Effects of land use/landscape patterns on the water quality

Land use/landscape pattern has become an important factor affecting water environment quality in China. Nonetheless,in-depth study of the complex relationship between land use/landscape pattern and water environment quality is still lacked. We applied a structural equation model (SEM) which accounted for the bidirectional regulation of water environmental carrying capacity and environmental pressures in the upstream of Huangshui River basin. Subsequently,we calculated the contribution rates of various variables of land use/landscape pattern on water environment quality in accordance to their relative weights. The results indicated that the contribution rate of point source pollution on the water quality is the greatest (37.3%). From landscape pattern perspective,the contribution rates of the spatial distributions of impervious surface and green space,the connectivity and aggregation of the wetland on the water quality are 9.14%,7.91%,7.44% and 6.96%,respectively. To significantly improve the water quality in the study area,more efforts are needed to control point source pollution,enhance the connectivity and aggregation of the wetland,increase green space and decrease impervious surface in the upstream of Huangshui River basin.