陕北能源化工基地资源开发引起的植被生态风险

地下水和煤炭资源开发是否会破环生态环境,以及会给生态环境安全带来多大的风险,是陕北能源化工基地资源开发和生态环境保护中不可逾越的课题。以陕北能源化工基地生态环境最为脆弱的风沙滩地区为研究区,在研究地下水位埋深与植被生态关系的基础上,建立了不同地貌类型、不同潜水水位埋深对应的植被群落类型和植被指数的分布关系,利用Modflow软件建立了风沙滩地区地下水流数值模拟模型,采用蒙特卡洛方法建立了植被生态随机模型,根据地下水水位埋深与植被生态的关系实现了地下水流模型和植被生态模型的耦合求解,对地下水资源和煤炭资源开发可能引起的植被生态变化进行预测和风险评估。     

NDVI dynamic changes and their relationship with meteorological factors and soil moisture

Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is an important indicator for measuring vegetation coverage, which is of great significance for evaluating vegetation dynamics and vegetation restoration. It can clearly analyze the suitable growth condition of vegetation by studying the relationship between meteorological factors, soil moisture and NDVI. Based on MODIS/NDVI data, the spatio-temporal characteristics of vegetation coverage in the Weihe River Basin (WRB) were analyzed by the trend analysis method. The relationship of NDVI with meteorological factors and NDVI with soil moisture simulated by the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model was analyzed in this paper. The results show that NDVI values gradually change with an increase from north to south in the WRB. The maximum of the average monthly NDVI is 0.702 (August) and the minimum is 0.288 in February from 2000 to 2015. The results of the seven grades of NDVI trend line slope indicate that the improvement area of vegetation coverage accounts for 30.93% of the total basin, and the degradation area and basically unchanged area account for 23% and 42.9%, respectively. The annual mean soil moisture is 19.37% in the WRB. There was a strong correlation between NDVI and precipitation, temperature, evaporation and soil moisture, and the correlation coefficients were 0.78, 0.89, 0.71 and 0.65, respectively. The ranges of the most suitable growth conditions for vegetation are 80–145 mm (precipitation), 13–23 °C (temperature), 94–144 mm (evaporation) and 25–33% (soil moisture), respectively.     

Quantitative assessment of the impact of an inter-basin surface-water transfer project on the groundwater flow and groundwater-dependent eco-environment in an oasis in arid northwestern China

Inter-basin water transfer projects (IBWTPs) can involve basins as water donors and water receivers. In contrast to most studies on IBWTPs, which mainly impact the surface-water eco-environment, this study focuses on the impacts of an IBWTP on groundwater and its eco-environment in a water donor basin in an arid area, where surface water and groundwater are exchanged. Surface water is assumed to recharge groundwater and a groundwater numerical simulation model was constructed using MODFLOW. The model was used to quantitatively evaluate the impact of an IBWTP located in the upstream portion of Nalenggele River (the biggest river in the Qaidam basin, Northwest China). The impact involved decrease in spring flow, drawdown of groundwater, reduction in oasis area, and an increase in species replacement of oasis vegetation in the midstream and downstream of the river. Results show that the emergence sites of springs at the front of the oasis will move 2–5 km downstream, and the outflow of springs will decrease by 42 million m³/a. The maximum drawdown of groundwater level at the front of the oasis will be 3.6 m and the area across which groundwater drawdown exceeds 2.0 m will be about 59.02 km², accounting for 2.71% of the total area of the oasis. Under such conditions, reeds will gradually be replaced by Tamarix, shrubs, and other alternative plant species. These findings have important implications for the optimization of water resource allocation and protection of the eco-environment in arid regions.     

海流兔河流域植被分布与地形地貌及地下水位关系研究

干旱区植被与地形地貌及地下水的相互依存关系是揭示植被生态水文过程的关键。由于降水稀少,中国西北地区植被的生长发育与地貌和地下水的关系极为密切,从大尺度上研究地形地貌和地下水变化的生态效应问题对生态环境的保护和恢复具有重要的意义。应用遥感方法,基于地形地貌和地下水位观测数据,在流域尺度上定量地研究了中国鄂尔多斯高原海流兔河流域植被发育与地形地貌和地下水埋深的关系。结果表明：河谷、滩地、沙丘、沙地地貌的植被发育状况是依次变差的,植被在高程1 220 m左右处发育最好。地下水位埋深对植被的影响范围为1~5 m,当地下水位埋深超过5 m时,气候与土壤因素是决定植被的主要因素,地下水位的变化对植被的长生状况影响不大。     

