ECOHYDROLOGY

Short recap ng history of Ecohydrology

Early Roots (1970s-1980s): Scientists who discovered how important it was to study
ecosystems and water cycles simultaneously laid the groundwork for ecohydrology. The
relationships between soil, water dynamics, and plants were first studied in the 1970s and
1980s.

Development of Ecohydrology Concept (1990s): In the 1990s, as researchers looked for a

more comprehensive method to comprehend the intricate connections between ecological
and hydrological systems, the word "ecohydrology" sprang to prominence. The impact of
vegetation on hydrological processes like evapotranspiration, runoff, and groundwater
recharge has drawn the attention of researchers.

Key Concepts and Frameworks (2000s): The rise of important theories and frameworks
throughout the 2000s marked the evolution of ecohydrology. To quantify the
relationships between ecosystems and water cycles, researchers began to create models
and methodology. A growing amount of focus was placed on ideas like ecohydrological
services, feedbacks, and the ecohydrological approach to managing water resources.

Advancements in Technology (2010s): Technological developments in the 2010s enabled

increasingly accurate and complex measurements of ecohydrological processes. A greater
knowledge of the spatial and temporal dynamics of water-ecosystem interactions has
been made possible by advances in modeling approaches, GIS (Geographic Information
Systems), and remote sensing.

Applications and Importance (2010s-2020s): Ecohydrology found practical use in a

number of domains, such as ecosystem restoration, climate change adaptation, and water
resource management. Ecohydrology is becoming more and more important for
managing water resources sustainably and preserving the health of ecosystems.

Current Trends (2020s): With further research into the effects of climate change on
interactions between water and ecosystems, the contribution of biodiversity to
hydrological processes, and the creation of novel strategies to tackle water-related
problems, ecohydrology has been evolving in recent years.

Human Intervention to Ecohydrological process

Land Use Changes:

○ Urbanization: Transforming natural landscapes into impermeable surfaces, such
highways and buildings, is a common part of urban area expansion. Groundwater
recharge and flood risk are both impacted by this modification to surface runoff
patterns.
 ○ Deforestation: Forests that are burned for farming or other uses have less
vegetation cover, which affects evapotranspiration rates and changes the ratio of
water that runs off the surface to that which enters the soil.

Water Management:
○ Dams and Reservoirs:The building of dams and reservoirs modifies the natural
flow patterns of rivers, impacting the cycling of nutrients, the movement of
sediments, and the environments in which aquatic species exist. Additionally,
dams have an impact on hydrological and biological processes downstream.

○ Irrigation: Changes in local hydrological cycles brought about by agricultural

irrigation techniques can impact groundwater levels, soil moisture, and the
amount of water available for ecosystems downstream.
Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation:
○ Afforestation and Reforestation: Restoring vegetation cover, increasing
evapotranspiration, and enhancing ecosystem health can all be achieved by
planting trees in deforested or degraded areas. This is a frequently employed
tactic for adaptation and mitigation of climate change.

Pollution:
○ Water Pollution: Pollutant discharge into bodies of water can deteriorate the
quality of the water, impacting aquatic ecosystems and the availability of clean
water for human consumption. This may have a detrimental effect on biodiversity
and upset the natural balance of nutrient cycling.

Infrastructure Development:
○ Roads and Urban Infrastructure: Natural drainage patterns can be changed by
building roads and other urban infrastructure, which can increase runoff and affect
the conveyance of silt. Pollutants can enter aquatic bodies through stormwater
runoff from impermeable surfaces.
Agricultural Practices:
○ Land Drainage: However the goal of drainage systems in agriculture is to
eliminate excess water from fields, they can also modify the course of natural
hydrological processes, affecting downstream flows, wetland habitats, and local
water tables.

Restoration Projects:
○ Wetland Restoration: Restoration of wetlands by humans can have a beneficial
effect on ecohydrological processes because it can improve water quality, retain
more water, and provide home for a variety of plant and animal species.

Ecohydrological Engineering:
 ○ Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR): In order to increase groundwater storage
and improve water availability, human-designed techniques like MAR entail
purposefully replenishing aquifers with surface water.

