Macrophytes are important elements of aquatic ecosystems that grow in or near water. Their taxonomic composition, species diversity, depth, and density are indicators of environmental health; as such, Macrophytes are used to assess the ecological status of water bodies. Under the aim of assessing the ecological status of the Klina River in Kosovo, a survey was conducted at eight sampling sites along the river course to analyze macrophyte composition, diversity, density, and cover. Three samples were collected at each sampling site from early June to late September. The following macrophyte indices were used to assess the ecological status of the river: Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR), River Macrophyte Nutrient Index (RMNI), and River Macrophyte Hydraulic Index (RMHI). Our sampling area included the upper reaches of the river where no organic pollution was detected (oligotrophic), the middle reaches where polluted water from farms is discharged into the river, and the lower reaches characterized by heavy organic pollution from settlements and various industrial activities. There is a positive correlation (p < 0.05) between water temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), orthophosphates (PO₄³⁻), ammonia (NH₄⁺), nitrites (NO₂⁻), calcium (Ca²⁺), and potassium (K+) with plant density, RMNI, RMHI, EQR-RMNI, EQR-RMHI, and MIR. Sodium (Na+) has stronger positive correlation (p < 0.01) with RMNI and RMHI indices and negative correlation with EQR-RMNI and EQR-RMHI. Our results show that ecological status along the river varies from high and good upstream to poor, bad, and moderate running downstream.

The major impacts on aquatic ecosystems worldwide caused by land use lead to changes in their natural conditions and limitation of water use for various needs. This paper presents the results of the study of the physical and chemical parame-ters and macroinvertebrate assemblage in the White Drin River (or: the Drim River, Alb. the Drini i Bardhë River) basin, the largest in Kosovo. Macroinvertebrate sampled at 11 sites in the river resulted in 5946 collected benthic organisms, which in taxonomic terms belong to 12 orders and 51 families. Of the total number of organisms, 72.28% were Insects, 25.39% Amphipoda crustaceans and 2.33% were Annelide worms and Mollusk. The used biotic indices Biological Moni-toring Working Party (BMWP), Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT), average score per taxon (ASPT) and Stroud Water Research Center (SWRC) classify water quality in excellent category in the sampling site S1 near the source of the White Drin River, whereas in other sampling sites, as a result of pollution, water quality varies on category II–IV. The Pearson's correlation analyses shown that the physical and chemical parameters affect the water quality and the com-position of macroinvertebrates. Our results show that the parameters that adversely affect the BMWP, EPT and ASPT bio-tic indices as well as the Shannon–Wiener, Mergalef and Menhinik diversity indices are: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids (TSS), nitrates (NO3–) and chlorides (Cl–). We can conclude that the anthropogenic impact on White Drin basin affects the physical, chemical and biological parameters of the water therefore these parameters should be con-stantly included in Biomonitoring and Management plans for water resources in Kosovo.

GIS techniques, digital elevation models (DEM), raster geoprocessing tools, and software such as ArcMap are a quick and simultaneous solution for the assessment, measurement, and analysis of morphometric parameters of river basins. This paper aims to show the use of the Digital Elevation Model and the ArcGIS program for the analysis of morphometric parameters and the construction of a set of thematic maps needed for spatial planning, water resources management, and similar purposes. Through these techniques, 18 morphometric parameters were determined and analyzed in the study area, which is located in the central part of the Republic of Kosovo and covers an area of 38 km², and 15 thematic maps were constructed. The altitude of the area varies from 544 m to 1019 m, the slope from 24%, with a total number of stream segments of 601 and a drainage density of 5.02 km/km². The analysis of morphometric parameters presents an important indicator regarding the space and other elements of the river basin. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-09-06 Full Text: PDF

The concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, and chromium in samples of sediment, water, and Typha angustifolia plants in the stream of the Drenica River were determined to assess the level of pollution. According to sediment analysis results from seven locations, the concentrations of Cu, Ni, Zn, and Cr exceeded the permitted limits according to WHO standards from 1996. In the plant samples, the concentrations of Cd and Pb were above the allowed limits according to GD161 and ECE standards, and according the WHO standard, the water quality in the Drenica River is classified into the first, second, and third quality categories. The results of this study show the bioaccumulation coefficient in Typha angustifolia plants, and it was found that the most bioaccumulated of the metals is Cd, with a bioaccumulation coefficient (BAF) greater than 1. The pollution load index (PLI), enrichment factor (EF index), Geoaccumulation index (Igeo), potential ecological risk factor (Eif), and potential ecological risk index (RI) were used in combination to assess the degree of pollution and the environmental risk presented to the freshwater ecosystem of the Drenica River. The results show that the Drenica River is mainly polluted by Ni, Cu, and Cr, reflecting substantial impacts of anthropogenic activities, including sizeable industrial effects, the development of urbanism, agricultural activities, and the deposition of waste from a ferronickel factory in the area.

The physicochemical parameters of water play an important role in determining aquatic life and its development. In this study, the water quality index is used in order to assess the water quality in river Lepenci River. For the calculations of this index, eighteen physicochemical parameters were...

Drinking water sources are susceptible to pollutants depending on geological conditions and agricultural, industrial and other human activities. Water quality assessment has always been a major part of environmental management plans. The water quality index (WQI) method plays an important role and is a powerful tool for analysing the overall water quality. The purpose of this study was to analyse and present the results for the quality of groundwater in the north-western part of the Drini i Bardhë River basin, Kosovo, based on data that were collected from 50 sampling points, 48 different wells (dug and drilled) and two springs in November 2018–January 2019. Through this work, it has been possible to provide authentic information on this study area to the public, who use these waters for water supply, irrigation and other purposes. Processing, analysis and interpretation of the results are based on statistical methods, water quality standards and the WQI method. The completion of the study followed a scientific research work methodology based on field and laboratory studies. For calculating the WQI, groundwater samples were analysed in terms of 13 physico-chemical parameters – namely, T, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, sodium (Na⁺) ions, calcium (Ca²⁺) ions, magnesium (Mg²⁺) ions, potassium (K⁺) ions, bicarbonates (HCO₃ ⁻), chlorides (Cl⁻), sulfates (SO₄ ²⁻) and nitrates (NO₃ ⁻). Based on the results obtained and a comparison with World Health Organization standards, it was shown that the parameters of the groundwater are within the allowed limit values for drinking water. The values obtained for the WQIs of the groundwater samples from the north-western part of the Drini i Bardhë River basin, Kosovo, range from 11 to 116, indicating that these waters are mainly in good and excellent condition, and only sample SP40 had water unfit for consumption.