Influence of land cover on aqueous concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous in surface run off

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2017-04

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Hilburn, Emily. Masters of Environmental Assessment. Influence of land cover on aqueous concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous in surface run off Maryland accounts for 6,212,480 acres of land area and 1,727,360 acres of water area within the United States (Perlman, 2016). As such, 21% of the area in Maryland is occupied by water (Perlman, 2016). Each body of water is critical in its environmental importance, including supporting various species throughout their life cycles and maintaining the overall ecosystem balance. The land cover (the physical characteristics of the land) in the areas surrounding the water bodies influence each stream’s water quality, as well as the variation between each stream’s nutrient concentrations (Bowden, 2015). This study evaluates the relationship between nine years of nutrient concentration data measured once a year in April at 60 sample sites throughout Maryland’s Delmarva Peninsula and land cover and/or presence of poultry houses found in each sample sites sub-watershed. ArcMap was used to identify the sample sites sub-watersheds in addition to identifying the poultry houses and land cover types within each sites sub-watershed. The nutrient concentrations were provided in Excel from the sampling entity, Maryland Coastal Bays. The data analysis demonstrated that when watershed area, land cover data, and poultry house data are overlaid, correlations are apparent and indicate that the concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) sampled in the sub-watershed decreases when the number of poultry houses is nominal, watershed area is low to medium sized, and the urban, agricultural, and forested land cover is low.

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