HYDROGEOLOGY

WATER BEARING GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS

Known as aquifers, they are essential in supplying a large amount of fresh water to the world.
These formations are water-storing and -transmitting subterranean layers of rock or silt. Aquifers
differ greatly in their properties, which affects both their capacity to produce water and their
susceptibility to pollution. The following list includes typical water-bearing geologic formation
types.:

Unconfined Aquifers:
● Generally exposed to the Earth's surface, unconfined aquifers lack an
impermeable layer known as a confined aquitard. Natural mechanisms of recharge
and outflow impact the levels of water in unconfined aquifers.

Confined Aquifers:
● Confined aquifers are pressure systems surrounded by impermeable layers called
aquitards or aquicludes. Constrained aquifers frequently have pressured water,
which can rise beyond the aquifer's surface when it is tapped.
Semi-confined Aquifers:
 ● Aquifers that are semi-confined possess a confining layer that is not uniform
throughout the aquifer. In certain situations, this can result in a pressurized
system, but in others, it can allow for direct recharge.

Artisanal Aquifers:
● Typically shallow and frequently unconfined, artisanal aquifers can be drawn
from wells with little to no pumping or can supply water by natural flow.

Karst Aquifers:
● Features like sinkholes, caverns, and conduits are distinctive to karst aquifers,
which are created in carbonate rocks like limestone and dolomite. Water flow and
storage are improved by these features.

Alluvial Aquifers:
● Sediments left behind by rivers and streams create alluvial aquifers. They can be
found in floodplains and river valleys, where they are frequently limited.
 Basaltic Aquifers:
● Volcanic basalt rock is where basaltic aquifers originate. Water can be stored and
moved about thanks to basalt's porous structure.

Fractured Rock Aquifers:

● Hard rocks that have been broken to allow water to pass through the cracks make
fractured rock aquifers. Water moves through the fissures as conduits.

WELL HYDRAULICS

The study of the water flow into and out of wells is the focus of the hydrogeology subfield
known as well hydraulics. It entails comprehending the physical laws that control how water
moves through aquifers, how wells behave, and how the well interacts with the subterranean
world around it. Drawdown, specific capacity, well efficiency, and aquifer property analysis are
important ideas in well hydraulics. These are a few crucial well hydraulics elements.

Drawdown:
● Drawdown is the word used to describe the greatest groundwater table lowering
brought on by artesian flow or pumping (Figure D60). It is calculated as the
difference between the water level in a well at the beginning and the end, or
stabilized, levels after an extended period of pumping. When the rate of
withdrawal from the aquifer and the flow into the well are equal, the static level is
reached.

Cone of Depression:
● an inverted cone-shaped depression that forms in the groundwater table or
potentiometric surface surrounding a well that is being used to extract water.

Specific Capacity:
● an inverted cone-shaped depression that forms in the groundwater table or
potentiometric surface surrounding a well that is being used to extract water. In
closer proximity to the well, the cone's slopes became steeper. An effect zone is
defined by a well's trace, or perimeter, on the surface of the ground. similar to the
cone of withdrawal.
Well Efficiency:
● is the proportion of the well's and aquifer's respective drawdowns. Efficiency
wells often vary from 70 to 80% (or more).
Aquifer Testing:
● A controlled field experiment known as an aquifer test is used to determine the
hydraulic characteristics of aquifer systems, including transmissivity, hydraulic
conductivity, and storativity (storage coefficient). Pumping tests, slug tests, and
constant-head tests are the three basic aquifer testing techniques.
Pumping test, by removing or injecting water at a regulated pace, a pumping well puts stress
on an aquifer.
Slug test, the abrupt shift in the control well's water level is what caused the imposed
hydraulic tension.
Constant-head test, it is not permitted for the control well's head or drawdown to change.

Well Design and Construction:

● The design and construction of wells that effectively draw groundwater while
limiting detrimental effects on the aquifer depend heavily on well hydraulics.
 Groundwater Flow Modeling:
● An aquifer, which is made up of saturated silt and rock, can be represented
mathematically using a groundwater flow model.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/ecohydrology?
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https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/urbanization/