Abstract
Human activities have greatly accelerated the input of nitrogen into waters, resulting in water quality degradation. Facing the water crisis of nitrogen pollution, the state of surface water in arid areas needs close attention. Although numerous studies have indicated that waters’ nitrogen is often impacted by land use covers, the correlation between the two remains obscure. This paper explored the spatial relationship between anthropogenic activity and waters’ nitrogen on the eastern Loess Plateau, based on the Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis using land use covers. There were 3 human land use types and 2 nitrogen indices used to assess the rivers’ state at the watershed scale. The results showed that rivers’ nitrogen was closely associated with human land use covers. Nitrogen pollution was most serious in urban areas. This study provided new evidence for the relationship between anthropogenic activities and river ecology. The findings may be helpful for policymakers to make strategic decisions of water resource management and land use planning in arid areas.
Highlights
Nitrogen (N) is one of the most important nutrients for ecosystem function and a limiting factor for the productivity of many ecosystems in the world [1]
The sampling time was from January to December 2019, and the sampling frequency was tested once a month, which was from Yellow River and Fen River Basins
The range of NH3-N is in 0.11–13.20 mg L–1 and 0.10–34.10 mg L–1 in Yellow River (YR) and Fen River (FR) Basins, respectively
Summary
Nitrogen (N) is one of the most important nutrients for ecosystem function and a limiting factor for the productivity of many ecosystems in the world [1]. Land use/cover change (such as farmland expansion, afforestation, deforestation, urbanization, and industrialization) increases the vulnerability of the water ecosystem, which is an important way and response of human activities to the surface environment [23]. Agricultural nitrogen fertilizers include fertilizers, nitrogen-fixing crops, human and animal excreta, and soil erosion caused by land use changes such as deforestation and grassland reclamation. Nitrogen concentration in surface water is strongly affected by land use in settlement areas, especially by agriculture [25]. Land use is always associated with fertilization (cropland) and soil erosion (conversion of natural vegetation to arable land), which increases the concentration of nitrogen in the rivers discharging disturbed catchments. This research will provide scientific guidance for water ecosystem management and regional sustainable development for maintaining ecological balance and regulating anthropogenic activities in arid areas
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