Abstract
The increase in the change of land use in many areas has resulted in an excessive extraction of groundwater, often in volumes that exceed the total recharge in the underlying aquifers. These are expected to be accentuated by climate change. Monitoring and regulating aquifers is a challenging task, especially in developing countries where data are scarce. Over an 11-year interval, the water level (WL) and water quality in wells of three contiguous aquifers in Northern Mexico were measured. An actual average WL drop rate of 2.012 m year−1 rendered unsustainable considering that the area receives 0.35 m year−1 and negligible horizontal flows. Agricultural land use increased fivefold in the last few years at the expense of rangeland, increasing 11.7–76.2% in the three aquifers, and producing a water demand threefold the aquifer recharge. The permanent presence of As and F above guidelines in several wells makes communities vulnerable to ingestion toxicity. The results of this study stress the inability of these aquifers to supply additional water to a large city nearby and the need of immediate corrective actions, e.g., promoting water-efficient irrigation, artificial aquifer recharge, and an efficient and sustained management policy.
Keywords
- Socio-ecological systems
- Water level
- Loss and gain of vegetation cover
- Contamination
- Geogenic and anthropogenic
- As–F co-occurrence
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
References
Aide TM, Grau HR (2004) Globalization, migration, and Latin American ecosystems. Science 305:1915–1916
Alarcón-Herrera MT, Bundschuh J, Nath B et al (2013) Co-occurrence of arsenic and fluoride in groundwater of semi-arid regions in Latin America: genesis, mobility and remediation. J Hazard Mater 262:960–966
Barbier EB, Burgess JC, Grainger A (2010) The forest transition: towards a more comprehensive theoretical framework. Land Use Policy 27:98–107
Brauman KA, Richter BD, Postel S et al (2016) Water depletion: an improved metric for incorporating seasonal and dry-year water scarcity into water risk assessments. Elementa Sci Anthropos 4:000083
Bredehoeft JD, Alley WM (2014) Mining goundwater for sustained yield. Bridge Link Eng Soc 44(1):33–41
Castle SL, Thomas BF, Reager JT et al (2014) Groundwater depletion during drought threatens future water security of the Colorado River Basin. Geophys Res Lett 4:5904–5911
CONABIO (2006) Capital natural y bienestar social. CONABIO, Mexico City
Currell M, Cartwright I, Raveggi M et al (2011) Controls on elevated fluoride and arsenic concentrations in groundwater from the Yuncheng Bas China. Appl Geochem 26(4):540–552
D’Odorico P, Abinash B (2012) Hydrologic variability in dryland regions: impacts on ecosystem dynamics and food security. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B 367:3145–3157
Dávila Pórcel RA, Shuth C, De León-Gómez H et al (2014) Land-use impact and nitrate analysis to validate DRASTIC vulnerability MaWL using a GIS platform of Pablillo River Basin, Linares, N.L., Mexico. Int J Geosci 5:1468–1489
El Alfy M (2014) Numerical groundwater modelling as an effective tool for management of water resources in arid areas. Hydrol Sci J 59:1259–1274
Esteller MV, Rodríguez R, Cardona A, Padilla-Sánchez L (2012) Evaluation of hydrochemical changes due to intensive aquifer exploitation: case studies from Mexico. Environ Monit Assess 184:5725–5741
Gale I (2005) Strategies for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) in semi-arid areas. UNESCO, Paris. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001438/143819e.pdf. Accessed 31 Oct 2016
García E (2003) Distribución de la precipitación en la República Mexicana. Investig Geogr Bol 50:67–76
Granados-Sánchez D, Sánchez González A, Granados-Vitorino RL et al (2011) Vegetation ecology of the Chihuahuan Desert. Rev Chapingo Ser Cienc For Ambiente XVII:111–130
Hiscock KM, Rivet MO, Davison RM (2002) Sustainable groundwater development. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 193:1–14
Hyot CA (2002) The Chihuahuan Desert: diversity at risk. Endanger Species Bull XXVII(2):16–17
INEGI (1993) Mapas de Uso del Suelo y Vegetación. Escala 1:250 000. Serie II. México. www3.inegi.org.mx/sistemas/biblioteca/ficha.aspx?upc=702825229344. Accessed 29 Oct 2016
INEGI (2013) Mapas de Uso del Suelo y Vegetación. Escala 1:250 000. Serie V. México. http://catalogo.datos.gob.mx/dataset/mapas-de-uso-del-suelo-y-vegetacion-escala-1-250-000-serie-v-mexico. Accessed 29 Oct 2016
Korus JT, Burbach ME (2009) Analysis of aquifer depletion criteria with implications for groundwater management. Gt Plains Res 19:187–200
Kumar CP (2012) Climate change and its impact on groundwater resources. Int J Eng Sci 1(5):43–60
Lambin EF, Turner BL, Geist HJ et al (2001) The causes of land-use and land-cover change: moving beyond the myths. Glob Environ Chang 11:261–269
Longmire P, Rearick M, McQuillan D et al (2016) Water quality and hydrogeochemistry of a basin and range watershed in a semi-arid region of northern New Mexico. Environ Earth Sci 75:640
