Abstract
The anthropogenic problems in richly sculpted areas (mountain and submontane) are mainly related to agricultural activity, which shapes the quality of surface waters. This paper presents an analysis of the results of the hydrochemical tests carried out in the years 2007–2018 at check-control spots. The heavy metal pollution index (HPI < 100) indicated a low risk for aquatic organisms. The statistical calculations obtained by means of multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) designated that the hazard quotient (HQ) index can be combined with the electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved substances (TDS) parameters used in the assessment of water erosion. The HQ index showed that the concentration of individual heavy metals is lower than their value in the 0.5 percentile of the value. In subsequent studies, it should be assessed whether the size of arable land has an impact on the increased concentration of heavy metals in the surface water. We recommend small retention reservoirs as a potential management measure to improve the quality of the surface water at a regional scale. This study has great potential to mitigate the degradation processes related to the insufficient storage capacity, and to promote natural water retention.
Highlights
The land use of a catchment area is one of the key factors affecting water quality [1]
The minimum concentration of dissolved oxygen in water never decreased below the level of 5 mg O2·dm−3, which was undoubtedly influenced by the significant slopes in the bottom of the watercourses, and the associated high water flow rates
Our studies confirmed that the physicochemical composition of the flysch stream waters is modified by the anthropogenic factor, especially in the case of water bodies located on slopes with a higher gradient
Summary
The land use of a catchment area is one of the key factors affecting water quality [1]. The amount and type of substances in surface water varies greatly and depends on the conditions in the catchment area [2]. If these substances occur in excess, they deteriorate the quality and utility value of water, and become pollutants whose sources can be divided into natural and anthropogenic [2,3]. The reason for our study is the presence, in agricultural areas of forests, of mulch in which humus soils occur, which may cause a greater pollution of water with mineral-organic substances than the extensively used (meadows and arable land) mineral soils [5]. A significant share of the degradation of water is from rural areas, being used for agricultural purposes; through the chemicalization of agriculture and accelerated soil erosion; improper use of plant protection products and incorrect storage; and the use of sewage or waste from livestock farming [7,8]
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