Spatial and Temporal Potential Groundwater Recharge: the Case of the Doce River Basin, Brazil

Abacus to Predict Groundwater Recharge at Non-Instrumented Hydrographic Basins

“…Thus, for these combinations, the suggested values can be transferred to other areas or basins in the Cerrado biome with similar characteristics. Similar values estimated by Souza et al [2] for this type of soil, but with different climate and biome, suggest that the abacus values for Ferrasols may also be valid for other Brazilian biomes; • the divergences between simulated and regionalized estimations observed in areas with the same soil type, land cover and slope are a result of the conceptual and mathematical formulations specific in the models used, mostly regarding the calculation of actual evapotranspiration, which confirms Araujo [42] and Arroio Junior [54]; • the average effective rates of recharge-NM and WTE-suggested by the abacus were considered consistent, with values in the same order of magnitude as the reference values in the literature. However, the regionalization of these recharge rates would only be possible if the study basin has at least the three predominant classes of soil in the Capão Comprido basin-conditions in which the abacus was generated;…”

“…Furthermore, the spatialized values simulated with SWAT-MODFLOW [42] and regionalized with WETSPA in the abacus, which varied between 32% and 39% and between 32% and 36%, respectively, were situated close to the ones obtained by Cambraia-Neto and Rodrigues [8], of 31%, related to annual rainfall for the same physical conditions of soil type, land use and slope in another hydrographic basin located in the east portion of the Federal District. Souza et al [2] also attained percentage recharge rates of the same order of magnitude, of 36%, for Red-yellow Ferrasol in the Rio Doce basin, west of the state of Minas Gerais. However, in this case the rates of the same order of magnitude for Ferrasols were obtained in different environmental conditions (biome and climate), indicating a dominance of the "soil class" factor in the recharge process and that the role of this factor may be a good variable to use in recharge rate regionalization.…”

“…The study area comprised, as the experimental basin, the Capão Comprido basin, located at the west portion of the Federal District, between the west longitude meridians 48°10′07″ and 48°06′13″, and the south latitude parallels 15°43′42″ and 15°45′41″ covering an area of approximately 16 km 2 . The Ribeirão Rodeador basin, with 113km 2 , was used to validate the study (Figure 1).…”

“…Despite the importance of groundwater in volume, ecology, economy, and society, the lack of knowledge about hydrogeological systems contrasts with scenarios of contamination and depletion of these systems because of inordinate exploitation [1][2][3]. Considering that the remediation and/or recovery of aquifers is, at times, unfeasible [3], management is the best alternative to protect and maintain groundwater reserves [3][4][5].…”

Groundwater Recharge in the Cerrado Biome, Brazil—A Multi-Method Study at Experimental Watershed Scale

“…For a Cerrado area in the state of São Paulo, Silva [30] simulated rates of 35% and 49% for areas with forestry and preserved Cerrado, respectively. In the state of Minas Gerais, Souza et al [83] simulated a potential recharge rate of 30% for Ferrasols in the Rio Doce basin. Although this last case was in the Mata Atlântica biome, it indicates that Ferrasols may exhibit the same hydrological behavior regardless of the biome where it is encountered.…”