Evolution of groundwater recharge as a result of forest development on the east coast of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

CARRETERO S.; RODRIGUES CAPÍTULO L; KRUSE E.

Hydrogeology Journal

Springer

Año: 2021 vol. 29 p. 783 - 797

1431-2174

Changes in groundwater recharge associated with variations in land usewere analysed with a focus on the role of afforestation on the east coast ofBuenos Aires, Argentina. The evolution of the population related to suchchanges was considered, linking water consumption to variations in recharge. Amulti-temporal analysis was carried out using aerial photographs for the years1957, 1975, 1981 and 2016, differentiating three types of cover: bare soil,forested soil and grassland. Water balances for each type of land use andgroundwater recharge were estimated. In the forested soil, a reduction inrecharge over time can be observed and it can be appreciated that forest growthoccurs at the expense of the sand-dune area, which offer the greatestpossibilities for infiltration. At present, the water consumption, which onlydepends on the groundwater reserves, is lower than the recharge, but thisrelationship is reversed during the tourist season. According to the estimated projections,the drinking water supply would be compromised in the coming decades, reachinga critical point or level of collapse as from 2070. This proves that it isessential for the policies and projects aiming at afforestation for differentpurposes to take into consideration the role of this change in land use whenassessing the sustainability of the associated water resources.