Vulnerability of water resources to changes in land cover and climate

Laburpena

In various hydrographic basins in Iberia, reductions in annual flows attributed to the increase in forest cover have been observed in the last 50-60 years, as much or more important than the changes attributed to variations in precipitation and temperature. Several studies in diverse climates show that groundwater recharge is generally lower under forest cover than under grass or agricultural cover.

The predictions of the climate models coincide in more marked increases in temperature and decreases in precipitation in summer than in winter in most part of Iberia, inducing not only a decrease of water resources but also an increase in water stress of the vegetation and a reduction in dry season flows.

It will be necessary to implement land cover strategies adaptive to climate change scenarios to care for water resources, such as reversing the reforestation of mountain pastures and improving the management of timberlands to reduce their water stress and consumption.