Publication Date:
2023-08-02
Description:
In Germany, climate resilient tree species are increasingly used in the process of forest conversion towards climate-change adapted stands. However, information on the impact of this conversion on groundwater resources is scarce. To fill this gap, the joint project “Effects of climate-adapted tree species selection on groundwater recharge” of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and the Northwest German Forest Research Institute (NW-FVA), funded by the Forest Climate Fund (WKF), aims at better understanding processes of groundwater recharge at six forest sites. The study sites comprise monoculture forest stands of European beech, Norway spruce, Douglas fir, Scots pine, red oak and pedunculate oak. To assess groundwater recharge rates, we performed D2O-tracer experiments on four sites since December 2022. At each site one plot of 4 m² was irrigated with 5 mm of D2O-labelled water (δ2H: 110 000 – 140 000 ‰). We will present the results of the tracer peak displacement until spring 2023 for each plot together with groundwater recharge estimates based on soil gravimetric water content and bulk dry density data. In addition, at two sites (red oak and Scots pine), these results will be compared to natural seasonal signals of stable isotopes in the soil water. Preliminary results of the red oak lowland forest site show that during summer 2022 seasonal signals reached down to 4 m depth and that gravimetric water contents dropped below 4 % for the entire mineral soil profile reaching down to the capillary fringe at 6.50 m.
Language:
English
Type:
info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject
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