Influence of bare soil and cultivated land use types upstream of a bank gully on soil erosion rates and energy consumption for different gully erosion zones in the dry-hot valley region,Southwest China

This study assessed temporal variation in soil erosion rates in response to energy consumption of flow (ΔE). It employed an in situ bank gully field flume experiment with upstream catchment areas with bare (BLG) or cultivated land (CLG) that drained down to bare gully headcuts. Water discharge treatments ranged from 30 to 120 L Min⁻¹. Concentrated flow discharge clearly affected bank gully soil erosion rates. Excluding minimal discharge in the CLG upstream catchment area (30 L min⁻¹), a declining power function trend (p ≤ 0.1) was observed with time in soil erosion rates for both BLG and CLG upstream catchment areas and downstream gully beds. Non-steady state soil erosion rates were observed after an abrupt collapse along the headcut slope after prolonged scouring treatments. However, as the experiment progressed, ΔE and energy consumption of flow per unit soil loss (ΔEu) exhibited a logarithmic growth trend (p < 0.1) at each BLG and CLG position. Although similar temporal trends in soil erosion and infiltration rates were observed, values clearly differed between BLG and CLG upstream catchment areas. Furthermore, Darcy–Weisbach friction factor (f) values in the CLG upstream catchment area were higher than the corresponding BLG area. In contrast to the BLG upstream catchment area, lower ΔEu and higher soil erosion rates were observed in the CLG upstream catchment area as a result of soil disturbances. This indicated that intensive land use changes accelerate soil erosion rates in upstream catchment areas of bank gullies and increase soil sediment transport to downstream gullies. Accordingly, reducing tillage disturbances and increasing vegetation cover in upstream catchment areas of bank gullies are essential in the dry-hot valley region of Southwest China.

     

Vegetation covers as indicator of seismo-tectonic environment: an integrated geophysical study in north Baromura hill, India

Spatial distributions of vegetation cover are closely related to topographical characters like slope, steepness, soil types, elevations, etc. In seismo-tectonic regions fault lines or tectonic lineaments are the most prominent surface signatures that can be reflected by vegetation distribution as tectonic displacement causes the change of topographical parameters. In the present study a part of northern Baromura hill (between 23º 42′ N to 23º49 N latitudes and 91º30 E to 91º36 E longitudes), which is considered as an active seismo-tectonic region of Tripura as well as northeast India, was selected for assessing the relationship between spatial variation of plant cover and topography. Geologically, Baromura hill is a north–south extended fold belt and formed by late Tertiary to Quaternary depositions. Evidences show that tectonic events played very important role in landform evolution of this area during the geological past. In this research an extensive fieldwork was conducted in the study area to understand the geomorphic and vegetation signatures and their environmental relationships. Various spectral resolutions of Landsat ETM+ were used for digital analysis. To analyse the vegetation character of this area digital operation was done within the spectral range 0.63–1.75 μm. Band 4 and band 3 were used for NDVI operation. Band 5 or mid-wave infrared band was classified in unsupervised mode to understand the range of plant water in the study area. Overlay operation with those operated images shows the spatial distribution pattern of vegetation cover indicates the landform condition. Three clear tectonic lineaments (faults) were detected from the digital study in on the northern part Baromura hill. Structural conditions of those fault lines were verified by geo-electrical survey during fieldwork. GPS tool was used for fixing the ground control points. Resistivity characters of the study area assessed from VES profile strongly supports that vegetation cover analysis from remotely sensed data within 0.63–1.75 μm spectral ranges can be a very useful tool for detecting surface tectonic signatures of the landform.     

