Influence of land use and land cover on the water quality of the Pinacanauan de Tuguegarao River: A multi-buffer zone analysis
Paper Details
Influence of land use and land cover on the water quality of the Pinacanauan de Tuguegarao River: A multi-buffer zone analysis
Abstract
The study examined the influence of land use and land cover (LULC) on the water quality of the Pinacanauan de Tuguegarao (PdT) River, a designated Water Quality Management Area in northern Philippines. GIS and Pearson correlation analysis were used to determine the relationship between agriculture, forest, and built-up areas and water quality parameters using 500-m (n = 112), 1-km (n = 88), and 2-km (n = 64) buffer zones. Data used include focus group discussions (FGD), on-site visits, LULC from ESRI Sentinel-2 imagery with a 10-m resolution, and water quality monitoring results from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Regional Office 2. The Kappa coefficient verified the accuracy of the processed LULC maps, ranging from 89% to 94%, indicating reliability for subsequent analyses. Results indicated that built-up areas exhibited positive correlations with nitrate, fecal coliform, TSS, BOD, temperature, and phosphate, and negative correlations with DO. These findings are consistent with the communities’ perceptions and field observations, such as direct drainage and sewage discharge, quarrying activities, and improper waste disposal, all of which contribute significantly to the deterioration of water quality. In contrast, forested areas demonstrated a buffering effect, showing negative correlations with nitrate, fecal coliform, TSS, temperature, BOD, and phosphate and a positive correlation with DO. Moreover, agricultural lands displayed negative correlations with temperature, nitrate, and color and a positive correlation with DO, likely mitigated by the presence of riparian vegetation. The study underscores that land use intensity and spatial scale significantly affect the water quality of the PdT River.
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