Relationships of Land Use and Stream Solute Concentrations in the Ipswich River Basin, Northeastern Massachusetts

Abstract

The relationships of land use/land cover (LULC) on major solute concentrations in stream water were investigated for the Ipswich River basin (404 km2) in northeastern Massachusetts. Stream water was sampled seven times during base flow in 43 first-order catchments and four times in 28 second- and third-order catchments. Regression analysis of the first-order catchment data indicates that NO3−, acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), Cl−, SO42−, and the base cations had positive, mostly exponential relationships with the increasing extent of urban + agricultural area (P < 0.05), whereas dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) had positive, exponential relationships with the increasing extent of wetland + open water (P < 0.05). Solute sources responsible for many of these relationships are human-derived constituents found in septic effluent, fertilizers, and road salts. In contrast to more conservative solutes, concentrations of NO3− in the first-order streams were commonly higher than in those of second- and third-order streams with similar proportions of urban + agricultural land use. Using LULC subclasses (e.g., high density residential), as well as the proportions of LULC in 50, 100, and 200 m concentric zones bordering streams, generally decreased the relationships (r2) determined above. Hence, the disturbed area of the entire subbasin was the best descriptor of streamwater solute concentrations. Potassium concentrations in stream water had stronger relationships than any other ion, yet these explained < 60% of the variability, indicating that there are a number of important ancillary factors that affect streamwater solute composition in the Ipswich River basin.