Groundwater-dependent ecosystems and the dangers of groundwater overdraft: a review and an Australian perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon C. Nevill ◽  
Peter J. Hancock ◽  
Brad R. Murray ◽  
Winston F. Ponder ◽  
William F. Humphreys ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
Groundwater Overdraft ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems ◽  
Use Context

In many parts of the world, access to groundwater is needed for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, and global groundwater exploitation continues to increase. The significance of groundwater in maintaining the health of rivers, streams, wetlands and associated vegetation is often underestimated or ignored, resulting in a lack of scrutiny of groundwater policy and management. It is essential that management of groundwater resources considers the needs of natural ecosystems, including subterranean. We review the limited Australian literature on the ecological impacts of groundwater overdraft and place Australian information within an international context, focusing on lentic, lotic, stygobitic and hyporheic communities as well as riparian and phreatophytic vegetation, and some coastal marine ecosystems. Groundwater overdraft, defined as abstracting groundwater at a rate which prejudices ecosystem or anthropocentric values, can substantially impact natural communities which depend, exclusively or seasonally, on groundwater. Overdraft damage is often underestimated, is sometimes irreversible, and may occur over time scales at variance to those used by water management agencies in modelling, planning and regulation. Given the dangers of groundwater overdraft, we discuss policy implications in the light of the precautionary principle, and make recommendations aimed at promoting the conservation of groundwater-dependent ecosystems within a sustainable use context.

scholarly journals Distributed Scatterer InSAR Reveals Surface Motion of the Ancient Chaoshan Residence Cluster in the Lianjiang Plain, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzhou Liu ◽  
Peifeng Ma ◽  
Hui Lin ◽  
Weixi Wang ◽  
Guoqiang Shi
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Deformation Rate ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
Surface Motion ◽  
Elastic Rebound ◽  
Surface Patterns ◽  
Change Dynamic

The Lianjiang Plain in China and ancient villages distributed within the plain are under the potential threat of surface motion change, but no effective monitoring strategy currently exists. Distributed Scatterer InSAR (DSInSAR) provides a new high-resolution method for the precise detection of surface motion change. In contrast to the first-generation of time-series InSAR methodology, the distributed scatterer-based method focuses both on pointwise targets with high phase stability and distributed targets with moderate coherence, the latter of which is more suitable for the comprehensive environment of the Lianjiang Plain. In this paper, we present the first study of surface motion change detection in the Lianjiang Plain, China. Two data stacks, including 54 and 29 images from Sentinel-1A adjacent orbits, are used to retrieve time-series surface motion changes for the Lianjiang Plain from 2015 to 2018. The consistency of measurement has been cross-validated between adjacent orbit results with a statistically significant determination coefficient of 0.92. The temporal evolution of representative measuring points indicates three subzones with varied surface patterns: Eastern Puning (Zone A) in a slight elastic rebound phase with a moderate deformation rate (0–40 mm/yr), Chaonan (Zone B) in a substantial subsidence phase with a strong deformation rate (−140–0 mm/yr), and Chaoyang (Zone C) in a homogeneous and stable situation (−10–10 mm/yr). The spatial distribution of these zones suggests a combined change dynamic and a strong concordance of factors impacting surface motion change. Human activities, especially groundwater exploitation, dominate the subsidence pattern, and natural conditions act as a supplementary inducement by providing a hazard-prone environment. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of spatial and temporal details in this study provides a basis for systematic surface motion monitoring, cultural heritage protection and groundwater resources management.

Sentinel-1 InSAR survey to constrain subsidence-induced surface faulting and quantify its induced risk in major cities of central Mexico

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Cigna ◽  
Deodato Tapete
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Land Subsidence ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Urban Infrastructure ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
Persistent Scatterers

