Assessment of cumulative impacts to water quality in a forested wetland landscape
- Univ. of South Carolina, Georgetown (USA)
- Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge (USA)
This article presents a historical analysis of water quality in the Tensas Basin, Louisiana, as part of the cumulative impacts analysis of this BLHF landscape. Historical records of suspended sediment, N, P, and turbidity from three streams in the Tensas Basin were analyzed. Significant positive relationships between water levels in these streams and concentrations of total P, total Kjeldahl N, total suspended sediment, and turbidity confirmed a loading phenomenon characteristic of watersheds in which much of the original forest cover has been cleared. Eighty-five percent of the original forest in the Tensas Basin has been converted to agricultural fields. Temporal trends in nutrient concentration show that water quality has been declining steadily since 1958 in one river, whereas in the other two the decline largely occurred before then. In much of the Tensas Basin the nutrient limiting aquatic primary productivity - and thus the most critical nutrient to control - may be N. A goal-oriented management plan for improved water quality in the Tensas Basin was devised based on this cumulative impact assessment.
- OSTI ID:
- 5467211
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Environmental Quality; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Environmental Quality; (United States) Vol. 19:3; ISSN JEVQA; ISSN 0047-2425
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
540210* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Basic Studies-- (1990-)
540310 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (1990-)
AGRICULTURE
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECOLOGY
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FEDERAL REGION VI
FORESTS
INDUSTRY
LOUISIANA
NORTH AMERICA
RECOMMENDATIONS
SEDIMENTS
USA
WATER QUALITY
WATERSHEDS
WETLANDS