Abstract

ALSINA, Simon; NOSETTO, Marcelo Daniel  and  JOBBAGY, Esteban Gabriel. Database “NAPA”: First synthesis of the pampean water- table dynamic since 1950 to the present. Cienc. suelo [online]. 2020, vol.38, n.2, pp.262-273. ISSN 1850-2067.

In most of the Argentine Pampas, the top of the saturated zone of the soil/sediment profile (i.e. water-table) is close to the ground surface and influences various aspects of (agro)ecosystems. Despite playing a key role in agricultural production, there is no an unified database that allows knowing the spatial and temporal variability of the water-table depth (i.e. the vertical distance from the surface) in the region. In this work, we created the database NAPA from the compilation and curation of water-table depth observations and we described the main spatial and temporal trends. After the curing process, 438 series were considered, with 45 series having more than 30 years of measurement. They are mostly located in the Inland Pampa (89.7%), followed by the Flooding Pampa (4.8%). The analysis of the database indicated that the average water-table depth of the region approached 3.88 m for the 1978-2017 period, with the Rolling Pampa showing the deepest (6.7 m) and the Flooding Pampa (2.7 m) the shallowest water-tables. The temporal analysis showed a clear trend of water-table to rise during the study period in most of the region. The Rolling Pampa showed the highest water-table rise, reaching 3 m in the last 10 years. In addition, in the shorter term (<1 month), a positive trend was also observed for the rates of water-table rise and fall (i.e. higher dynamism). We believe that this database constitutes a valuable research and analysis tool for the different stakeholders of the Pampas. Its updating and spatial expansion is a challenge that must be addressed in order to improve the hydrological understanding of the territory.

Keywords : Groundwater; Pampa; plain; flooding.

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