<p>Several major cities in central Mexico suffer from aquifer depletion and land subsidence driven by overexploitation of groundwater resources to address increasing water demands for domestic, industrial and agricultural use. Ground settlement often combines with surface faulting, fracturing and cracking, causing damage to urban infrastructure, including private properties and public buildings, as well as transport infrastructure and utility networks. These impacts are very common and induce significant economic loss, thus representing a key topic of concern for inhabitants, authorities and stakeholders. This work provides an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) 2014-2020 survey based on parallel processing of Sentinel-1 IW big data stacks within ESA’s Geohazards Exploitation Platform (GEP), using hosted on-demand services based on multi-temporal InSAR methods including Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) and Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI). Surface faulting hazard is constrained based on differential settlement observations and the estimation of angular distortions that are produced on urban structures. The assessment of the E-W deformation field and computation of horizontal strain also allows the identification of hogging (tensile strain or extension) and sagging (compression) zones, where building cracks are more likely to develop at the highest and lowest elevations, respectively. Sentinel-1 observations agree with in-situ observations, static GPS surveying and continuous GNSS monitoring data. The distribution of field surveyed faults and fissures compared with maps of angular distortions and strain also enables the identification of areas with potentially yet-unmapped and incipient ground discontinuities. A methodology to embed such information into the process of surface faulting risk assessment for urban infrastructure is proposed and demonstrated for the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City [1], one of the fastest sinking cities globally (up to 40 cm/year subsidence rates), and the state of Aguascalientes [2], where a structurally-controlled fast subsidence process (over 10 cm/year rates) affects the namesake valley and capital city. The value of this research lies in the demonstration that InSAR data and their derived parameters are not only essential to constrain the deformation processes, but can also serve as a direct input into risk assessment to quantify (at least, as a lower bound) the percentage of properties and population at risk, and monitor how this percentage may change as land subsidence evolves.</p><p>[1] Cigna F., Tapete D. 2021. Present-day land subsidence rates, surface faulting hazard and risk in Mexico City with 2014–2020 Sentinel-1 IW InSAR. <em>Remote Sens. Environ.</em> 253, 1-19, doi:10.1016/j.rse.2020.112161</p><p>[2] Cigna F., Tapete D. 2021. Satellite InSAR survey of structurally-controlled land subsidence due to groundwater exploitation in the Aguascalientes Valley, Mexico. <em>Remote Sens. Environ.</em> 254, 1-23, doi:10.1016/j.rse.2020.112254</p>

Sustainable use of wild plant species: A research bibliography

Social Change ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 204-221
Author(s):  
Ghazala Shahabuddin
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Field Methods

During the last few decades, there has been a growing realisation that biodiversity conservation cannot be successful without the active involvement of the people living close to and dependent on natural ecosystems for their survival and livelihoods. Consequently, there has been a gradual broadening of the global conservation agenda from strict nature protection to include the sustainable use of natural resources, which is now reflected in governmental policy the world over. However, as conservationists strive today towards the harmonisation of people's needs with biodiversity conservation, one of the most elusive, yet critical, goals for them has been the sustainable extraction of plant resources from the wild. Hundreds of plant species continue to be extracted from natural habitats for use as food, medicine, fuel and fodder in households and for commercial sale, both legally and illegally. As a consequence of unmonitored extraction and over-exploitation, many plant species populations are reported to be declining in the wild. In the face of increasing pressure on forest resources, it has become more important than ever before to devise quantitative management policies for sustainable plant use so that both forests and the livelihoods of millions of rural people who are dependent on them, can be sustained. One of the major stumbling blocks for conservationists in developing countries, who are attempting to design and implement sustainable forest management systems, is the lack of information on the state-of-the-art in this field, especially that relating to field methods, data analysis, data recording and monitoring systems. In order to fill this lacuna, a comprehensive bibliography of studies undertaken so far in the science of sustainable use from terrestrial ecosystems is presented here. The scope of this bibliography includes sustainable

scholarly journals Diversity of plant knowledge in a "Caiçara" community from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest coast

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 735-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Reis de Brito ◽  
Luci de Senna-Valle
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Wiener Index ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Traditional Management ◽  
Heterogeneous Distribution ◽  
Plant Knowledge ◽  
Chi Squared ◽  
Number Of Publications

