Inland Waters—Rivers: Land Use and Water Quality

Land use and land cover (LULC) such as agriculture, urbanization, and natural resource extraction are major determinants of water quality worldwide. Shifts from natural landscapes to anthropogenic LULC drive chemical, physical, and biological aspects of water quality through alterations in catchment hydrology, sedimentation and fluvial geomorphology, habitat structure, nutrient availability, and contaminant pollution. These alterations affect the abundances and diversity of aquatic biota in many ways. Conservation approaches including riparian buffers and restoration of streams and wetlands can partially mitigate the effects of LULC change. However, water protection policies and novel management approaches are needed to safeguard water resources in the face of human population growth, climate change, and landscape conversion.