A GIS-based DRASTIC model for assessing groundwater vulnerability in the Ordos Plateau, China

Groundwater plays a key role in arid regions as the majority of water is supplied by it. Groundwater pollution is a major issue, because it is susceptible to contamination from land use and other anthropogenic impacts. A study was carried out to build a vulnerability map for the Ordos Plateau using the DRASTIC model in a GIS environment. The map was designed to show the areas of the highest potential for groundwater pollution based on hydrogeological conditions. Seven environmental parameters, such as depth to water table, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone media, and hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer, were incorporated into the DRASTIC model and GIS was used to create a groundwater vulnerability map by overlaying the available data. The results of this study show that 24.8 % of the study area has high pollution potential, 24.2 % has moderate pollution potential, 19.7 % has low pollution potential, and the remaining 31.3 % of the area has no risk of groundwater pollution. The regional distribution of nitrate is well correlated with the DRASTIC vulnerability index. In contrast to this, although the DRASTIC model indicated that the western part had no risk, nitrate concentrations were higher in some of these areas. In particular, higher nitrate concentrations were recorded along river valleys and around lakes, such as the Mulin River valley. This is mainly caused by the intensive agricultural development and favorable conditions for recharge along river valleys.     

Effects of groundwater level on vegetation in the arid area of western China

At present, investigation about the relationship between the change of groundwater level and vegetation mostly focuses on specific watersheds, i.e. limited in river catchment scale. Understanding the change of groundwater level on vegetation in the basin or large scale, be urgently needed. To fill this gap, two typical arid areas in the west of China (Tarim Basin and Qaidam Basin) were chosen the a typical research area. The vegetation status was evaluated via normalization difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 2000 to 2016, sourced from MODN1F dataset. The data used to reflect climate change were download from CMDSC (http://data.cma.cn). Groundwater level data was collected from monitor wells. Then, the relationship of vegetation and climate change was established with univariate linear regression and correlation analysis approach. Results show that: Generally, NDVI value in the study area decreased before 2004 then increased in the research period. Severe degradation was observed in the center of the basin. The area with an NDVI value > 0.5 decreased from 12% to 6% between 2000 and 2004. From 2004 to 2014, the vegetation in the study area was gradually restored. The whole coverage of Qaidam Basin was low. And the NDVI around East Taigener salt-lake degraded significantly, from 0.596 to 0.005, 2014 and 2016, respectively. The fluctuation of groundwater level is the main reason for the change of surface vegetation coverage during the vegetation degradation in the basin. However, the average annual precipitation in the study area is low, which is not enough to have a significant impact on vegetation growth. The annual average precipitation showed an increase trend during the vegetation restoration in the basin, which alleviates the water shortage of vegetation growth in the region. Meanwhile, the dependence of surface vegetation on groundwater is obviously weakened with the correlation index is –0.248. The research results are of some significance to eco-environment protection in the arid area of western China.© 2021 China Geology Editorial Office.     

Role of degree of saturation in denitrification of unsaturated sand specimens

Nitrate contamination of groundwater arises from anthropogenic activities, such as, fertilizer and animal manure applications and infiltration of wastewater/leachates. During migration of wastewater and leachates, the vadose zone (zone residing above the groundwater table), is considered to facilitate microbial denitrification. Particle voids in vadose zone are deficient in dissolved oxygen as the voids are partially filled by water and the remainder by air. Discontinuities in liquid phase would also restrict oxygen diffusion and therefore facilitate denitrification in the vadose/unsaturated soil zone. The degree of saturation of soil specimen (S _r) quantifies the relative volume of voids filled with air and water. Unsaturated specimens have S _r values ranging between 0 and 100 %. Earlier studies from naturally occurring nitrate losses in groundwater aquifers in Mulbagal town, Kolar District, Karnataka, showed that the sub-surface soils composed of residually derived sandy soil; hence, natural sand was chosen in the laboratory denitrification experiments. With a view to understand the role of vadose zone in denitrification process, experiments are performed with unsaturated sand specimens (S _r = 73–90 %) whose pore water was spiked with nitrate and ethanol solutions. Experimental results revealed 73 % S _r specimen facilitates nitrate reduction to 45 mg/L in relatively short durations of 5.5–7.5 h using the available natural organic matter (0.41 % on mass basis of sand); consequently, ethanol addition did not impact rate of denitrification. However, at higher S _r values of 81 and 90 %, extraneous ethanol addition (C/N = 0.5–3) was needed to accelerate the denitrification rates.     

