Evaluation of Human Activities on Sediment and Water Quality in Gorganroad Watershed, Northern Iran.

Evaluation of Human Activities on Sediment and Water Quality in GorganRood Watershed, Northern Iran

Abstract:

            Soil erosion and the consequent loss of nutrients have both direct and indirect effects, ranging from diminished productivityand profitability, on the physical and chemical contamination of water and soil resources. In this paper, we report a study to characterize the sediment and water quality that has accumulated in the fours Dams, Golestan Province, northern Iran. The sediment and water quality in four dams was compared as result of anthropogenic and natural changes occurring in the watershed using multivariate methods (PCA) and ANOVA. The results showed that the amount of Na, K and Mg decreased and Ca increased in outputs of dams. In terms of sediment quality, the amount of K, P, Mg and OM increased in the outpust of dams. Due to extensive farming in this area, the water and sediment quality decreased dramatically. Consequently, dams can trap a stream’s sediment load and created a sediment record and stream sediment load variability.

Keywords: Dams; Human activates; PCA; Sediment Quality; Water quality