10.2190/F74V-HERH-PGL5-2N8F F74VHERHPGL52N8F 91 GROUNDWATER-SURFACE WATER INTERACTION AS A COMPONENT OF THE ECOHYDROLOGY OF SEMI-ARID REGIONS 91 104 20050921 20050921 20050921 20050921 F74VHERHPGL52N8F.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=F74VHERHPGL52N8F 2 J. Y. DIIWU Alberta Research Council The interaction of groundwater with surface water is an important process for maintaining the ecosystem. The process affects the ecology of surface water by sustaining streamflow during periods of low flow, moderates water level fluctuations of groundwater-connected lakes, and maintains wetlands which serve as habitats for a myriad of wildlife. The interaction also helps to stabilize water temperature as well as concentrations of nutrients and other organic/ inorganic compounds in water. Thus, groundwater interaction with surface water helps to provide thermal refuge for aquatic species in semi-arid regions where temperatures may otherwise rise to levels that may be lethal to these species. With the growing demand for the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, a better understanding of all components of the ecosystem, such as the linkage between groundwater and surface water, becomes imperative. This is even more relevant for the semi-arid regions where the impacts of environmental stresses tend to be more pronounced. This article is therefore intended to review fundamental concepts of the ecohydrology of the interaction of groundwater with surface water, and discuss the relevance of this interaction to the sustainable management of water resources of semi-arid regions. T. C. Winter, Recent Advances in Understanding the Interaction of Groundwater and Surface Water, Review Geophysical, Suppl., pp. 985-994, 1995. K. J. Beven, Interflow, in Unsaturated Flow in Hydrologic Modeling: Theory and Practice, H. J. Morel-Seytoux (ed.), Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 191-219, 1989. S. Lamontagne, A. L. Herczeg, J. C. Dighton, and J. L. Pritchard, Groundwater- Surface Water Interactions between Streams and Alluvial Aquifers: Results from the Wollombi Brook (NSW) Study, Part II-Biogeochemical Processes, CSIRO Land and Water Technical Report 42/03, 2003. J. Gilbert, D. Danielpool, and J. A. Stanford, Groundwater Ecology, Academic Press, San Diego, 1994. J. B. Jones and R. M. Holmes, Surface-Subsurface Interactions in Stream Ecosystems, Trends in Ecology Evolution, 16, pp. 239-242, 1996. D. R. Lee and J. A. Cherry, A Field Exercise on Groundwater Flow Using Seepage Meters and Minipiezometers, Journal of Geology Education, 27, pp. 6-10, 1978. C. N. Dahm and H. M. Valett, Hyperheic Zones, in Methods in Stream Ecology, F. R. Hauer and G. A. Lamberti (eds.), Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 107-119, 1996. K. R. Rushton and L. M. Tomlinson, Possible Mechanisms for Leakage between Aquifers and Rivers, Journal of Hydrology, 40, pp. 49-65, 1979. A. J. Baird and R. L. Wilby, Eco-Hydrology: Plants and Water in Terrestrial and Aquatic Environments, Routledge Press, New York, 1999. J. D. Hewlett and A. R. Hibbert, Factors Affecting the Response of Small Watersheds to Precipitation in Humid Areas, in Proceedings of the International Symposium on Forest Hydrology W. E. Sopper and H. W. Lull (eds.), Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp. 275-290, 1967. C. V. Baxter and F. R. Hauer, Geomorphology, Hyporheic Exchange and Selection of Spawning Habitat by Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus), Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 57, pp. 1470-1481, 2000. J. W. Snodgrass, M. J. Komoroski, A. L. J. Bryan, and J. Burger, Relationships among Isolated Wetland Size, Hydroperiod, and Amphibian Species Richness: Implications for Wetland Regulations, Conservation and Biology, 14, pp. 414-419, 2000. K. J. Beven and P. F. Germann, Macropores and Water Flow in Soils, Water Resource Research, 18, pp. 1311-1325, 1982. M. G. Sklash and R. N. Farvolden, The Role of Groundwater in Storm Runoff, Journal of Hydrology, 43, pp. 45-65, 1979. T. Dunne and R. Black, An Experimental Investigation of Runoff Production in Permeable Soils, Water Resource Research, 6, pp. 478-490, 1970. S. M. Woessner, Stream and Fluvial Plain Groundwater Interactions: Rescaling Hydrogeologic Thought, Groundwater, 38, pp. 423-429, 2000. M. Brunke and T. Gonser, The Ecological Significance of Exchange Processes between Rivers and Groundwater, Freshwater Biology, 37, pp. 1-33, 1997. M. J. Wassen and A. P. Grootjans, Ecohydrology: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Wetland Management and Restoration, Vegetation, 126, pp. 1-4, 1996. N. B. Gordon, T. A. McMahon, and B. L. Finlayson, Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists, Wiley, Chichester, 1992.