Effects of agricultural and urban land cover on New Zealand’s estuarine water quality

Abstract

ABSTRACT National-scale analyses of land cover effects on water quality can aid in directing environmental policy. We compiled a coastal water quality database for New Zealand comprising 320 estuarine and coastal sites with records between 2013 and 2018. Previous literature had shown strong effects of agricultural and urban land cover on the quality of New Zealand’s rivers, so we examined their effects on estuaries, while controlling for marine dilution and freshwater flushing. Sites with greater freshwater influence had higher nutrient and faecal indicator bacteria concentrations, and turbidity, indicating that open coast and estuarine water quality is reduced predominantly via flows from the land. Nitrate, ammonium, total and dissolved reactive phosphorus, and water column chlorophyll-a concentrations were greater in estuaries with higher urban land cover and total phosphorus concentrations were greater with higher agricultural land cover. There was a marginally significant increase in turbidity as agricultural land cover increased. This is the first national-scale compilation and analysis of New Zealand coastal water quality data, and the first national analysis of land cover effects on water quality in New Zealand estuaries.