格尔木河流域植被指数时空分布及其影响因素研究

格尔木河流域气候干旱少雨,生态环境较脆弱,植被动态对其生态环境保护具有重要意义。基于连续序列的MODIS NDVI数据,分析了格尔木河流域植被指数时空分布及其影响因素。结果表明:研究区NDVI平均值总体较小,主要在0.10～0.12间波动,但呈增大趋势。区内植被改善区分布在格尔木市东、西两侧,基本不变区为荒漠地区,植被退化区分布在北部盐湖区。区内裸土的面积逐渐减小,低覆盖率和高覆盖率植被的面积逐渐增加。研究区植被生长与气象、土壤水分和地下水位埋深都有关系。气温与植被指数相关关系较好,相关系数为0.822,而降水对植被的生长也有一定的作用。植被指数与表观热惯量是正相关关系,相关系数为0.979。区内植被的地下水位埋深范围为0～12 m,在水位埋深约为6.5 m的地方,植被长势最好。     

Estimation of groundwater recharge using a GIS-based distributed water balance model in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

Sustainable groundwater management requires knowledge of recharge. Recharge is also an important parameter in groundwater flow and transport models. Spatial variation in recharge due to distributed land-us.e, soil texture, topography, groundwater level, and hydrometeorological conditions should be accounted for in recharge estimation. However, conventional point-estimates of recharge are not easily extrapolated or regionalized. In this study, a spatially distributed water balance model WetSpass was used to simulate long-term average recharge using land-use, soil texture, topography, and hydrometeorological parameters in Dire Dawa, a semiarid region of Ethiopia. WetSpass is a physically based methodology for estimation of the long-term average spatial distribution of surface runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge. The long-term temporal and spatial average annual rainfall of 626 mm was distributed as: surface runoff of 126 mm (20%), evapotranspiration of 468 mm (75%), and recharge of 28 mm (5%). This recharge corresponds to 817 l/s for the 920.12 km² study area, which is less than the often-assumed 1,000 l/s recharge for the Dire Dawa groundwater catchment.     

Changes in flow and chemistry of groundwater heavily affected by human impacts in the Baiyangdian catchment of the North China Plain

To identify impacts of air pollution, sewage drainage, agricultural production, over-pumping and reservoir storage on groundwater, a field survey was conducted in the Baiyangdian catchment of the North China Plain. Major ions and water isotopes were measured. Results show that hydrological processes and hydrogeochemical evolution of shallow groundwater were greatly disturbed by human activities. Excessive pumping resulted in significant declines of groundwater levels over the study area. This also induced infiltration of surface water into groundwater. A groundwater depression cone was the conflux center of groundwater surrounded by recharge zones including alluvial fans and surface water in alluvial plain. Pumping almost was the only way to discharge groundwater. Emission of SO _x and NO _x contributed at least 11% of rock weathering by dissolving into infiltrating precipitation. Surface waters containing sewage replenished ambient groundwater with an average mixing ratio of 74 ± 17% due to groundwater level drawdown. As a result, groundwater had elevated concentrations of Na⁺ and SO₄ ^2? with Na⁺ exchanged into aquifer sediments. About 29 ± 16% of Na⁺ was exchanged from groundwater into soil matrix. Agriculture nitrate was high only in the recharge zones. The most important result is that the transformation of the study area from a place rich in water resource into an area lack of water just took several decades with the joint action of the heavily human activities. Our study also indicates that shallow groundwater could sensitively respond to and record environmental changes.     

银川平原土壤盐渍化与植被发育和地下水埋深关系

土壤盐渍化是制约银川平原内部植被生长最主要的生态环境地质问题,也是影响区域农业生产的第一障碍性问题。基于遥感数据,结合表层土壤含盐量及地下水位观测资料,对银川平原土壤盐渍化与植被和地下水的关系进行了定量研究。结果表明：随着表层土壤含盐量的增大,NDVI(归一化植被指数)逐渐减小,植被发育较好的区域土壤含盐量均小于3 g/kg;植被主要生长在没有盐渍化或轻微盐渍化的地区,在中度和重度盐渍化地区几乎没有植被发育;在枯水季节,研究区土壤盐渍化最严重的地下水位埋深为1.5 m,而土壤盐渍化较为严重的地下水位埋深范围为1~3 m。     

鄂尔多斯高原植被生态分区及其水文地质意义

保护生态环境是鄂尔多斯高原地下水可持续开发利用中亟待解决的问题。在查清植被生态群落分布特征的基础上,通过分析植被演替的自然驱动因素,将鄂尔多斯高原的植被生态划分为基岩台地植被生态水文地质区、沙盖基岩植被生态水文地质区、沙地植被生态水文地质区和滩地植被生态水文地质区。结果表明,气象和地形地貌控制着区内植被生态的总体分布格局,包气带和地下水因素控制着植被生态的演替,沙地植被生态和滩地植被生态的生长发育与地下水关系密切,是地下水开发时保护植被生态的靶区。     

