Vadose zone tritium tracer test to estimate aquifer recharge from irrigated areas

Environmental tracers, such as tritium, have generally been used to estimate aquifer recharge under natural conditions. A tritium tracer test is presented for estimating recharge under semi‐arid and irrigated conditions. The test was performed along 429 days (June 2007–August 2008) on an experimental plot located in SE Spain with drip irrigation and annual row crops (rotation of lettuce and melon), in which common agricultural practices were followed in open air. Tritiated water was sprinkled (simulated rainfall) over the plot, soil cores were taken at different depths and a liquid scintillation analyzer was used to measure tritium concentration in soil water samples. Tritium transport, as liquid or vapor phase, was simulated with the one‐dimensional numerical code SOLVEG. Simulations show that the crop water use was below potential levels, despite regular irrigation. Continuous high water content in soil promoted a great impact of rainfall events on the aquifer recharge. The results obtained from tritium tracer test have been compared with other independent recharge assessment, soil water balance method, to evaluate the reliability of the first one. Total recharge from tracer test was 476 mm for the October 2007–September 2008 period versus 561 mm from soil water balance method for the same period, which represents 37.1% and 43.7% of the applied water (1284 mm, irrigation + precipitation), respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.