Abstract
Aim of the study: Thrace Region is the most important geographical regions of Turkey in terms of agricultural and industrial production. Meriç – Ergene River Basin is the main watershed of this significant region and there are many streams feeding the basin. In the current research, water qualities of fluvial ecosystems of Thrace Region were evaluated by using some ecological and statistical indicators. Material and methods: For each water sample, 27 physical and chemical limnological parameters (EC, TDS, turbidity, NO3, NO2, SO4, F, COD, BOD5, As, Se, Cu, Zn, Cd, Sb, Ba, Pb, B, Na, Mg, Cr, Mn, Al, K, Ca, Fe, Ni) were analysed and all the investigated parameter values were used to develop the Water Quality Index (WQI). Furthermore, Cluster Analysis (CA) were applied to detected data in order to classify the investigated locations and also Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to provide a visual summary of contamination levels in the basin components. Results and conclusions: The results show quite high WQI coefficients of COD (20.773), Se (9.667) and BOD5 (9.216) parameters in fluvial components of Thrace Region. The WQI values of the fluvial habitats of Thrace Region ranged from 33.91 – 329.84 and Çorlu Stream and Ergene River were determined as the most contaminated fluvial ecosystems. According to the results of applied CA, 2 statistically significant clusters were formed, which were named as “High Contaminated Zones” and “Low Contaminated Zones”.
Highlights
Thrace Region, which is located in the northwest part of Turkey, has a great potential in terms of agriculture and industry, because of its fertile lands, many freshwater resources, and logistical accessibility
Intensive agricultural applications conducted all around the region are thought to be the main cause of the relatively high selenium risk detected, and the results of this study show that the fluvial habitats of the region are significantly affected by agricultural applications
Water quality of the lotic freshwater resources of a significant agricultural–industrial region of Turkey were evaluated by using Water Quality Index (WQI) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology
Summary
Thrace Region, which is located in the northwest part of Turkey, has a great potential in terms of agriculture and industry, because of its fertile lands, many freshwater resources, and logistical accessibility. It covers about 3% part of Turkey, about 15% of the total population lives in this region. Population density and urbanization as well as intensive agricultural and industrial activities cause significant environmental problems in the region (Özler and Aydın, 2008; Sarı et al, 2016; Tokatlı et al, 2020). Assessment of Water Contamination in Fluvial Ecosystems of the Thrace Region (Turkey) by Means of Water Quality Index. WQI enables the modifications of policies by various environmental agencies (Akoteyon et al, 2011; Karakuş, 2019; Ustaoğlu and Aydın, 2020)
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