Environmental and Land Use Determinants of Stream Water Chemistry During Flood Events in Small Carpathian Foothill Catchments in Poland

Abstract

The goal of the research was to determine which factors control changes in the chemical composition of stream water during floods of different types: storm floods, frontal precipitation floods, and snowmelt floods. Three catchments in the Carpathian Foothills of woodland, agricultural and of mixed land use were examined and the data were explored with R-mode factor analysis. Three factors driving changes in the chemical composition of stream water during floods of particular types were identified for each catchment. The first factor (hydrological) is related to the magnitude of flow, the second factor (meteorological) is linked with air temperature and soil temperature, and the third factor (circulation) is related to mechanisms of water transfer to stream channels (surface runoff, shallow throughflow). The fourth factor (anthropogenic), related to the dilution of highly polluted pre-event waters with less polluted event waters, was identified only for the anthropogenically altered, agricultural and mixed-use catchments.