Spatiotemporal variation of nitrogen and phosphorus and its main influencing factors in Huangshui River basin

The foundation of managing excess nutrients in river is the identification of key physical processes and the control of decisive influencing factors. The existing studies seldom consider the influence of rainfall-runoff relationship and only focus on a few anthropogenic activities and natural attributes factors. To address this issue, a comprehensive set of influencing factors including rainfall-runoff relationship (represented by runoff coefficient), basic physical and chemical parameters of water quality, land use types, landscape patterns, topography, and socioeconomic development was constructed in this study. M–K test and cluster analysis were conducted to identify the temporal mutation and spatial clustering characteristics of NH(3)-N and TP in Huangshui River basin, respectively. Partial least squares regression was used to elucidate the linkages between water contaminants and the factors. As shown in the results, the temporal mutations of NH(3)-N and TP were obvious in the middle reaches, with 4 out of 7 catchments in the middle reaches have a larger number of mutations of NH(3)-N than other catchments. The cluster analysis results of NH(3)-N and TP among catchments were similar. This study also indicated that although the Huangshui River basin was located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, the influences of rainfall-runoff relationship on spatiotemporal changes of NH(3)-N and TP in its sub-basins were limited. Only the temporal change of NH(3)-N in Jintan catchment in the upstream area was significantly affected by runoff coefficient. The indexes of proportion of water area (PWA), proportion of impervious area (PIA), and proportion of primary industry (PPI) were the top three influencing factors of temporal variation of NH(3)-N and TP for most catchments in the middle reaches. The temporal change of NH(3)-N in Jintan catchment in the upstream area was obviously affected by runoff coefficient. The spatial variation of NH(3)-N and TP were all affected by PWA and proportion of secondary industry significantly. The results of this study can provide theoretical basis and technical support for the control and management of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in upper reaches of rivers. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-021-09067-1.