López DL, Bundschuh J, Birkle P et al (2012) Arsenic in volcanic geothermal fluids of Latin America. Sci Total Environ 429:57–75
Mahlknecht J, Horst A, Hernández-Limón G et al (2008) Groundwater geochemistry of the Chihuahua City region in the Rio Conchos Basin (northern Mexico) and implications for water resources management. Hydrol Process 22:4736–4751
Mayer DG, Butler DG (1993) Statistical validation. Ecol Model 68:21–32
Morsy KM, Alenezi A, Alrukaibi DS (2017) Groundwater and dependent ecosystems: revealing the impacts of climate change. Int J Appl Eng Res 12(13):3919–3926
NOM-011-CNA, Norma Oficial Mexicana (2000) Conservación del recurso agua que establece el método para determinar la disponibilidad media anual de las aguas nacionales, México. http://www.conagua.gob.mx/CONAGUA07/Noticias/NOM-011-CNA-2000.pdf. Accessed 19 Oct 2016
NOM-127-SSAI-1994, Modificación a la Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-127-SSAI-(2005) Salud ambiental. Agua para usos y consumo humano. Límites permisibles de calidad y tratamientos a que debe someterse el agua para su potabilización. http://www.cofepris.gob.mx/MJ/Documents/Normas/mod127ssa1.pdf. Accessed 19 Oct 2016
Núñez López D, Muñoz Robles C, Reyes Gómez VM et al (2007) Characterization of drought at different time scales in Chihuahua, México. Agrociencia 41:253–261
Opazo T, Aravena R, Parker B (2016) Nitrate distribution and potential attenuation mechanisms of a municipal water supply bedrock aquifer. Appl Geochem 73:157–168
Reyes Gómez VM, Alarcón Herrera MT, Gutiérrez M, Núñez López D (2015) Arsenic and fluoride contamination in groundwater of an endorheic basin undergoing land use changes. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 68:292–304
Reyes Gómez VM, Gutiérrez M, Nájera Haro B et al (2017) Groundwater quality impacted by land use/land cover change in a semiarid region of Mexico. Groundw Sustain Dev 5:160–167
Robertson WM, Sharp JM Jr (2015) Estimates of net infiltration in arid basins and potential impacts on recharge and solute flux due to land use and vegetation change. J Hydrol 522:211–227
Rosas I, Belmont R, Armienta MA (1999) Arsenic concentrations in water, soil, milk and forage in Comarca Lagunera, Mexico. Water Air Soil Pollut 112:133–149
Rosete VF, Pérez-Damián JL, Bocco G (2008) Cambio de uso el suelo y vegetación en la Península de Baja California, México (Land use and vegetation change in Baja California Península, México). Investig Geogr 67:39–58
Rosete VF, Velázquez A, Bocco G, Espejel I (2014) Multi-scale land cover dynamics of semiarid scrubland in Baja California, México. Reg Environ Chang 14:1315–1328
Scanlon BR, Faunt CC, Longuevergne L et al (2012) Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley. Proc Natl Acad Sci 109:9320–9325
Scanlon BR, Levitt DG, Reedy RC (2005) Ecological controls on water-cycle response to climate variability in deserts. Proc Natl Acad Sci 102(17):6033–6038
Scanlon BR, Zhang Z, Save H et al (2016) Global evaluation of new GRACE mascon products for hydrologic applications. Water Resour Res 52:9412–9429
Scott C (2003) Sustainable groundwater management: have property rights reforms helped in Mexico? In: World Water Forum 3, Kyoto, Japan, International Water Management Institute (IWMI). http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H044092.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov 2016
Steward DR, Allen AJ (2016) Peak groundwater depletion in the High Plains Aquifer, projections from 1930 to 2110. Agric Water Manag 170:36–48
UNESCO (2007) Groundwater resources sustainability indicators. IHP-VI, series on groundwater 14. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001497/149754e.pdf. Accessed Oct 2017
Wang Z-Q, Wu Q (2006) Development of groundwater sustainability indicators. In: Sustainability of groundwater resources and its indicators (proceedings of symposium S3 held during the seventh IAHS scientific assembly at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, April 2005), vol 302. IAHS, Wallingford, pp 29–34
Yager RM, Heywood CE (2014) Simulation of the effects of seasonally varying pumping on intraborehole flow and the vulnerability of public-supply wells to contamination. Groundwater 52:40–52
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gómez, V.M.R., Núñez López, D., Gutiérrez, M. (2020). Changes in the Vegetation Cover and Quality of Aquifers in the Drylands of Mexico: Trends in an Urbanized Complex of Three Socio-Ecological Systems Within the Chihuahuan Desert. In: Lucatello, S., Huber-Sannwald, E., Espejel, I., Martínez-Tagüeña, N. (eds) Stewardship of Future Drylands and Climate Change in the Global South. Springer Climate. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22464-6_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22464-6_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-22463-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-22464-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)