Effects of land use on the water quality and biota of three streams in the Piedmont Province of North Carolina
Three small streams in North Carolina's northern Piedmont were studied to compare the effects of land use in their watersheds on water quality characteristics and aquatic biota. Devil's Cradle Creek (agricultural watershed) had more than two times the sediment yield of Smith Creek (forested watershed) and Marsh Creek (urban watershed) had more than four times the yield of Smith Creek. Concentrations of nutrients were consistently highest in Devil's Craddle Creek. Concentrations of total copper, iron, and lead in samples from each of the three streams at times exceeded State water quality standards as did concentrations of total zinc in samples from both Smith and Marsh Creeks. Successively lower aquatic invertebrate taxa richness was found in the forested, the agricultural, and the urban watershed streams. Fish communities in the forested and agricultural watershed streams were characterized by more species and more individuals of each species, relative to a limited community in urban marsh Creek. Three independent variables closely linked to land use - suspended-sediment yield, suspended-sediment load, and total lead concentrations in stream water - are inversely associated with the biological communities of the streams. 102 refs., 3 figs., 25 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 6830364
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ARTHROPODS
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
COPPER
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FEDERAL REGION IV
FISHES
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INSECTS
INTERSTITIAL WATER
INVERTEBRATES
IRON
LAND USE
LEAD
METALS
NORTH AMERICA
NORTH CAROLINA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
SPECIES DIVERSITY
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
USA
VERTEBRATES
WATER
WATER POLLUTION
WATER QUALITY
WATERSHEDS
ZINC