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Natural and anthropogenic factors affecting the shallow groundwater quality in a typical irrigation area with reclaimed water, North China Plain

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Abstract

In this study, the hydrochemical characteristics of shallow groundwater were analyzed to get insight into the factors affecting groundwater quality in a typical agricultural dominated area of the North China Plain. Forty-four shallow groundwater samples were collected for chemical analysis. The water type changes from Ca·Na-HCO3 type in grass land to Ca·Na-Cl (+NO3) type and Na (Ca)-Cl (+NO3+SO4) type in construction and facility agricultural land, indicating the influence of human activities. The factor analysis and geostatistical analysis revealed that the two major factors contributing to the groundwater hydrochemical compositions were the water-rock interaction and contamination from sewage discharge and agricultural fertilizers. The major ions (F, HCO3) and trace element (As) in the shallow groundwater represented the natural origin, while the nitrate and sulfate concentrations were related to the application of fertilizer and sewage discharge in the facility agricultural area, which was mainly affected by the human activities. The values of pH, total dissolved solids, electric conductivity, and conventional component (K, Ca, Na, Mg, Cl) in shallow groundwater increased from grass land and cultivated land, to construction land and to facility agriculture which were originated from the combination sources of natural processes (e.g., water-rock interaction) and human activities (e.g., domestic effluents). The study indicated that both natural processes and human activities had influences on the groundwater hydrochemical compositions in shallow groundwater, while anthropogenic processes had more contribution, especially in the reclaimed water irrigation area.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (nos. 2652016020 and 2652016022), the fundamental research funds for Central Public Research Institutes (YYWF201626), and the Ministry of Water Resources Public Projects (201101051).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijng), Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaomin Gu, Yong Xiao, Shiyang Yin, Jingli Shao, Yali Cui, Qiulan Zhang & Qichen Hao

  2. Beijing Water Science & Technology Institute, Beijing, 100048, People’s Republic of China

    Shiyang Yin, Xingyao Pan & Yong Niu

  3. Forestry college, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, People’s Republic of China

    Yong Niu

  4. Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Science, Shijiazhuang, 050061, People’s Republic of China

    Qichen Hao

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  1. Xiaomin Gu
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Correspondence to Yong Xiao or Shiyang Yin.

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Gu, X., Xiao, Y., Yin, S. et al. Natural and anthropogenic factors affecting the shallow groundwater quality in a typical irrigation area with reclaimed water, North China Plain. Environ Monit Assess 189, 514 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6229-3

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