Impacts of Stressors on Riparian Health Indicators in the Upper and Lower Indus River Basins in Pakistan

Bibliographic Data

ID15466775
AuthorsAmin Hira (Northeast Forestry University), Muhammad Arif (0000-0003-0298-2135, Southwest University, corresponding author), Nowsherwan Zarif (0000-0002-5486-6104), Zarmina Gul (0000-0002-8348-528X, Northeast Forestry University), Xiangyue Liu (0000-0002-7918-5401, Northeast Forestry University), Cao Yukun (Northeast Forestry University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume19
Issue20
Pages13239-13239
Publication date2022-10-14
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph192013239
PMID36293824
OpenAlexW4306377136
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited10

Riparian zones along rivers and streams provide ecosystem services that may change over time as disturbances increase and deteriorate these buffer zones globally. The effect of stressors on ecosystem services along the rivers in underdeveloped countries is unclear, which impacts the environment directly in the form of riparian health indicators (RHIs). This study fills this gap and measures the impact of stressors on RHIs (parameters of habitat, plant cover, regeneration, exotics, and erosion) in the Indus River basin (IRB) in Pakistan. Data on 11 stressors and 27 RHIs were collected using a field-based approach in 269 transects in the upper and lower Indus basins (UIB and LIB) in 2020 and analyzed using multivariate statistical methods. The Kruskal-Wallis tests ( p < 0.05) indicated that RHIs varied significantly under the influence of stressors in the UIB and LIB. However, their highest mean values were found in the UIB. Principal component analysis revealed the key RHIs and stressors, which explained 62.50% and 77.10% of the variance, respectively. The Pearson correlation showed that stressors had greater impacts on RHIs in LIB (with r ranging from -0.42 to 0.56). Our results also showed that stressors affected RHI indices with r ranging from -0.39 to 0.50 (on habitat), -0.36 to 0.46 (on plant cover), -0.34 to 0.35 (on regeneration), -0.34 to 0.56 (on erosion), and -0.42 to 0.23 (on exotics). Furthermore, it was confirmed by the agglomerative hierarchical cluster that indices and sub-indices of RHIs and stressors differ across the UIB and LIB. These findings may serve as guidance for managers of large rivers and ecosystem service providers to minimize the environmental impact of stressors in terms of RHIs

Biology · Geography · Geomorphology · Habitat · Hydrology (agriculture · Indus · Physical geography · Riparian zone · Stressor · Structural basin · Water resource management · Environmental Science · Groundwater and Watershed Analysis · Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies · Medicine · Transboundary Water Resource Management · Ecology · Geology

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