Multi-perspective analysis of vegetation cover changes and driving factors of long time series based on climate and terrain data in Hanjiang River Basin,China

The Hanjiang River Basin is the source area of the Middle Route Project of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and the vegetation coverage in this basin directly affects the quality of the ecological environment. This study is based on long time series of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data synthesized over 16 days from 2000 to 2016 in the Hanjiang River Basin. Major climatic data (temperature and rainfall) and topographic data (elevation, slope, and aspect) are employed to analyze the driving forces of NDVI changes. The results demonstrate the following: for the 2000–2016 period, the average annual NDVI is 0.823, with a change trend of 0.025 year^?1. The overall NDVI upstream is higher than that downstream. The average annual value of NDVI upstream is 0.844, with a change trend of 0.036 year^?1, and that of downstream is 0.799, with a change trend of 0.022 year^?1. The spatial distribution of NDVI was significantly increased in the area around the upstream section of the river and near the Danjiangkou Reservoir, and the distribution of NDVI around the central city was significantly reduced. The NDVI was positively correlated with temperature and rainfall, and the impacts differed among different regions. At elevations below 2000 m, the NDVI shows an increasing trend with increasing elevation, and at elevations exceeding 2000 m, the NDVI is negatively correlated with elevation. Slope is positively correlated with the NDVI. The influence of aspect on the NDVI was small.     

内蒙古西辽河平原植被指数时空变化及其影响因素研究

西辽河平原位于我国北方农牧交错带,属半干旱气候,发育科尔沁沙地,生态环境极其脆弱,开展植被指数时空变化及其影响因素研究,对于预测土地退化风险意义重大,可为该流域生态环境保护治理及水资源合理开发利用提供技术支撑。利用2000—2019年MODIS NDVI数据,采用一元线性回归趋势法和Mann-Kendall检验分析了近20年来该地区的植被生长变化趋势及突变情况。从影响植被生长的水热条件出发,分析了NDVI值与气象因素（降水、气温）、土壤湿度、地下水埋深等因子的相关关系;结合人类活动,分析了土地利用类型变化对NDVI值的影响。结果表明:（1）2000—2019年生长季NDVI值整体呈上升趋势,不存在显著突变点,最高值0.56,最低值0.41。（2）NDVI值在空间上呈现“东高西低”的分布特征,不同用地类型的NDVI值由大到小依次为耕地>林地>沼泽地>滩地>草地>盐碱地>沙地。（3）92.5%的区域植被呈增长趋势,7.5%的区域植被呈减少趋势。（4）NDVI值与降水、气温、土壤湿度呈正相关关系,相关系数分别为0.86,0.78,0.81,降水对植被影响最大。（5）最适宜天然植被生长的地下水埋深约为3 m,当地下水埋深大于10 m时,NDVI值会随着埋深的增加剧烈减小。（6）人类活动如土地开垦、植树造林是近20年来NDVI值呈增加趋势的主要原因之一,在一定程度上改善了当地生态环境。     

Estimation of groundwater recharge in a major sand and gravel aquifer in Ireland using multiple approaches

Groundwater recharge was investigated in the most extensive sand and gravel aquifer (area of approximately 200 km²) in the Republic of Ireland as part of a wider study seeking to derive recharge estimates using aquifer vulnerability mapping. The proportion of effective rainfall (total rainfall minus actual evapotranspiration) that leads to recharge is known as the recharge coefficient. The recharge investigation involved a variety of approaches, including soil moisture budgeting, well hydrograph analysis, numerical modelling and a catchment water balance. The adoption of multiple techniques provided insights on recharge and also on aquifer properties. Comparison of two soil moisture budgeting approaches (FAO Penman-Monteith with Penman-Grindley) showed how variations in the effective rainfall values from these methods influence groundwater levels simulated in a numerical groundwater model. The catchment water balance estimated the recharge coefficient to be between 81 and 85%, which is considered a reasonable range for this aquifer, where overland flow is rarely observed. The well hydrograph analysis, using a previous estimate of specific yield (0.13), gave recharge coefficients in the range of 40–80%, considered low for this aquifer: a revised specific yield of 0.19 resulted in a more reasonable range of recharge coefficients of between 70 and 100%.     

