Abstract
Groundwater evapotranspiration (ETG) estimation is an important issue in semiarid areas for groundwater resources management and environmental protection. It is widely estimated by diurnal water table fluctuations. In this study, the ETG at four sites with different plants was estimated using both diurnal water table and soil moisture fluctuations in the northeastern Mu Us sandy region, in order to identify the groundwater utilization strategy by different dominant phreatophytes. Groundwater level was monitored by ventilatory pressure transducers (Solinst LevelVent, Solinst Canada Ltd.; accuracy ±3 mm), while soil moisture was monitored using EM50 loggers (Decagon Devices Inc., Pullman, USA) in K1 and K14 and simulated by Hydrus-1D in other observation wells. A significant spatial variation of ETG was found within a limited area, indicating a poor representativeness of site ETG for regional estimation. The mean values of ETG are 4.01 mm/d, 6.03 mm/d, 8.96 mm/d, and 12.26 mm/d at the Achnatherum splendens site, Carex stenophylla site, Salix psammophila site and Populus alba site, respectively, for the whole growing season. ETG is more sensitive to depth to water table (DWT) in the Carex stenophylla site than in the Achnatherum splendens site for grass-dominated areas and more sensitive to DWT in the Populus alba site than in Salix psammophila site for tree-dominated areas. Groundwater extinction depths are estimated at 4.1 m, 2.4 m, 7.1 m, and 2.9 m in the Achnatherum splendens site, Carex stenophylla site, Salix psammophila site and Populus alba site, respectively.
Highlights
In arid and semi-arid areas, restoring and protecting the environment is a huge project for the benefit of mankind [1]
The objectives of this study are (1) to estimate the ETG from multiple observation wells based on the water table and soil moisture fluctuations at different sites; (2) to study the temporal and spatial variations of ETG; and (3) to analyze the sensitivity of ETG of different vegetation to water table depth
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Summary
In arid and semi-arid areas, restoring and protecting the environment is a huge project for the benefit of mankind [1]. While groundwater is a crucial source of ecological restoration because of the lower precipitation and higher evapotranspiration in arid regions. These areas depend heavily on groundwater for industry, drinking water supply and agriculture [2,3]. Reasonable allocation of groundwater resources in all sectors is a major environmental issue. Groundwater is a main water source for phreatophytes in arid and semiarid areas. Evapotranspiration partitioning shows that transpiration accounts for the majority of evapotranspiration [4,5]. Ecological restoration by afforestation may increase groundwater depth and create potentially large ecological and water costs in arid and semiarid [7]. The groundwater consumption strategy of each phreatophyte should be considered in the process of afforestation
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