1. Comparative performance of soil water balance models in computing semi-arid aquifer recharge
- Author
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Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y del Medio Ambiente, Touhami, Issam, Andreu Rodes, José Miguel, Chirino Miranda, Esteban, Sanchez-Montahud, Juan-Rafael, Pulido Bosch, Antonio, Martínez Santos, Pedro, Moutahir, Hassane, Bellot, Juan, Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y del Medio Ambiente, Touhami, Issam, Andreu Rodes, José Miguel, Chirino Miranda, Esteban, Sanchez-Montahud, Juan-Rafael, Pulido Bosch, Antonio, Martínez Santos, Pedro, Moutahir, Hassane, and Bellot, Juan
- Abstract
Estimating groundwater recharge is essential to ensure the sustainable use of groundwater resources, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Soil water balances have been frequently advocated as valuable tools to estimate groundwater recharge. This article compares the performance of three soil water balance models (Hydrobal, Visual Balan v2.0 and Thornthwaite) in the Ventós-Castellar aquifer, Spain. The models were used to simulate wet and dry years. Recharge estimates were transformed into water table fluctuations by means of a lumped groundwater model. These, in turn, were calibrated against piezometric data. Overall, the Hydrobal model shows the best fit between observed and calculated levels (r2 = 0.84), highlighting the role of soil moisture and vegetation in recharge processes.
- Published
- 2014