Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Using multivariate techniques to assess the effects of urbanization on surface water quality: a case study in the Liangjiang New Area, China

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in China has been causing dramatic deterioration in the water quality of rivers and threatening aquatic ecosystem health. In this paper, multivariate techniques, such as factor analysis (FA) and cluster analysis (CA), were applied to analyze the water quality datasets for 19 rivers in Liangjiang New Area (LJNA), China, collected in April (dry season) and September (wet season) of 2014 and 2015. In most sampling rivers, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and fecal coliform exceeded the Class V guideline (GB3838-2002), which could thereby threaten the water quality in Yangtze and Jialing Rivers. FA clearly identified the five groups of water quality variables, which explain majority of the experimental data. Nutritious pollution, seasonal changes, and construction activities were three key factors influencing rivers’ water quality in LJNA. CA grouped 19 sampling sites into two clusters, which located at sub-catchments with high- and low-level urbanization, respectively. One-way ANOVA showed the nutrients (total phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and nitrite), fecal coliform, and conductivity in cluster 1 were significantly greater than in cluster 2. Thus, catchment urbanization degraded rivers’ water quality in Liangjiang New Area. Identifying effective buffer zones at riparian scale to weaken the negative impacts of catchment urbanization was recommended.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alberto, W. D., Pilar, M. D., Valeria, A. M., Fabiana, P. S., Cecilia, H. A., & Angeles, B. (2001). Pattern recognition techniques for the evaluation of spatial and temporal variations in water quality. A case study: Suquía River basin (Córdoba-Argentina). Water Research, 35(12), 2881–2894.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Almeida, C. A., Quintar, S., González, P., & Mallea, M. A. (2007). Influence of urbanization and tourist activities on the water quality of the Potrero de los Funes River (San Luis – Argentina). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment., 133, 459–465.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Murairi, N., Abahussain, A., & El-Bettay, A. (2014). Spatial and temporal characterizations of water quality in Kuwait Bay. Marine Pollution Bulletin., 83, 127–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APHA. (1998). Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water (20th ed.). Washington, DC: American Publish Health association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, D. Q., Xiong, F., Wang, K., & Chang, Y. H. (2009). Status of research on Yangtze fish biology and fisheries. Environmental Biology of Fishes., 85, 337–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X., Zhou, W. Q., Pickett, S. T. A., Li, W. F., Han, L. J., & Ren, Y. F. (2016). Diotoms are better indicators of urban stream conditions: a case study in Beijing, China. Ecological Indicators, 60, 265–274.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds, W. K., & Oakes, R. M. (2008). Headwater influences on downstream water quality. Environmental management., 41, 367–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, F. C., Zhou, B. T., & Liang, K. X. (2012). Research of the ecosystem services value (ESV) of land use in Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing. Journal of Southwest China Normal University (Natural Science Edition)., 37(1), 68–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gu, Q. W., Wang, H. Q., Zheng, Y. N., Zhu, J. W., & Li, X. K. (2015). Ecological footprint analysis for urban agglomeration sustainability in the middle stream of Yangtze River. Ecological Modelling, 318, 86–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jirka, G. H., & Herlina. (2008). Reaeration. Encyclopedia of Ecology., 2975–2981.

