• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.96-115
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• 2017

Understanding effects of thermal pollution and acidification has long been a concern of aquatic ecologists, but it remains largely unknown in Korea. This study was performed to elucidate the effects of thermal wastewater effluent (TWE) and acid rain on water quality and attached algae in a small mountain stream, the Buso Stream, a tributary located in the Hantan River basin. A total of five study sites were selected in the upstream area including the inflowing point of hot-spring wastewater (HSW), one upstream site (BSU), and three sites below thermal effluent merged into the stream (1 m, 10 m and 300 m for BSD1, BSD2, and BSD3, respectively). Field surveys and laboratory analyses were carried out every month from December 2015 to September 2016. Water temperature ranged $1.7{\sim}28.8^{\circ}C$ with a mean of $15.0^{\circ}C$ among all sites. Due to the effect of thermal effluent, water temperature at HSW site was sustained at high level during the study period from $17.5^{\circ}C$ (January) to $28.8^{\circ}C$ (September) with a mean of $24.2{\pm}3.7^{\circ}C$, which was significantly higher than other sites. Thermal wastewater effluent also brought in high concentration of nutrients(N, P). The effect of TWE was particularly apparent during dry season and low temperature period (December~March). Temperature effect of TWE did not last toward downstream, while nutrient effect seemed to maintain in longer distance. pH ranged 5.1~8.4 with a mean of 6.9 among all sites during the study period. The pH decrease was attributed to seasonal acid rain and snow fall, and their effects was identified by acidophilic diatoms dominated mainly by Eunotia pectinalis and Tabellaria flocculosa during March and August. These findings indicated that water quality and periphyton assemblages in the upstream region of Buso Stream were affected by thermal pollution, eutrophication, and acidification, and their confounding effects were seasonally variable.