Impacts of Land Use Change and Summer Monsoon on Nutrients and Sediment Exports from an Agricultural Catchment
Kiyong Kim 1,*, Bomchul Kim 2, Jaesung Eum 2, Bumsuk Seo 2, Christopher L. Shope 3
and Stefan Peiffer 1
and Stefan Peiffer 1
1
Department of Hydrology, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
2
Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
3
Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2018, 10(5), 544; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10050544
Received: 5 April 2018 / Revised: 16 April 2018 / Accepted: 23 April 2018 / Published: 24 April 2018
(This article belongs to the Section Water Quality and Ecosystems)
Abstract
Agricultural non-point source (NPS) pollution is a major concern for water quality management in the Soyang watershed in South Korea. Nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen), organic matter, and sediment exports in streams were estimated in an agricultural catchment (Haean catchment) for two years. The stream water samples were taken in dry and rainy seasons to evaluate the effect of monsoonal rainfall on pollutants exports. The influence of land use changes on NPS pollution was assessed by conducting a land use census and comparing the NPS characteristic exports. Total phosphorus (TP), suspended solids (SS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased dramatically in rainy seasons. Land uses were changed during the study period. Dry fields and rice paddies have decreased distinctively while orchard (apple, grape, and peach) and ginseng crops showed an increase within the catchment. The TP and SS loading decreased in the streams in 2010 compared to the loading in 2009 while the BOD and NO3− did not show distinct significant change. In this study, monsoonal driven rainfalls increased exports of agricultural NPS pollutants into streams. Land use change (mostly crop and paddy fields to orchards and ginseng fields) remarkably mitigated TP and SS exports into the streams. View Full-Text
Graphical abstract
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Kim, K.; Kim, B.; Eum, J.; Seo, B.; Shope, C.L.; Peiffer, S. Impacts of Land Use Change and Summer Monsoon on Nutrients and Sediment Exports from an Agricultural Catchment. Water 2018, 10, 544.
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