Effect of Irrigation Methods on Groundwater Recharge in Alluvial Fan Area
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 3
Abstract
Estimation of water table and recharge is a key component in the control of groundwater level in arid and semiarid regions such as northwestern China. This study compared groundwater recharge in land subject to flood-irrigation and water-saving irrigation within the Manasi Basin, China, with the aim of analyzing the influence of irrigation method on the response characteristics of groundwater. A simulation of the two irrigation methods was conducted over four years, using a coupled MIKESHE/MIKE 11 model, from which the average water balance was calculated. Moran’s I was used to explain the spatial variability of recharge response associated with each irrigation method. ArcGIS 9.0 geostatistical and spatial analysis applications were used to interpolate/extrapolate and create grids for specific yield, bedrock elevation, and raw groundwater data. The results of the simulations are generally consistent with observed data, indicating that the method is capable of recognizing detailed characteristics of the groundwater response. The groundwater recharge intensity was found to become weaker in water-saving irrigation than in floodirrigation, but groundwater discharge is greater for water-saving irrigation than for flood-irrigation, making the reduction in depth more obvious. Furthermore, the reduction in depth of the groundwater level increases with site elevation. The results indicate that the proposed methodology are applicable to the management of groundwater resources in arid regions. The study quantified the processes affecting groundwater levels and provided an insight into their implications for the management and control of groundwater level.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by National 973 Key Project of China (UNSPECIFIED2010CB951004), open fund of Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Utilization in Arid zone (UNSPECIFIEDXJYS0907-2010-01), special fund of high-level talents of Shihezi University (UNSPECIFIEDRCZX200823) and open fund of Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology and Desert Environment of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UNSPECIFIED200901-01). The authors are grateful to Bing Liu, Guang Yang, and Junfeng Li for their help in preparing this manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 3 • March 2012
Pages: 266 - 273
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 16, 2010
Accepted: Jun 27, 2011
Published online: Jun 28, 2011
Published in print: Mar 1, 2012
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