Geografie 2024, 129, 15-41
Water quality evaluation of the Danube River basin in Bačka (northern Serbia) using multivariate statistical techniques
, Milana Pantelić2, Sanja Obradović2, Mirjana Radulović3, Dušan Ristić1, Vladimir Stojanović2, Dragan Dolinaj2
1University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Geography, Kosovska Mitrovica
2University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Novi Sad, Serbia
3University of Novi Sad, BioSense Institute, The Research and Development Institute for Information Technologies in Biosystems, Novi Sad, Serbia
Received June 2023
Accepted January 2024
The study aimed to analyze changes in water quality based on ten physicochemical parameters for the Danube River in Bačka. Data from three profiles over a twenty-year interval were used and processed using multivariate statistics. An ANOVA indicated that the quality of surface water is mostly at a satisfactory level. Sufficient amounts of dissolved oxygen indicate a favorable aeration regime. The surpassing of the annual and monthly values of suspended solids was recorded for all profiles (especially in summer). The summary results show that most parameters, except for suspended solids, are within the allowed values for water quality Class II. A Pearson’s correlation test indicates a moderate to weak correlation of the analyzed parameters. A PCA analysis determined the influence of (a) eutrophication processes; (b) ecological factors; and (c) concentrated sources of pollution. Changes in the Danube’s water quality, primarily increased concentrations of suspended solids, can exert a limiting influence on some economic activities and their planning.
Keywords
water quality, Danube River, multivariate analysis, suspended solids, economic activities, Bačka.
Funding
Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, grant numbers 451-03-65/2024-03/200123 and 451-03-68/2022-14/200125. Also, this research was part of the project entitled: “Improving the environment in Vojvodina in order to adapt to climate change and reduce the risk of natural disasters” (No. 142-451-3485/2023-01) financed by the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
