Skip to main content
Blog entry

A recent article from Hydrological Processes examines groundwater recharge and water quality following changes in land use in an area of the Loess Plateau of China. Changes in land use, particularly transitions between grasslands and forests, have potentially large impacts on water balance and salt fluxes in the ecosystem. A typical rain-fed loess-terrace agriculture region in Hequan, Guyuan, is taken as an example. Water stable isotopes (2H and 18O), as measured by Picarro CRDS analyzer, are used in this research work semi-quantitatively to determine sources and mechanism of recharge.