Estimating impact of forest land on groundwater recharge in a humid subtropical watershed of the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley

• Published in: Journal of hydrology. Regional studies 2019-12, Vol.26, p.100631, Article 100631
• Main Authors: Ouyang, Ying, Jin, Wei, Grace, Johnny M., Obalum, Sunday E., Zipperer, Wayne C., Huang, Xiaoqing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Forest land; HSPF; Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley; Water recharge
• ISSN: 2214-5818; 2214-5818
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2019.100631

•Contribution of precipitation to groundwater recharge in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley was small.•Forest land increases rather than reduces groundwater recharge in the humid-subtropical region.•Our findings changed the traditional view on how forests affect groundwater recharge in the humid-subtropical region. Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (LMRAV) is located in the humid subtropical region of mid-south USA, and Lower Yazoo River Watershed (LYRW) in Mississippi is within the LMRAV. Groundwater depletion due to anthropogenic activities is an issue of water resource concern in the LMRAV. Some studies suggested that forest lands reduce water recharge from land surface into aquifers as compared to agricultural lands. However, very few efforts have been devoted to investigating the relationship of water recharge and land use in the LMRAV. This study was designed to meet this need. Using the HSPF (Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN) model along with the LYRW, we found that the annual average water recharge from the land surface into the deep aquifer over the 10-year simulation period for the three land uses was: agriculture