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WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, VOL. 43, W02404, doi:10.1029/2005WR004627, 2007

A field investigation of phreatophyte-induced fluctuations in the water table

James J. Butler Jr.

Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA


Gerard J. Kluitenberg

Department of Agronomy, Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA


Donald O. Whittemore

Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA


Steven P. Loheide II

Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA


Wei Jin

Department of Agronomy, Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA


Mark A. Billinger

Division of Water Resources, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Stockton, Kansas, USA


Xiaoyong Zhan

Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA


Abstract

Hydrographs from shallow wells in vegetated riparian zones frequently display a distinctive pattern of diurnal water table fluctuations produced by variations in plant water use. A multisite investigation assessed the major controls on these fluctuations and the ecohydrologic insights that can be gleaned from them. Spatial and temporal variations in the amplitude of the fluctuations are primarily a function of variations in (1) the meteorological drivers of plant water use, (2) vegetation density, type, and vitality, and (3) the specific yield of sediments in the vicinity of the water table. Past hydrologic conditions experienced by the riparian zone vegetation, either in previous years or earlier within the same growing season, are also an important control. Diurnal water table fluctuations can be considered a diagnostic indicator of groundwater consumption by phreatophytes at most sites, so the information embedded within these fluctuations should be more widely exploited in ecohydrologic studies.

Received 30 September 2005; accepted 12 September 2006; published 7 February 2007.

Keywords: phreatophytes; water table fluctuations.

Index Terms: 1829 Hydrology: Groundwater hydrology; 1813 Hydrology: Eco-hydrology; 0483 Biogeosciences: Riparian systems (0744, 1856); 1818 Hydrology: Evapotranspiration.

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Citation: Butler, J. J., