Abstract
This study of a water cycle was conducted in an evergreen forest located in the Mekong River Basin in central Cambodia. At the observation site, we measured the dynamics of the spatial distribution of groundwater levels. The groundwater movement was analyzed two-dimensionally using boundary conditions and parameters that had been observed in the field. The climate in the research area is dominated by two seasons, which occur annually: a rainy and a dry season. The groundwater levels are generally high during the rainy season and low during the dry season. Groundwater levels were measured along a stream, which flowed through the study site. The streambed was visible at the head of the stream in January. At the next downriver well point, the streambed appeared in March. Finally, it became visible at all well points in April, meaning that surface runoff had disappeared temporarily and instead flowed underground during the ensuing dry period. Groundwater levels of the studied lateral flow perpendicular to the stream that seeped and infiltrated into the stream were 1.2–2.5 m deep (in April), which was the lowest level recorded for the year. During that period, the depth of the groundwater of the studied lateral flow fell by as much as 56 mm per month. In addition, the lateral flow groundwater infiltrated into groundwater of the stream during that period. The groundwater level fluctuation was estimated based on a two-dimensional analysis of lateral flow perpendicular to the stream using a numerical simulation model with soil physical parameters and observed boundary conditions. The observations of ground water fluctuations were well reproduced. Deep seepage of groundwater was estimated using a uniform boundary condition that allowed efflux through the bottom, estimated as being approximately 30 mm per year. The simulated deep seepage rate was considered plausible considering other hydrological components such as soil water storage fluctuation.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Mr. Chann Sophal and the staff of Forestry Administration for their arrangement and assistance in field surveys in the Cambodian forests. We appreciate Dr. Masahiro Kobayashi’s assistance in numerical simulation. This research was carried out as a part of a research project “Assessment of the Impact of Global-Scale Change in Water Cycles on Food Production and Alternative Policy Scenarios” funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.
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Araki, M., Shimizu, A., Kabeya, N. et al. Seasonal fluctuation of groundwater in an evergreen forest, central Cambodia: experiments and two-dimensional numerical analysis. Paddy Water Environ 6, 37–46 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-008-0114-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-008-0114-1