<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Small water bodies play a specific role in the landscape, as they increase the mosaic pattern of a given area, retain water and affect hydrological regime in adjacent soils. These water bodies are the most important in landscapes that have been largely transformed by man, such as agricultural and urban landscapes. The author of this study assessed the ecological status of small water bodies using the Q index and determined the impact of the development of adjacent areas on their ecological status. The analysis of the Q index referring to water bodies showed that its values changed considerably not only during the whole study period but also during one year (from 1.74 to 4.28). The land use analysis in the designated buffer zones stretching within 500 m and 1000 m from the water bodies showed that arable land occupied the largest area. This fact determines the ecological status of these water bodies. Ecotones that develop around ponds can function as biogeochemical barriers reducing pollution in the area. A total of 116 species of vascular plants were identified in the water bodies under study. Herbaceous plants constituted the largest group – 87 species. Trees and shrubs were represented by 16 species and macrophytes by 16 taxa.</p></abstract>

Small water bodies play a specific role in the landscape, as they increase the mosaic pattern of a given area, retain water and affect hydrological regime in adjacent soils. These water bodies are the most important in landscapes that have been largely transformed by man, such as agricultural and urban landscapes. The author of this study assessed the ecological status of small water bodies using the Q index and determined the impact of the development of adjacent areas on their ecological status. The analysis of the Q index referring to water bodies showed that its values changed considerably not only during the whole study period but also during one year (from 1.74 to 4.28). The land use analysis in the designated buffer zones stretching within 500 m and 1000 m from the water bodies showed that arable land occupied the largest area. This fact determines the ecological status of these water bodies. Ecotones that develop around ponds can function as biogeochemical barriers reducing pollution in the area. A total of 116 species of vascular plants were identified in the water bodies under study. Herbaceous plants constituted the largest group – 87 species. Trees and shrubs were represented by 16 species and macrophytes by 16 taxa.

Influence of land development on the ecological status of small water bodies

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Influence of land development on the ecological status of small water bodies"}

Small water bodies play a specific role in the landscape, as they increase the mosaic pattern of a given area, retain water and affect hydrological regime in...

Water body	Plants	2013	2014	2015
No. 1	trees and shrubs	8	8	8
	herbaceous plants	6	6	9
	macrophytes	1	1	1
No. 2	trees and shrubs	3	3	3
	herbaceous plants	5	9	18
	macrophytes	3	5	2
No. 3	trees and shrubs	1	1	1
	herbaceous plants	6	10	22
	macrophytes	2	2	2
No. 4	trees and shrubs	4	4	3
	herbaceous plants	11	16	14
	macrophytes	7	8	7

No. of water body	Distance from the nearest livestock farm (m)	Distance from the nearest mine (m)	Distance from the nearest sewage treatment plant (m)	Distance from the nearest landfill (m)	Distance from the nearest production plant (m)	Distance from the nearest road (m)
1	20.3	6836	6720	6698	418	32
2	418	7000	6200	6174	931	33
3	4281.5	7040	2497	2538	897	26
4	3779	4596.5	4292	4688	2416	243

Ecological status	Q index value
Very good	4.0–5.0
Good	3.0–4.0
Medium	2.0–3.0
Poor	1.0–2.0
Bad	0–1.0

Influence of land development on the ecological status of small water bodies

Article Category: Research Article

Published Online: Nov 26, 2020

Page range: 345 - 353

Received: Apr 17, 2020

Accepted: Jun 08, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ohs-2020-0030

© 2020 Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Poland

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

The number of taxa of vascular plants in water bodies No. 1–4 between 2013 and 2015

The shortest distance from facilities that may be potential sources of pollution

Classification of the ecological status of water based on the Q index