摘要：Spring-fed streams are abundant in karst
topographic regions such as the Ozarks, providing an
important and valuable water resource. Many of these
spring-fed streams presently receive agriculture runoff,
but few studies have examined the impacts of this
runoff on water quality. We examined water quality in
Ozark spring-fed streams surrounded by either
agricultural (N=3) or primarily forested land (N=3) in
the riparian zone. We hypothesized that agricultural
sites would have greater dissolved nutrient
concentrations and conductivity than forested sites and
that water quality would fluctuate with distance from
the spring source. Conductivity (p<0.001), nitrate
(p<0.001), total nitrogen (TN; p<0.001), soluble
reactive phosphorus (SRP; p=0.014), calcium
(p=0.046), chlorine (p<0.001), and barium (p=0.043))
concentrations were greater in agricultural compared to
forested spring-fed streams. Aluminum (p=0.006),
cadmium (p<0.001), magnesium (p=0.020), and sulfate
(p=0.001) concentrations were lower in agricultural
compared to forested streams. These water chemistry
data reflect land-use differences and could be used to
help inform land-use management in these watersheds
to improve and maintain high water quality.
