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- Info
Empirical relationships between land use/ cover and stream water quality in an agricultural watershed
| Author: |
Osborne, Lewis L. |
| Date: |
1988 |
| Periodical: |
Journal of Environmental Management |
| Abstract: |
The purpose of this study was to examine the empirical relationships that existed between land use/cover patterns within the Salt Fork watershed and in stream nitrate-N and soluble reactive phosphorous concentrations, in the hopes of providing information to help in the formulation of watershed-level planning and management practices and methodologies. Aerial photographs were interpreted and digitized using Arc/Info geographic information software and the land use/cover data related to the mean seasonal nitrate-N and soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations collected from 22 sampling stations in the Salt Fork watershed, using multiple regression analysis. The results indicate that urbanization, rather than agriculture, is a major factor controlling the soluble reactive phosphorus in stream concentrations throughout the entire year, and was important in explaining the majority of the variance associated with nitrate-N during roughly 50% of the year. Application of the results and methodologies to planning and watershed management are discussed, as are the relationships of management of in stream concentration vs. loading of exogenous substances. |
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