Gully development in eastern Romania: a case study from Falciu Hills

The gullied systems from the Falciu Hills within the Chioara catchment (2997 ha) consist of both main types of gullies, discontinuous and large continuous ones along valley bottoms, and lots of ephemeral gullies. Several methods have been used to measure and estimate gully characteristics. Then, the gully development stages, the effect of the natural conditions, and especially the impact of land management on gullying in the Falciu Hills over the last two centuries have been defined. In addition, the role of gully erosion in triggering landslides has also been studied. Two main periods have been distinguished (until 1960 and 1961–2012) for assessing major characteristics of land degradation. The results show that total gully area in the Chioara catchment is 66.4 ha excepting for the ephemeral gullies, and areas occupied by gullies from the five study sub-catchments (2334 ha) account for two-thirds. Total length of the main gully network in the entire catchment is 33.2 km from which the five sub-catchments account for 71 %. The mean gully density of 1.11 km km⁻² supports the evidence that here gullying is the major environmental threat. Half of the gully areal growth and three-quarters of the new landslide area occurred over the 1961–2012 period. Delayed deforestation peaking during 1830–1930 and land conversion to arable use resulted in severe soil erosion, high aggradation along the non-gullied valley bottoms, and severe gullying. The average gully head retreat rate over the last two centuries from four trunk continuous gullies is 14 m year⁻¹, and the sediment yield from gullying only accounted for 54–69 % of the sediment mass produced by water erosion. The evolution of gullies is linked to major land-use changes in the study area. Despite a decreasing tendency of gullying and catchment area over the last half century, gullying still remains problematically high in East Romania.

     

A study of the interrelation between surface water and groundwater using isotopes and chlorofluorocarbons in Sanjiang plain,Northeast China

Surface water and groundwater are the main water resources used for drinking and production. Assessments of the relationship between surface water and groundwater provide information for water resource management in Sanjiang plain, Northeast China. The surface water (river, lake, and wetland) and groundwater were sampled and analyzed for stable isotopic (δD, δ ¹⁸O) composition, tritium, and chlorofluorocarbons concentrations. The local meteoric water line is δD = 7.3δ ¹⁸O–6.7. The tritium (T) and chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) contents in groundwater were analyzed to determine the groundwater ages. Most groundwater were modern water with the ages <50 years. The groundwaters in mountain area and near rivers were younger than in the central plain. The oxygen isotope (δ ¹⁸O) was used to quantify the relationship between surface water and groundwater. The Songhua, Heilongjiang, and Wusuli rivers were gaining rivers, but the shallow groundwater recharged from rivers at the confluence area of rivers. At the confluence of Songhua and Heilongjiang rivers, 88 % of the shallow groundwater recharged from Songhua river. The combination of stable isotopes, tritium, and CFCs was an effectively method to study the groundwater ages and interrelation between surface water and groundwater. Practically, the farmlands near the river and under foot of the mountain could be cultivated, but the farmlands in the central plain should be controlled.     

The effects of a dry sand layer on groundwater recharge in extremely arid areas: field study in the western Hexi Corridor of northwestern China

Evaporation capacity is an important factor that cannot be ignored when judging whether extreme precipitation events will produce groundwater recharge. The evaporation layer’s role in groundwater recharge was evaluated using a lysimeter simulation experiment in the desert area of Dunhuang, in the western part of the Hexi Corridor in northwestern China’s Gansu Province. The annual precipitation in the study area is extremely low, averaging 38.87 mm during the 60-year study period, and daily pan evaporation amounts to 2,486 mm. Three simulated precipitation regimes (normal, 10 mm; ordinary annual maximum, 21 mm; and extreme, 31 mm) were used in the lysimeter simulation to allow monitoring of water movement and weighing to detect evaporative losses. The differences in soil-water content to a depth of 50 cm in the soil profile significantly affected rainfall infiltration during the initial stages of rainfall events. It was found that the presence of a dry 50-cm-deep sand layer was the key factor for “potential recharge” after the three rainfall events. Daily precipitation events less than 20 mm did not produce groundwater recharge because of the barrier effect created by the dry sand. Infiltration totaled 0.68 mm and penetrated to a depth below 50 cm with 31 mm of rainfall, representing potential recharge equivalent to 1.7 % of the rainfall. This suggests that only extreme precipitation events offer the possibility of recharge of groundwater in this extremely arid area.