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CHARACTERIZATION OF SURFACE WATER QUALITY ALONG A WATERSHED DISTURBANCE GRADIENT 1
Author(s) -
Zampella Robert A.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1994.tb03315.x
Subject(s) - pine barrens , watershed , environmental science , disturbance (geology) , water quality , phosphorus , hydrology (agriculture) , nutrient , environmental chemistry , surface water , nitrate , ecology , chemistry , environmental engineering , geology , biology , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , machine learning , computer science
. Characterizing ecological indicators such as water quality is necessary to effectively manage human‐dominated systems such as the New Jersey Pinelands. Pinelands surface waters are naturally acidic and low in nutrients and other dissolved substances. Water quality for 14 Pinelands stream sites monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey was characterized in relation to land use. A gradient of increasing pH, specific conductance, and concentration of dissolved calcium, dissolved magnesium, total nitrite + nitrate‐nitrogen, total ammonia‐nitrogen, and total phosphorus was associated with a watershed disturbance gradient of increasing land use intensity and waste water flow. These two parallel gradients emphasized the significant effect that watershed disturbance can have on natural water chemistry in the Pinelands. The results of this study can be applied to planning and regulatory programs in the Pinelands.