Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach

Duran-Llacer, Iongel; Munizaga, Juan; Arumí, José Luis; Ruybal, Christopher J.; Aguayo, Mauricio; Sáez-Carrillo, Katia; Arriagada, Loretto; Rojas, Octavio

doi:10.3390/w12092446

Cited by 32 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Spalevic et al [37] verified the effect of plant cover in the Miocki Potok basin (Montenegro), finding that a change (from agricultural to forest land) of eight percentage points decreases sediment production by 14% and peak flows by 3.5%. In addition, Duran-Llacer et al [38] verified that vegetation has a stabilizing role within the Lanjarón basin (Spain), reducing the variability of flows and sediment production within the basin. However, the authors also pointed out that the main factor in the variability and production of sediments is the intensity of rainfall.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishment of Monterrey Pine (Pinus radiata) Plantations and Their Effects on Seasonal Sediment Yield in Central Chile

et al. 2023

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Sediment production and transport in a basin are generally a function of the degree of soil protection, normally represented by plant cover. In this study, two basins located at similar latitudes but with different hydrological regimens and plant covers were studied, one with a pluvial regimen and forest plantations (Ñuble) and another one with the pluvio-nival regimen and native forest (Purapel). For this purpose, sediment yield was analyzed in both drainage areas using the Mann-Kendall statistical test. Both basins showed larger amounts of sediment production during winter months. In addition, sediment yield trends did not show significant variation in the case of the Ñuble, most likely due to non-relevant changes in plant cover over time. However, there is a sustained decrease in annual sediment release at Purapel, coinciding with the afforestation in the basin, so it is logical to attribute the referred reduction to this process. For the first time, the behavior of two watersheds is contrasted, one covered with native forest and the other one with forest plantations, appreciating that the basin covered with plantations presents a reduction in sediment production over time, which means that forest plantations are efficient in sediment retention, even in contrast to native forest. However, both basins have different types of soil, topography, etc., meaning that more studies are needed to support this theory.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishment of Monterrey Pine (Pinus radiata) Plantations and Their Effects on Seasonal Sediment Yield in Central Chile

et al. 2023

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“… 16 , 1312 ; Supplementary Note 14 ). We reviewed published and grey literature 20 , 427 , 802 , 1282 , 1313 – 1356 to obtain groundwater-level trends for some of the countries in which we lack monitoring-well data (that is, point data in Fig. 2 ; details available in Supplementary Note 15 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid groundwater decline and some cases of recovery in aquifers globally

Jasechko,

Seybold,

Perrone

et al. 2024

Nature

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Groundwater resources are vital to ecosystems and livelihoods. Excessive groundwater withdrawals can cause groundwater levels to decline1–10, resulting in seawater intrusion11, land subsidence12,13, streamflow depletion14–16 and wells running dry17. However, the global pace and prevalence of local groundwater declines are poorly constrained, because in situ groundwater levels have not been synthesized at the global scale. Here we analyse in situ groundwater-level trends for 170,000 monitoring wells and 1,693 aquifer systems in countries that encompass approximately 75% of global groundwater withdrawals18. We show that rapid groundwater-level declines (>0.5 m year−1) are widespread in the twenty-first century, especially in dry regions with extensive croplands. Critically, we also show that groundwater-level declines have accelerated over the past four decades in 30% of the world’s regional aquifers. This widespread acceleration in groundwater-level deepening highlights an urgent need for more effective measures to address groundwater depletion. Our analysis also reveals specific cases in which depletion trends have reversed following policy changes, managed aquifer recharge and surface-water diversions, demonstrating the potential for depleted aquifer systems to recover.

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“…Secondly, the separation between surface water rights and groundwater rights is fundamental when dealing with the phenomenon of scarcity, as it does not consider the water cycle as an integrated phenomenon involving surface flows and the recharge of aquifers and water bodies in general. The difference between these two types of rights in times of crisis has led to the overexploitation of river basins (Duran-Llacer et al, 2020).…”

Section: A Brief Explanation Of Chile's Water Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Taking advantage of water scarcity? Concentration of agricultural land and the politics behind water governance in Chile

Perez-Silva,

Castillo

2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Chile is currently facing a major drought that has caused several problems, most of them concentrated in terms of the availability of water for both human consumption and irrigation for agriculture. Under such conditions, the main instrument the government has at hand to assign water for agricultural use is the Water Scarcity Decree (WSD), which, among other aspects, allows for the extraction of underground water. However, this practice requires an important investment from the agricultural producer, making it only affordable by relatively larger producers. Therefore, under the current climatic conditions and a generalized lack of water, larger agricultural producers are the ones who benefit the most from the establishment of a WSD and thus have the incentives to use their political power to pressure for its issuing. Whereas conventional wisdom suggest that this is indeed the case, there is no previous evidence trying to link the size of agricultural exploitations and the likelihood of the establishment of a WSD. In the paper we use the share of large exploitations at the municipality level, as a measure that can proxy for local political power, and the establishment, the number, and duration of WSD within any given year. Consistent with the hypothesis, our results show that areas dominated by larger producers/exploitations are more likely to be declared as water scarce, to have more decrees in a year, and to have them in place for longer periods of time, even after controlling for socioeconomic characteristics and climatic conditions, such as precipitations and water flow.

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Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach

Cited by 32 publications

References 58 publications

Establishment of Monterrey Pine (Pinus radiata) Plantations and Their Effects on Seasonal Sediment Yield in Central Chile

Establishment of Monterrey Pine (Pinus radiata) Plantations and Their Effects on Seasonal Sediment Yield in Central Chile

Rapid groundwater decline and some cases of recovery in aquifers globally

Taking advantage of water scarcity? Concentration of agricultural land and the politics behind water governance in Chile

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