A model for the assessment of the effect of mulching on aquifer recharging by rainfalls in an arid region.

Highlights • Proposing soil mulching for enhancing groundwater resources and a model to assess it. • Assessing the use of various mulches in increasing deep percolation of rainfalls. • Deep percolation rate is higher in precipitations with shorter time intervals. Abstract In this paper, a model is proposed for the assessment of the effectiveness of various mulches in increasing deep percolation of rainfalls for enhancing arid zones aquifers. For this purpose, 8 precipitations were selected from the Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves of the study area with a return period of 2 and 5 years. The deep percolation of these precipitations were examined in lysimeters with gravel, sand and mixed mulches and without any mulch. Then 192 data of soil moisture, daily maximum air-temperature and deep percolation were measured for driving empirical equations. Moreover, the efficiency and accuracy of these empirical equations were investigated using Coefficient of Determination (CD) and Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency Coefficient (NSEC). The results showed that the obtained empirical equations could estimate deep percolation and evaporation with an acceptable accuracy. Using these equations and the soil-water balance equation, a soil moisture model was developed for the assessment of deep percolation. Then it was examined to evaluate the efficiency of the mulched soils in increasing soil moisture and aquifer recharging of three years' precipitations in Shahrekord plain, Iran. The results showed that the deep percolation increased in all examined mulched soils compared to unmulched soil, its maximum and cumulative increase were in gravel mulch with 21.3% and 30%, respectively. Furthermore, groundwater modeling results showed that the mulching could improve groundwater level as 0.34 m over a three year period. Finally, this paper proposes soil mulching for enhancing groundwater resources and a model to assess it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]