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Groundwater is one of the main resources for society and ecosystems. As part of the total water cycle and deeply connected with land use, many difficulties are present in groundwater management, especially in coastal areas. Landscape Scale Planning is an emerging approach for land use planning providing a framework for management based on evidence, given that landscapes have physical and information flows.Landscape Scale Planning embraces three dimensions: i) the spatial dimension centres on the recognition of distinct landscape units; ii) the temporal dimension entails the first use of a landscape through to its sustainable use by future generations; and iii) the modification dimension involves the anthropogenic alterations that affected and will affect the landscape and its features along the spatial and temporal dimensions. Through a systematic literature and the application of Landscape Scale Planning analytical framework, this paper seeks to analyse if groundwater management can be improved through Landscape Scale Planning. Twenty-eight selected publications were analysed focusing on (i) analyse existing evidence that can underpin groundwater management approaches that take into account the spatial, temporal and modification dimensions; and, (ii) analyse the implications of Landscape Scale Planning for groundwater management. The results show Landscape Scale Planning can be applied as an integrative framework for groundwater management. Landscape units based in many aspects such as geology, topography, cultural, and socio-economics can aid groundwater management that takes into account the different spatial and temporal characteristics of the aquifer. Furthermore, through the application of the Landscape Scale Planning analytical framework, it was identified that the need for the inclusion of the dynamical aspects of land use changes in the processes of groundwater management. Therefore, applying a Landscape Scale Planning approach can produce more comprehensive outcomes to improve the process of groundwater management.

This paper uses computational modelling techniques to estimate groundwater resources availability in a region of the Coastal Sedimentary Basin of the LowCourse of Paraíba River Basin, in Brazil. The results of the model application detected an over-exploitation of groundwater, an evidence that the criteria adopted by local regulations for the concession of water rights are not sufficient for estimating the limits of exploitation. Then, a method for defining additional criteria is proposed: the modulated concession of water rights. This approach considers the well marked seasonal regime of groundwater recharge. For the annual dry season, a bimonthly exploitable value is determined, so that the deficit is kept as minimum. The results showed a reduction of 93% in the deficit with only a 33% reduction in the exploited volume.