IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i7p2992-d343060.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Linking Changes in Land Cover and Land Use of the Lower Mekong Basin to Instream Nitrate and Total Suspended Solids Variations

Author

Listed:
  • Kongmeng Ly

    (School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia)

  • Graciela Metternicht

    (School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia)

  • Lucy Marshall

    (Faculty of Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia)

Abstract

Population growth and economic development are driving changes in land use/land cover (LULC) of the transboundary Lower Mekong River Basin (LMB), posing a serious threat to the integrity of the river system. Using data collected on a monthly basis over 30 years (1985–2015) at 14 stations located along the Lower Mekong river, this study explores whether spatiotemporal relationships exist between LULC changes and instream concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS) and nitrate—as proxies of water quality. The results show seasonal influences where temporal patterns of instream TSS and nitrate concentrations mirror patterns detected for discharge. Changes in LULC influenced instream TSS and nitrate levels differently over time and space. The seasonal Mann–Kendall (SMK) confirmed significant reduction of instream TSS concentrations at six stations ( p < 0.05), while nitrate levels increased at five stations ( p < 0.05), predominantly in stations located in the upper section of the basin where forest areas and mountainous topography dominate the landscape. Temporal correlation analyses point to the conversion of grassland (r = −0.61, p < 0.01) to paddy fields (r = 0.63, p < 0.01) and urban areas (r = 0.44, p < 0.05) as the changes in LULC that mostly impact instream nitrate contents. The reduction of TSS appears influenced by increased forest land cover (r = −0.72, p < 0.01) and by the development and operation of hydropower projects in the upper Mekong River. Spatial correlation analyses showed positive associations between forest land cover and instream concentrations of TSS (r = 0.64, p = 0.01) and nitrate (r = 0.54, p < 0.05), indicating that this type of LULC was heavily disturbed and harvested, resulting in soil erosion and runoff of nitrate rich sediment during the Wet season. Our results show that enhanced understanding of how LULC changes influence instream water quality at spatial and temporal scales is vital for assessing potential impacts of future land and water resource development on freshwater resources of the LMB.

