Research on the surface water quality in the Huaihe River Basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysis

Abstract The Huaihe River Basin (HRB) is an important water system in eastern China, and its water quality has received widespread attention. This study explored the latest spatial variation patterns of surface water quality in the HRB to cope with the increasingly severe challenges of water resourc...

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Main Authors: Shuzhen Feng, Chaokai Zhang, Jiaheng Yan, Ke Ren, Ningbo Peng, Wei Jiang, Shouhua Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-06-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02964-2
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author Shuzhen Feng
Chaokai Zhang
Jiaheng Yan
Ke Ren
Ningbo Peng
Wei Jiang
Shouhua Liu
author_facet Shuzhen Feng
Chaokai Zhang
Jiaheng Yan
Ke Ren
Ningbo Peng
Wei Jiang
Shouhua Liu
author_sort Shuzhen Feng
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Huaihe River Basin (HRB) is an important water system in eastern China, and its water quality has received widespread attention. This study explored the latest spatial variation patterns of surface water quality in the HRB to cope with the increasingly severe challenges of water resource management. By integrating multidimensional water quality data from surface water monitoring stations, including dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (CODMn and COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), ammonia nitrogen (NH3–N), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN), this study utilized a cluster analysis technique to categorize the water quality data and reveal changes in the geographic variability of water quality. Among the 382 monitoring stations in the HRB, 258 stations had TN content lower than Class V, which was the highest among all monitoring indicators. The entropy weight method used to assess the comprehensive water quality showed that there were 157 and 163 monitoring stations belonging to Class III and IV, respectively, and stations with poor water quality were distributed downstream in the river network and estuary area. Correlation and cluster analyses indicated that agricultural and organic matter pollution were the two main factors affecting water quality in the HRB, particularly in the downstream area, and the high loading of nutrient salts such as TP and NH3–N reflected the significant influence of agricultural activities. In addition, the study examined the potential driving role of factors such as topography, geomorphology, and human activities on water quality changes and visualized the relationship between water quality class and cluster categories through spatial distribution maps and Sankey diagrams to clarify the regional patterns of water quality problems.
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spelling doaj-art-1f6d971dcdcd400ea022797bbda4c53c2025-08-20T02:30:46ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-06-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-02964-2Research on the surface water quality in the Huaihe River Basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysisShuzhen Feng0Chaokai Zhang1Jiaheng Yan2Ke Ren3Ningbo Peng4Wei Jiang5Shouhua Liu6Nanjing Vocational Institute of Railway TechnologyFaculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of TechnologyFaculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of TechnologyFaculty of Computer and Software Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of TechnologyFaculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of TechnologyNanjing Vocational Institute of Railway TechnologyFaculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of TechnologyAbstract The Huaihe River Basin (HRB) is an important water system in eastern China, and its water quality has received widespread attention. This study explored the latest spatial variation patterns of surface water quality in the HRB to cope with the increasingly severe challenges of water resource management. By integrating multidimensional water quality data from surface water monitoring stations, including dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (CODMn and COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), ammonia nitrogen (NH3–N), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN), this study utilized a cluster analysis technique to categorize the water quality data and reveal changes in the geographic variability of water quality. Among the 382 monitoring stations in the HRB, 258 stations had TN content lower than Class V, which was the highest among all monitoring indicators. The entropy weight method used to assess the comprehensive water quality showed that there were 157 and 163 monitoring stations belonging to Class III and IV, respectively, and stations with poor water quality were distributed downstream in the river network and estuary area. Correlation and cluster analyses indicated that agricultural and organic matter pollution were the two main factors affecting water quality in the HRB, particularly in the downstream area, and the high loading of nutrient salts such as TP and NH3–N reflected the significant influence of agricultural activities. In addition, the study examined the potential driving role of factors such as topography, geomorphology, and human activities on water quality changes and visualized the relationship between water quality class and cluster categories through spatial distribution maps and Sankey diagrams to clarify the regional patterns of water quality problems.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02964-2Cluster analysisHuaihe River BasinSurface water qualityAgricultural pollutionSpatial change rules
spellingShingle Shuzhen Feng
Chaokai Zhang
Jiaheng Yan
Ke Ren
Ningbo Peng
Wei Jiang
Shouhua Liu
Research on the surface water quality in the Huaihe River Basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysis
Scientific Reports
Cluster analysis
Huaihe River Basin
Surface water quality
Agricultural pollution
Spatial change rules
title Research on the surface water quality in the Huaihe River Basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysis
title_full Research on the surface water quality in the Huaihe River Basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysis
title_fullStr Research on the surface water quality in the Huaihe River Basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysis
title_full_unstemmed Research on the surface water quality in the Huaihe River Basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysis
title_short Research on the surface water quality in the Huaihe River Basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysis
title_sort research on the surface water quality in the huaihe river basin and the gensis based on multivariate statistical analysis
topic Cluster analysis
Huaihe River Basin
Surface water quality
Agricultural pollution
Spatial change rules
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02964-2
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