Table 3. Variable contribution and permutation importance for the multivariate models, normalized to percentages.

Variable	4-variable model		5-variable model		8-variable model
	Percent contribution	Permutation importance	Percent contribution	Permutation importance	Percent contribution	Permutation importance
BOD					3.6	5.9
Conductivity	26.2	23.0	22.6	22.3	25.6	27.5
Discharge	14.5	22.0	12.1	20.1	13.4	21.6
Dissolved Oxygen			9.9	5.2	12.3	6.6
NO3	9.5	8.5	8.9	8.6	8.9	10.3
pH					3.9	1.7
PO4					2.7	2.5
Water temperature	49.9	46.5	36.4	33.7	39.7	34.0