The number of publications about the Caiçaras population is growing, which shows that researchers are interested in these natives. This study aimed to survey the flora used by local specialists of the Praia do Sono Caiçara community, and recorded how these taxa were used, with the goal of understanding traditional management systems that help to conserve natural ecosystems. Twelve informants were selected and interviewed. The applied grouping analysis, together with the chi-squared test, underlined that the analysed ethnobotanical knowledge showed a heterogeneous distribution in relation to the gender of the interviewee. A total of 190 taxa were cited and were classified into nine usage categories. The Shannon-Wiener index (H') value obtained in this study was the second highest in comparison to other Brazilian coastal communities. This work showed that the local specialists of this Caiçara community maintain a wide knowledge of, and affinity to, the plant resources that surround them. This knowledge is not only important, but fundamental to discussions about the application of sustainable use and management strategies for this area of conservation value.

scholarly journals Groundwater management based on monitoring of land subsidence and groundwater levels in the Kanto Groundwater Basin, Central Japan

2015 ◽  
Vol 372 ◽  
pp. 53-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Furuno ◽  
A. Kagawa ◽  
O. Kazaoka ◽  
T. Kusuda ◽  
H. Nirei
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Ground Subsidence ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Monitoring Wells ◽  
Chiba Prefecture ◽  
Groundwater Basin ◽  
Term Monitoring

Abstract. Over 40 million people live on and exploit the groundwater resources of the Kanto Plain. The Plain encompasses metropolitan Tokyo and much of Chiba Prefecture. Useable groundwater extends to the base of the Kanto Plain, some 2500 to 3000 m below sea level. Much of the Kanto Plain surface is at sea level. By the early 1970s, with increasing urbanization and industrial expansion, local overdraft of groundwater resources caused major ground subsidence and damage to commercial and residential structures as well as to local and regional infrastructure. Parts of the lowlands around Tokyo subsided to 4.0 m below sea level; particularly affected were the suburbs of Funabashi and Gyotoku in western Chiba. In the southern Kanto Plain, regulations, mainly by local government and later by regional agencies, led to installation of about 500 monitoring wells and almost 5000 bench marks by the 1990's. Many of them are still working with new monitoring system. Long-term monitoring is important. The monitoring systems are costly, but the resulting data provide continuous measurement of the "health" of the Kanto Groundwater Basin, and thus permit sustainable use of the groundwater resource.

scholarly journals Water footprint of crop production for different crop structures in the Hebei southern plain, North China

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingmin Chu ◽  
Yanjun Shen ◽  
Zaijian Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
North China ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Summer Maize ◽  
The North ◽  
Groundwater Overdraft ◽  
Southern Plain

Abstract. The North China Plain (NCP) is serious lack of fresh water resources, while crop production consumed about 75 % of the region's water. To estimate water consumption of different crops and crop structures in the NCP, the Hebei southern plain (HSP) was selected as a study area because it is a typical region of groundwater overdraft in the NCP. In this study, water footprint (WF) was being used which was consisted of green, blue and grey components. The results showed: (1) the WF of the main crops production was about 51.0 km3 in 2012 and winter wheat, vegetables and summer maize were in the top three leading among the main crops in the HSP, while the water footprint intensity (WFI) of cotton was the largest and vegetables were the smallest; (2) winter wheat and vegetables consumed the main groundwater and their blue water footprint (WFblue) accounted for 66.0 % of the total WFblue in the HSP; (3) the crop structure scenarios analysis indicated that, with about 20 % of arable land cultivating winter wheat-summer maize in rotation, 40 % spring maize, 10 % vegetables and 10 % fruiters can promote the sustainable utilization of groundwater resources, at the same time can ensure sufficient supply of food, vegetables and fruits in the HSP.

scholarly journals Assessing the long-term sustainability of the groundwater resources in the Bacchiglione basin (Veneto, Italy) with the Mann–Kendall test: suggestions for higher reliability

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara Meggiorin ◽  
Giulia Passadore ◽  
Silvia Bertoldo ◽  
Andrea Sottani ◽  
Andrea Rinaldo
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Kendall Test ◽  
Groundwater System ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Mann Kendall Test ◽  
Status Assessment

