Integrated modelling of land use and climate change impact on water Quality In Cameron Highland area, Pahang, Malaysia

The research investigates the integrated assessment of landuse changes on water quality of Bertam River Catchment, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. To accomplish the study, seasonal water sampling program was conducted from January 2014 to February 2015 to collect samples from selected 12 stations. A number of 15 (fifteen) physico-chemical parameters were analyzed to evaluate their spatio-temporal variability. Box and whisker plot of measured values of water quality parameters were used to interpret level and trend of the variations. Non-parametric statistical analysis as well as correlation matrix was performed to investigate the temporal and spatial variations of water quality. The water quality status and classes were also identified using the results of Water Quality Index (WQI) values. The land usage activity and changes in landuse pattern within the Catchment was analyzed and calculated over time (1984-2010). Georefencing, digitization, change detection and slope analysis techniques were applied to analyze the changing status and trends of these land usages using GIS approach. For water quality, non-parametric statistical analysis showed significant temporal and spatial differences (p