Abstract
In this study, we employed the random forest model to identify the riparian buffer zone in the upper and middle reaches of the Ziwu River, used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate and calculate the nonpoint source pollution load in the riparian buffer zone, and used empirical formulas to estimate the pollutant concentration when surface runoff passes the edge of the riparian buffer zone. Moreover, through correlation analysis, we identified the main factors that affect the safe width of the riparian buffer zone. By combining these factors with the characteristic parameters of the riparian buffer zone and the water quality demand, we analyzed and calculated the safe width of the riparian buffer zone. Our findings are as follows: ① the simulated values of the SWAT model were highly consistent with the measured values. Specifically, the calibration and verification results of the hydrological station achieved Ens ≥ 0.65, RE < ± 15%, and R2 ≥ 0.85, while the overall total nitrogen and total phosphorus loads achieved Ens ≥ 0.65, RE < ± 15%, and R2 > 0.65. ② We found that the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads in the riparian buffer zone gradually increased from upstream to downstream. Among these loads, the normal season had the largest TN and TP concentrations reaching the edge of the riparian buffer zone, while the dry season had the minimum concentrations. ③ The factors affecting the safe width of the riparian buffer zone included the connectivity, slope of the buffer zone, cultivated land area, and regional population density. For the effective protection of water quality, it is recommended that the upstream, midstream, and downstream buffer zones be at least 77.9 m, 33.37 m, and 60.25 m wide, respectively.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the editors and reviewers who have put considerable time and effort into their comments on this paper.
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This work was supported by the Shaanxi Natural Science Foundation (grant number 2019JLM-63); and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 51979222).
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Hang Chen: conceptualization, data curation, methodology, formal analysis, software, validation, visualization, writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing; Xiaode Zhou: data curation and formal analysis; Ying Wang: software and visualization; Wei Wu: funding acquisition, project administration, resources, supervision, and writing—review and editing; Cao Li: data curation and formal analysis; Zhang Xin: investigation.
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Chen, H., Zhou, X., Wang, Y. et al. Study on the planning and influential factors of the safe width of riparian buffer zones in the upper and middle reaches of the Ziwu River, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 103703–103717 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29154-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29154-9