIS; regression analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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