Suggested Citation

  • Kongmeng Ly & Graciela Metternicht & Lucy Marshall, 2020. "Linking Changes in Land Cover and Land Use of the Lower Mekong Basin to Instream Nitrate and Total Suspended Solids Variations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-38, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:7:p:2992-:d:343060
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/2992/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/2992/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rutten, Martine & van Dijk, Michiel & van Rooij, Wilbert & Hilderink, Henk, 2014. "Land Use Dynamics, Climate Change, and Food Security in Vietnam: A Global-to-local Modeling Approach," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 29-46.
    2. Arias, Mauricio E. & Cochrane, Thomas A. & Kummu, Matti & Lauri, Hannu & Holtgrieve, Gordon W. & Koponen, Jorma & Piman, Thanapon, 2014. "Impacts of hydropower and climate change on drivers of ecological productivity of Southeast Asia's most important wetland," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 272(C), pages 252-263.
    3. Liya Fu & You-Gan Wang, 2012. "Statistical Tools for Analyzing Water Quality Data," Chapters, in: Konstantinos (Kostas) Voudouris & Dimitra Voutsa (ed.), Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment, IntechOpen.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Samol Chhuoy & Zeb S. Hogan & Bunyeth Chan & Sudeep Chandra & Bunthang Touch & Ratha Sor & Sovan Lek & Peng Bun Ngor, 2023. "Declines in the Mekong’s Megadiverse Larval Fish Assemblages: Implications for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-19, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuichiro Yoshida & Han Soo Lee & Bui Huy Trung & Hoang-Dung Tran & Mahrjan Keshlav Lall & Kifayatullah Kakar & Tran Dang Xuan, 2020. "Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Felkner, John S. & Lee, Hyun & Shaikh, Sabina & Kolata, Alan & Binford, Michael, 2022. "The interrelated impacts of credit access, market access and forest proximity on livelihood strategies in Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    3. Tuyen Quang Tran & Huong Van Vu, 2021. "The impact of land fragmentation on food security in the North Central Coast, Vietnam," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 327-345, May.
    4. De Pinto, Alessandro & Wiebe, Keith D. & Rosegrant, Mark W., 2016. "Climate change and agricultural policy options: A global-to-local approach," Policy briefs 978-089629-244-4, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Pornsiri Cheevapattananuwong & Claudia Baldwin & Athena Lathouras & Nnenna Ike, 2020. "Social Capital in Community Organizing for Land Protection and Food Security," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Va Dany & Louis Lebel, 2020. "Integrating Concerns with Climate Change into Local Development Planning in Cambodia," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 37(2), pages 221-243, March.
    7. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nguyen, Loc Duc & Lippe, Rattiya Suddeephong & Grote, Ulrike, 2017. "Determinants of Farmers’ Land Use Decision-Making: Comparative Evidence From Thailand and Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 199-213.
    8. Grundy, Michael J. & Bryan, Brett A. & Nolan, Martin & Battaglia, Michael & Hatfield-Dodds, Steve & Connor, Jeffery D. & Keating, Brian A., 2016. "Scenarios for Australian agricultural production and land use to 2050," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 70-83.
    9. Dandan Zhao & Hong S. He & Wen J. Wang & Lei Wang & Haibo Du & Kai Liu & Shengwei Zong, 2018. "Predicting Wetland Distribution Changes under Climate Change and Human Activities in a Mid- and High-Latitude Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-14, March.
    10. Duyen, Tran Nhat Lam & Tien, Nguyen Dinh & Ngoc, Nong Nguyen Khanh & Thuy, Pham Thu & Tich, Vu Van, 2022. "Determinants of swidden communities’ land-use decision-making for different crops in Son La and Nghe An provinces, Vietnam," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Ike Sari Astuti & Kamalakanta Sahoo & Adam Milewski & Deepak R. Mishra, 2019. "Impact of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) Change on Surface Runoff in an Increasingly Urbanized Tropical Watershed," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 33(12), pages 4087-4103, September.
    12. Rasadhika Sharma & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2018. "Changing Consumption Patterns—Drivers and the Environmental Impact," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, November.
    13. Jun Wang & Lichun Sui & Xiaomei Yang & Zhihua Wang & Dazhuan Ge & Junmei Kang & Fengshuo Yang & Yueming Liu & Bin Liu, 2019. "Economic Globalization Impacts on the Ecological Environment of Inland Developing Countries: A Case Study of Laos from the Perspective of the Land Use/Cover Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-21, July.
    14. Ha Thi Thuy Nong & Christopher Gan & Baiding Hu, 2022. "Livelihood vulnerability to climate change: a case of farm households in Northeast Vietnam," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(10), pages 12059-12078, October.
    15. Kun Cheng & Qiang Fu & Tianxiao Li & Qiuxiang Jiang & Wei Liu, 2015. "Regional food security risk assessment under the coordinated development of water resources," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 78(1), pages 603-619, August.
    16. Chea, Ratha & Guo, Chuanbo & Grenouillet, Gaël & Lek, Sovan, 2016. "Toward an ecological understanding of a flood-pulse system lake in a tropical ecosystem: Food web structure and ecosystem health," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 323(C), pages 1-11.
    17. Jun Zhang & Junping Yan & Liang Xue & Yuanzhi Yao & Xin Shu, 2021. "Is there a regularity: the change of arable land use pattern under the influence of human activities in the Loess Plateau of China?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 7156-7175, May.
    18. Shoyama, Kikuko & Kamiyama, Chiho & Morimoto, Junko & Ooba, Makoto & Okuro, Toshiya, 2017. "A review of modeling approaches for ecosystem services assessment in the Asian region," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(PB), pages 316-328.
    19. De Pinto, Alessandro & Li, Man & Haruna, Akiko & Hyman, Glenn Graham & Martinez, Mario Andrés Londoño & Creamer, Bernardo & Kwon, Ho-Young & Garcia, Jhon Brayan Valencia & Tapasco, Jeimar & Martinez, , 2016. "Low Emission Development Strategies in Agriculture. An Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) Perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 180-203.
    20. Xufeng Cui & Cuicui Liu & Ling Shan & Jiaqi Lin & Jing Zhang & Yuehua Jiang & Guanghong Zhang, 2021. "Spatial-Temporal Responses of Ecosystem Services to Land Use Transformation Driven by Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of Hubei Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-19, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:7:p:2992-:d:343060. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.