Multivariate statistical techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were applied to water quality parameters in order to interpret complex matrices for better assessment of water quality and environmental status of a watershed. A study was conducted to assess water quality and to establish relationship among water quality parameters in Kelantan River basin. Water quality data was obtained from Department of Environment, (DOE) Malaysia from 2005-2014. Multivariate statistical techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were applied to 15 water quality parameters in order to interpret complex matrices for better assessment of water quality and environmental status of the watershed. From the results, five PCs were extracted which are collectively accountable for controlling approximately 70% of the watershed’s water quality. Results of cluster analysis indicated that three water quality parameters that included total suspended solids, total solids and turbidity control the water quality of the study area. These parameters were allocated into three clusters based on their similarity. The finding of this study will contribute to existing knowledge of the problems associated with water quality in the basin. This information can be put to use by land use managers and policy makers for future planning and development of the watershed.
Amending polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soils with biochar may be cheaper and environmentally friendly than other forms of organic materials. This has led to numerous studies on the use of biochar to either bind or stimulate the microbial degradation of organic compounds in soils. However, very little or no attention have been paid to the fact that biochars can give simultaneous impact on PAH fate processes, such as volatilization, sorption and biodegradation. In this review, we raised and considered the following questions: How does biochar affect microbes and microbial activities in the soil? What are the effects of adding biochar on sorption of PAHs? What are the effects of adding biochar on degradation of PAHs? What are the factors that we can manipulate in the laboratory to enhance the capability of biochars to degrade PAHs? A triphasic concept of how biochar can give simultaneous impact on PAH fate processes in soils was proposed, which involves rapid PAH sorption into biochar, subsequent desorption and modification of soil physicochemical properties by biochar, which in turn stimulates microbial degradation of the desorbed PAHs. It is anticipated that biochar can give simultaneous impact on PAH fate processes in soils.