Journal
HYDROGEOLOGY JOURNAL
Volume 19, Issue 4, Pages 865-875Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10040-011-0716-3
Keywords
Groundwater recharge; Unsaturated zone; Loess plateau; China; Agriculture
Categories
Funding
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Soil conservation measures undertaken to address land degradation can alter the hydrologic cycle by changing partitioning of water fluxes at the land surface. While effects on runoff are well documented, impacts of soil conservation activities on fluxes to groundwater are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to examine fluxes to groundwater in a semi-arid area of China's Loess Plateau that has been subject to extensive soil conservation activities. Unsaturated zone pore-water pressures and concentrations of chloride show that impacts on deep drainage differ between ecological and structural soil conservation approaches. High matric potentials and low chloride beneath cultivated terrace and gulley sites are consistent with deep drainage occurring at these sites. Estimated recharge rates for dryland cultivated upland sites were approximately 55-90 mm/year (11-18% of mean annual rainfall) based upon chloride mass balance. In contrast, results suggest that mature tree and shrub plantations prevent deep drainage. Stable isotope signatures of unsaturated-zone moisture and groundwater indicate that focused infiltration through gullies and other topographic lows is likely to be the primary recharge mechanism. The results of this study highlight the potential for inadvertent effects of some soil conservation approaches on regional water resources.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available