Effect of Riparian Buffer Width and Vegetation Type on Shallow Groundwater Quality

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Dukes ◽  
Robert O. Evans ◽  
J. Wendell Gilliam ◽  
Sheryl H. Kunickis
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Riparian Buffer ◽  
Buffer Width

Shallow groundwater quality on dairy farms with irrigated forage crops

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 287-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Harter ◽  
Harley Davis ◽  
Marsha C Mathews ◽  
Roland D Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Forage Crops

scholarly journals Assessing threats to shallow groundwater quality from soil pollutants in Glasgow, UK: development of a new screening tool

2017 ◽  
Vol 108 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 173-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. M. Fordyce ◽  
B. É. Ó Dochartaigh ◽  
H. C. Bonsor ◽  
E. L. Ander ◽  
M. T. Graham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Soil Sample ◽  
Screening Tool ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Groundwater Chemistry ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Quaternary Deposit ◽  
Metal Concentrations ◽  
High Soil ◽  
Very High

ABSTRACTA new GIS-based screening tool to assess threats to shallow groundwater quality has been trialled in Glasgow, UK. The GRoundwater And Soil Pollutants (GRASP) tool is based on a British Standard method for assessing the threat from potential leaching of metal pollutants in unsaturated soil/superficial materials to shallow groundwater, using data on soil and Quaternary deposit properties, climate and depth to groundwater. GRASP breaks new ground by also incorporating a new Glasgow-wide soil chemistry dataset. GRASP considers eight metals, including chromium, lead and nickel at 1622 soil sample locations. The final output is a map to aid urban management, which highlights areas where shallow groundwater quality may be at risk from current and future surface pollutants. The tool indicated that 13% of soil sample sites in Glasgow present a very high potential threat to groundwater quality, due largely to shallow groundwater depths and high soil metal concentrations. Initial attempts to validate GRASP revealed partial spatial coincidence between the GRASP threat ranks (low, moderate, high and very high) and groundwater chemistry, with statistical correlation between areas of high soil and groundwater metal concentrations for both Cr and Cu (r2>0.152; P<0.05). Validation was hampered by a lack of, and inconsistency in, existing groundwater chemistry data. To address this, standardised subsurface data collection networks have been trialled recently in Glasgow. It is recommended that, once available, new groundwater depth and chemistry information from these networks is used to validate the GRASP model further.

Acidification of shallow groundwater in the unconfined sandy aquifer of the city of Douala, Cameroon, Western Africa: implications for groundwater quality and use

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 6831-6846 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Takem ◽  
D. Kuitcha ◽  
A. A. Ako ◽  
G. T. Mafany ◽  
A. Takounjou-Fouepe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Sandy Aquifer ◽  
The City

Dimensioning of riparian buffer zones in agricultural catchments at national level

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Uuemaa ◽  
Ain Kull ◽  
Kiira Mõisja ◽  
Hanna-Ingrid Nurm ◽  
Alexander Kmoch
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
National Level ◽  
Agricultural Runoff ◽  
Riparian Buffer ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Buffer Zones ◽  
Slope Length ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Riparian Buffer Zones ◽  
Buffer Width

&lt;p&gt;Intensive agricultural production interferes with natural cycles of nutrients (mostly nitrogen and phosphorus) and may lead to water quality degradation due to excessive nutrient loadings. To mitigate this effect at the landscape level establishment of buffering vegetated strips is an efficient measure.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Recommending optimal widths for riparian buffer zones to reduce the agricultural runoff is still a challenging task, in particular when considering the spatial variability of the landscape. Empirical-based approaches include assessment of terrain, soil types, land use and vegetation, and are often realised in computationally expensive hydrological simulation. However, trade-offs have to be made between spatial resolution and areal extent. Another elegant empirical-based approach are nomographs, where via triangulation of a specific slope length, terrain slope and soil type recommended buffer width can be easily calculated. Mander and Kuusemets (1998) already developed such a nomograph for Estonian catchments in 1998, yet, a computational use case has not been explored.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We implemented the nomograph as a GIS algorithm in Python/QGIS to retrieve the recommended buffer width at national level. We synthesized a specific slope length via a weighted average of flow length, local flow accumulation and LS factor, and then use the specific slope length, slope derived from 5 m spatial resolution DEM and soil texture classes as inputs for the algorithm. We applied this algorithm and calculated recommendable buffer strip widths for the whole of country of Estonia, over an area of approx. 43,000 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;. We evaluated the uncertainty of the results as well the algorithm&amp;#8217;s sensitivity to input weights.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The developed algorithm is applicable in any region with relevant adjustments to local soil types. The result directly informs policy making by being able to more specifically decide and explain variations of buffer zone widths along water bodies.&lt;/p&gt;

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