The social, economic, and ecological importance of the aquifer system within the Bacchiglione basin (Veneto, IT) is noteworthy, and there is considerable disagreement among previous studies over its sustainable use. Investigating the long-term quantitative sustainability of the groundwater system, this study presents a statistical methodology that can be applied to similar cases. Using a combination of robust and widely used techniques, we apply the seasonal Mann–Kendall test and the Sen’s slope estimator to the recorded groundwater level timeseries. The analysis is carried out on a large and heterogeneous proprietary dataset gathering hourly groundwater level timeseries at 79 control points, acquired during the period 2005–2019. The test identifies significant decreasing trends for most of the available records, unlike previous studies on the quantitative status of the same resource which covered the domain investigated here for a slightly different period: 2000–2014. The present study questions the reason for such diverging results by focusing on the method’s accuracy. After carrying out a Fourier analysis on the longest available timeseries, for studies of groundwater status assessment this work suggests applying the Mann–Kendall test to timeseries longer than 20 years (because otherwise the analysis would be affected by interannual periodicities of the water cycle). A further analysis of two 60-year-long monthly timeseries between 1960 and 2020 supports the actual sustainable use of the groundwater resource, the past deployment of the groundwater resources notwithstanding. Results thus prove more reliable, and meaningful inferences on the longterm sustainability of the groundwater system are possible.

scholarly journals The Response of Groundwater Level to Climate Change and Human Activities in Baotou City, China

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1078
Author(s):  
Yingjie Cui ◽  
Zilong Liao ◽  
Yongfu Wei ◽  
Xiaomin Xu ◽  
Yifan Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Reduction Rate ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Groundwater Depth ◽  
Wavelet Coherence ◽  
Confined Water ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
Decrease Rate

The response mechanism of groundwater to climate change and human activities in cities within arid and semi-arid regions, such as the Urban Planning Area of Baotou City (UPABC), northern China, is a complicated problem to understand. We analyzed the climate change relationships, including precipitation and temperature, and analyzed changes in human activities, such as groundwater consumption, and then statistically analyzed the main factors affecting groundwater depth. Furthermore, cross-wavelet and wavelet coherence methods were used to analyze the response relationship and hysteresis of groundwater depth to precipitation to better understand the groundwater depth response law. The results showed that the annual precipitation in the UPABC reduction rate was 3.3 mm/10 yr, and the annual average temperature increase rate was 0.43 °C/10 yr, from 1981 to 2017. The unconfined water decrease rate was 0.50 m/yr, and the confined water decrease rate was 0.7 m/yr. The unconfined and confined water depths were affected by precipitation and groundwater exploitation, respectively, with correlation coefficients of 0.58 and 0.57, respectively. The hysteresis of groundwater depth to precipitation was about 9–14 months. However, changes in groundwater depth, especially confined water depth, were greatly affected by groundwater exploitation. This reflected the imbalance in consumption and recharges in the UPABC, highlighting the long-term risk in areas relying on access to this resource. Therefore, arid inland zones of northern China, such as the UPABC, should pay more attention to the rational development of groundwater and strengthen the management and protection of groundwater resources.

scholarly journals Biodegradability standards for carrier bags and plastic films in aquatic environments: a critical review

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 171792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse P. Harrison ◽  
Carl Boardman ◽  
Kenneth O'Callaghan ◽  
Anne-Marie Delort ◽  
Jim Song
Keyword(s):  
Degradation Products ◽  
Toxicity Testing ◽  
Test Methods ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Industry Standards ◽  
Plastic Bag ◽  
Chemical Conditions

Plastic litter is encountered in aquatic ecosystems across the globe, including polar environments and the deep sea. To mitigate the adverse societal and ecological impacts of this waste, there has been debate on whether ‘biodegradable' materials should be granted exemptions from plastic bag bans and levies. However, great care must be exercised when attempting to define this term, due to the broad and complex range of physical and chemical conditions encountered within natural ecosystems. Here, we review existing international industry standards and regional test methods for evaluating the biodegradability of plastics within aquatic environments (wastewater, unmanaged freshwater and marine habitats). We argue that current standards and test methods are insufficient in their ability to realistically predict the biodegradability of carrier bags in these environments, due to several shortcomings in experimental procedures and a paucity of information in the scientific literature. Moreover, existing biodegradability standards and test methods for aquatic environments do not involve toxicity testing or account for the potentially adverse ecological impacts of carrier bags, plastic additives, polymer degradation products or small (microscopic) plastic particles that can arise via fragmentation. Successfully addressing these knowledge gaps is a key requirement for developing new biodegradability standard(s) for lightweight carrier bags.

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