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Water quality in the Atlantic Rainforest Mountain Rivers (South America): quality indices assessment, nutrients distribution and consumption effect

Authors:
Esteban Avigliano at National Scientific and Technical Research Council
Esteban Avigliano
Nahuel Francisco Schenone at Fundación Bosques Nativos Argentinos para la Biodiversidad
Nahuel Francisco Schenone
  • Fundación Bosques Nativos Argentinos para la Biodiversidad
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Abstract and Figures

The South American Atlantic rainforest is a one-of-a-kind ecosystem considered as a biodiversity hotspot; however, in the last decades, it was intensively reduced to 7 % of its original surface. Water resources and water quality are one of the main goods and services this system provides to people. For monitoring and management recommendations, the present study is focused on (1) determining the nutrient content (nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, and phosphate) and physiochemical parameters (temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and total dissolved solids) in surface water from 24 rainforest mountain rivers in Argentina, (2) analyzing the human health risk, (3) assessing the environmental distribution of the determined pollutants, and (4) analyzing water quality indices (WQIobj and WQImin). In addition, for total coliform bacteria, a dataset was used from literature. Turbidity, total dissolved solids, and nitrite (NO2−) exceeded the guideline value recommended by national or international guidelines in several sampling stations. The spatial distribution pattern was analyzed by Principal Component Analysis and Factor Analysis (PCA/FA) showing well-defined groups of rivers. Both WQI showed good adjustment (R 2 = 0.89) and rated water quality as good or excellent in all sampling sites (WQI > 71). Therefore, this study suggests the use of the WQImin for monitoring water quality in the region and also the water treatment of coliform, total dissolved solids, and turbidity.
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Water quality in Atlantic rainforest mountain rivers
(South America): quality indices assessment, nutrients
distribution, and consumption effect
Esteban Avigliano
1,2,3
&Nahuel Schenone
1
Received: 23 September 2015 / Accepted: 4 April 2016 / Published online: 16 April 2016
#Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016
Abstract The South American Atlantic rainforest is a one-
of-a-kind ecosystem considered as a biodiversity hotspot;
however, in the last decades, it was intensively reduced to
7 % of its original surface. Water resources and water quality
are one of the main goods and services this system provides to
people. For monitoring and management recommendations,
the present study is focused on (1) determining the nutrient
content (nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, and phosphate) and phys-
iochemical parameters (temperature, pH, electrical conductiv-
ity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and total dissolved solids) in
surface water from 24 rainforest mountain rivers in Argentina,
(2) analyzing the human health risk, (3) assessing the environ-
mental distribution of the determined pollutants, and (4) ana-
lyzing water quality indices (WQI
obj
and WQI
min
). In addi-
tion, for total coliform bacteria, a dataset was used from liter-
ature. Turbidity, total dissolved solids, and nitrite (NO
2−
)
exceeded the guideline value recommended by national or
international guidelines in several sampling stations. The spa-
tial distribution pattern was analyzed by Principal Component
Analysis and Factor Analysis (PCA/FA) showing well-
defined groups of rivers. Both WQI showed good adjustment
(R
2
= 0.89) and rated water quality as good or excellent in all
sampling sites (WQI > 71). Therefore, this study suggests the
use of the WQI
min
for monitoring water quality in the region
and also the water treatment of coliform, total dissolved solids,
and turbidity.
Keywords Rain forest .Rivers .WQI .Nutrients .Water
pollution .Coliform bacteria
Introduction
The influence of human activities in the environment is con-
tinuously influencing and changing the ecosystem conditions
in different regions of the globe. High biodiversity sites or
hotspots are becoming a main concern among developing
countries due to the necessity to encourage a sustainable de-
velopment and the lack of environmental management tools.
Agricultural expansion and intensification that have acceler-
ated since the 1960s have doubled crop production in many
areas but, unfortunately, has come at a cost to the environment
(West et al. 2013). Deforestation and land use change are also
the main activities with a direct negative effect over the envi-
ronment. This is also happening in the Atlantic Forest of
South America, which is one of the most endangered
rainforests on Earth, and exists only 7 % of its original cover
(Di Bitetti et al. 2003). Land use change, fragmentation, and
non-sustainable (or traditional) forest management are within
the principal threats to this unique environment. The southern
portion of the Atlantic Forest is located in northwestern
Argentina (Misiones province) and neighboring areas of
Brazil and Paraguay (Fig. 1). The Argentinean province of
Misiones has the last largest continuous relict of Atlantic
Forest, hence the responsibility and opportunity for the im-
plantation of sustainable management practices. The few large
fragments remain in locations where geological characteristics
Responsible editor: Kenneth Mei Yee Leung
*Esteban Avigliano
estebanavigliano@conicet.gov.ar
1
Centro de Investigaciones Antonia Ramos, Fundación Bosques
Nativos Argentinos para la Biodiversidad, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
(CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
3
Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción Animal
(INPA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad
de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1427CWO, Argentina
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2016) 23:15063–15075
DOI 10.1007/s11356-016-6646-9
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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  • Jan 2013
Strontium : calcium (Sr : Ca) ratios were measured in sagittal otoliths of silverside (Odontesthes bonariensis) from a freshwater–marine environment (Paraná River Delta and Río de la Plata River, South America) in order to understand its seasonal movements. Conductivity was recorded and the water Sr : Ca ratio was determined by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). A calibration curve of water Sr : Ca ratio versus otolith Sr : Ca ratio from four isolated lentic water bodies was made to predict silverside displacements in the lower section of the Plata Basin during summer (lotic water bodies). Otolith Sr : Ca ratio of silversides from the Paraná River Delta was associated with the conductivity of water at the locations where the sample was collected. According to this association and the obtained results in the calibration curve, the silversides were displaced from zones where conductivity was 7.45 (mS cm À1), corresponding to the water Sr : Ca ratio in the outer section of the Río de la Plata River (1.92 mmol mol À1). The high values of otolith Sr : Ca ratio found for some fish may indicate that during summer they moved from estuarine waters where salinity increases gradually to the Argentinian Sea.
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