  • Li, L. Y. (2015). State rescaling and national new area development in China: the case of Chongqing Liangjiang. Habitat International., 50, 80–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y., Li, Y. F., Qureshi, S., Kappas, M., & Hubacek, K. (2015). On the relationship between landscape ecological patterns and water quality across gradient zones of rapid urbanization in coastal China. Ecological Modelling, 318, 100–108.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, B. J., Chen, D. X., Wu, S. H., Zhou, S. L., Wang, T., & Chen, H. (2016). Spatio-temporal assessment of urbanization impacts on ecosystem services: case study of Nanjing City, China. Ecological Indicators, 71, 416–427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, H. L., Liu, Y. Q., Hou, X. G., Li, T. T., & Li, Y. R. (2014). Effects of land use transitions due to rapid urbanization on ecosystem services: implications for urban planning in the new developing area of China. Habitat International., 44, 536–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minaya, V., McClain, M. E., Moog, O., Omengo, F., & Singer, G. A. (2013). Scale-dependent effects of rural activities on benthic macroinvertebrates and physic-chemical characteristics in headwater streams of the Mara River. Kenya. Ecological Indicators., 32, 116–122.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mo, D. D. (2015). Study on the healthy hydrosocial cycle—case of Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing. Chongqing: Chongqing University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouyang, Y., Kizza, P. N., Wu, Q. T., Shinde, D., & Huang, C. H. (2006). Assessment of seasonal variations in surface water quality. Water Research, 40, 3800–3810.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pinto, U., & Maheshwari, B. L. (2011). River health assessment in peri-urban landscapes: an application of multivariate analysis to identify the key variables. Water Research, 45, 3915–3924.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Randall, W. G., McCarthy, J., Layton, A., McKay, L. D., Williams, D., Koirala, S. R., & Sayler, G. S. (2006). Escherichia coli loading at or near base flow in a mixed-use watershed. Journal of Environmental Quality., 35, 2244–2249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Razmkhah, H., Abrishmchi, A., & Torkian, A. (2010). Evaluation of spatial and temporal variation in water quality by pattern recognition techniques: a case study on Jajrood River (Tehran, Iran). Journal of Environmental Management., 91, 852–860.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robert, E., Grippa, M., Kergoat, L., Pinet, S., Gal, L., Cochonneau, G., & Martinez, J. M. (2016). Monitoring water turbidity and surface sediment concentration of the Bagre reservoir (Burkina Faso) using MODIS and field reflectance data. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation., 52, 243–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, A. H., Rosemond, A. D., Paul, M. J., Leigh, D. S., & Wallace, J. B. (2003). Stream macroinvertebrate response to catchment urbanisation. Freshwater Biology., 48, 329–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi, D. M., Wang, W. L., Jiang, G. Y., Peng, X. D., Yu, Y. L., Li, Y. X., & Ding, W. B. (2016). Effects of disturbed landforms on the soil water retention function during urbanization process in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China. Catena, 144, 84–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shrestha, S., & Kazama, F. (2007). Assessment of surface water quality using multivariate statistical techniques: a case study of the Fuji river basin, Japan. Environmental Modelling & Software, 22, 464–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simeonov, V., et al. (2003). Assessment of the surface water quality in northern Greece. Water Research, 37, 4119–4124.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, K. P., Malik, A., Mohan, D., & Sinha, S. (2004). Multivariate statistical techniques for the evaluation of spatial and temporal variations in water quality of Gomti River (India)—a case study. Water Research, 38, 3980–3992.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Standard. (2002). Standard methods for the analysis of water and wastewater (fourth ed.). Beijing: Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, Y. W., Guo, Q. H., Liu, J., & Wang, R. (2014). Scale effects on spatially varying relationships between urban landscape patterns and water quality. Environmental Management., 54, 272–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tran, C. P., Bode, R. W., Smith, A. J., & Kleppel, G. S. (2010). Land-use proximity as a basis for assessing stream water quality in New York State (USA). Ecological Indicators, 10, 727–733.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Varol, M., Gökot, B., Bekleyen, A., & Şen, B. (2012). Spatial and temporal variations in surface water quality of the dam reservoirs in the Tigris River basin. Turkey. Catena., 92, 11–21.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, B. X., Liu, D. X., Liu, S. R., Zhang, Y., Lu, D. Q., & Wang, L. Z. (2012). Impacts of urbanization on stream habitats and macroinvertebrate communities in the tributaries of Qiangtang River, China. Hydrobiologia, 680, 39–51.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., Wang, P., Bai, Y. J., Tian, Z. X., Li, J. W., Shao, X., Mastavich, L. F., & Li, B. L. (2013). Assessment of surface water quality via multivariate statistical techniques: a case study of the Songhua River Harbin region, China. Journal of Hydro- environment Research, 7, 30–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, X. W. (2014). Non-point source pollution research based on land use change in Liangjiang New Area. Chongqing: Chongqing University.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Major National Project for Water Pollution Control (2012ZX07307-001). The authors are grateful to the Chongqing Geographic Information Center for providing land use map of the Liangjiang New Area.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, China

    Kun Luo, Xuebin Hu, Qiang He, Zhengsong Wu, Hao Cheng & Zhenlong Hu

  2. University of Victoria, PO Box 3020 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3N5, Canada

    Kun Luo & Asit Mazumder

Authors
  1. Kun Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xuebin Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qiang He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Zhengsong Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hao Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zhenlong Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Asit Mazumder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xuebin Hu.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 Environmental quality standards for surface water of China (GB3838–2002)
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Luo, K., Hu, X., He, Q. et al. Using multivariate techniques to assess the effects of urbanization on surface water quality: a case study in the Liangjiang New Area, China. Environ Monit Assess 189, 174 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5884-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5884-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation