Table 1 Overview of global studies on land use (LU) and land cover (LC) impact on surface water quality
Paper name | Author(s) and Year | Key findings | Country or region |
|---|---|---|---|
Linking land use with riverine water quality: A multi-spatial scale assessment17 | Li et al.17 | Agricultural activities are linked to water quality pollutants in regions with higher runoff depth and lower altitude. | China (Songhua River Basin) |
The multiscale nexus among land use-land cover changes and water quality in the Suquía River Basin, a semi-arid region of Argentina18 | Paná et al.18 | Land use and land cover changes affect water quality differently across spatial scales, emphasizing the need for multiscale analysis in land management. | Argentina (Suquía River) |
Assessing the Impacts of Land Use on Water Quality in the Acacias River Basin, Colombia19 | Rojas-Peña et al.19 | Poor agricultural management practices lead to nutrient loading and sedimentation in rivers. | Acacias River basin, Colombia |
Effects of land use on water quality at different spatial scales in the middle reaches of Huaihe River20 | Mu et al.20 | The impact of land use on water quality changes with spatial scale, highlighting the need to choose the right scale when assessing environmental effects, as different scales provide varied insights into the land use-water quality relationship. | China (Huaihe River Basin) |
Wide exposure of persistent organic pollutants (PoPs) in natural waters and sediments of the densely populated Western Bengal basin, India9 | Duttagupta et al.30 | The study found widespread contamination of persistent organic pollutants (PoPs) in water and sediments, linked to agricultural runoff and industrial discharge in densely populated areas. | India (Lower Ganges Basin) |
Land use impact on the water quality of large tropical river: Mun River Basin, Thailand21 | Yadav et al.21 | Urban land use significantly increases nutrient levels (TP, NH3-N), while agriculture affects BOD in the Mun River. Seasonal and spatial variations highlight the need for multi-scale pollution control measures. | Mun River Basin, Thailand |
Population growth, land use and land cover transformations, and water quality nexus in the Upper Ganga River basin22 | Shukla et al.18 | Population growth and Land use/land cover changes in the Upper Ganga River basin have degraded water quality, with pollution from agriculture in rural areas and industrial/domestic waste in urban areas. | India (Upper Ganga River Basin) |
Water quality impacts of urban and non-urban arid-land runoff on the Rio Grande23 | Regier et al.23 | Urban stormwater quality suggests that water quality responses to storm events in urban landscapes are consistent across a range of regional climates | New Mexico, USA (Rio Grande River Basin) |
The Impact of Land Use/Land Cover Change on Water Quality in the Middle Ganga Region: A Review24 | Punja et al.24 | Increased land use and land cover changes have led to decreased water quality, evidenced by lower dissolved oxygen levels and elevated pollutants such as fecal coliform, total coliform, and nitrates. The rise in nitrate levels is primarily linked to intensified industrial activities and agricultural runoff during harvest periods. The study emphasizes that untreated commercial and industrial wastewater significantly hinders water quality improvement efforts. | India (Middle Ganges basin) |
