Published in Scientific Papers. Series E. Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. XIII
Written by Erdona DEMIRAJ, Irena DUKA, Ferdi BRAHUSHI, Seit SHALLARI
The Lake of Shkodra is the largest lake in the Balkans with Ramsar status, which offers a variety of important ecosystem services such as water sources for agriculture, rich biodiversity and providing habitat and nesting grounds for wildlife, and tourism development for Albania and Montenegro. During the last decade, different studies reported an increase in macronutrient content, reporting the increase in the eutrophication in this lake which may reduce the biodiversity of the species. The aim of this study is to use the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a tool to define the relation of water quality parameters with the TN: TP ratio. According to PCA, the TN: TP molar observed ratio can be related to the anthropogenic activities and agricultural land use patterns around the catchment area indicating a high possibility of untreated waste entering the lake through the active inlets.
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