title: Identifying and Classifying Pollution Hotspots to Guide Watershed Management in a Large Multiuse Watershed.
abstract: In many locations around the globe, large reservoir sustainability is threatened by land use change and direct pollution loading from the upstream watershed. However, the size and complexity of upstream basins makes the planning and implementation of watershed-scale pollution management a challenge. In this study, we established an evaluation system based on 17 factors, representing the potential point and non-point source pollutants and the environmental carrying capacity which are likely to affect the water quality in the Dahuofang Reservoir and watershed in northeastern China. We used entropy methods to rank 118 subwatersheds by their potential pollution threat and clustered subwatersheds according to the potential pollution type. Combining ranking and clustering analyses allowed us to suggest specific areas for prioritized watershed management (in particular, two subwatersheds with the greatest pollution potential) and to recommend the conservation of current practices in other less vulnerable locations (91 small watersheds with low pollution potential). Finally, we identified the factors most likely to influence the water quality of each of the 118 subwatersheds and suggested adaptive control measures for each location. These results provide a scientific basis for improving the watershed management and sustainability of the Dahuofang reservoir and a framework for identifying threats and prioritizing the management of watersheds of large reservoirs around the world.
authors.affiliation: College of Water Conversation, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenyang 110866, China. sufangli8@163.com.|Liaoning Shuangtai Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Research Station, Nanjingzi Village, Dongguo Town, Panshan County, Panjin City 124112, Liaoning Province, China. sufangli8@163.com.|Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, 6 Phelps Lab, Gainesville, FL 32611-6350, USA. sufangli8@163.com.
authors.forename: Fangli
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, 6 Phelps Lab, Gainesville, FL 32611-6350, USA. dkaplan@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: College of Water Conversation, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenyang 110866, China. xiyue_li@163.com.|Liaoning Shuangtai Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Research Station, Nanjingzi Village, Dongguo Town, Panshan County, Panjin City 124112, Liaoning Province, China. xiyue_li@163.com.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Water Conversation, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenyang 110866, China. syaulhf@126.com.|Liaoning Shuangtai Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Research Station, Nanjingzi Village, Dongguo Town, Panshan County, Panjin City 124112, Liaoning Province, China. syaulhf@126.com.
authors.forename: Haifu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Water Conversation, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenyang 110866, China. sfsongfei@163.com.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: College of Water Conversation, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenyang 110866, China. syaulhf@126.com.
authors.forename: Haisheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D060753:Water Quality; D014881:Water Supply
keywords: Dahuofang reservoir; classification; cluster analysis; non-point source pollution; point source pollution; water quality; watershed management