AUTHOR=Liu Xuhua , Liu Huamin , Jing Jin , Liu Yang , Xu Zhichao , Cao Xiaoai , Ma Linqian , Zhuo Yi , Wen Lu , Wang Lixin 

TITLE=How the land use/cover changes and environmental factors at different scales affect lake water quality in arid and semi-arid regions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1188927

DOI=10.3389/fevo.2023.1188927

ISSN=2296-701X

ABSTRACT=The quantitative relationship between land use/cover change (LUCC) within basins, lake water environmental factors, and water quality has always been a popular research area. In this study, we investigated three typical basins (Ulansuhai Basin, Daihai Basin, and Dalinor Basin)in arid and semi-arid, China. Based on the China Land Cover Dataset (CLCD), by calculating the land use dynamic degree index and Markov transfer matrix. Moreover, an econometric analysis model and hybrid evolutionary algorithm (HEA) model were used to explore the quantitative relationship between LUCC and environmental factors on the lake water quality. The results showed that the LUCC of the three l
ake basins were dominated by cultivated land and grassland over the past 20 years. In all of the basins, grassland and water area were converted into cultivated land, water area decreased to varying degrees, and impervious surface area increased continuously. Moreover, TN and TP were generally proportional to chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), and dissolved oxygen (DO), but inversely proportional to water depth and transparency; the relationship between Nutrient concentration and pH was usually related to the ecological threshold. On basin scale, the grassland and forestland played positive roles in improving water quality, while cultivated land and impervious surface were the main factors contributing to water pollution. Overall, this study provides a scientific theoretical basis for the rational utilization of the land resources, improvement of lake water quality, and ecological protection of typical lake basins in arid and semi-arid regions.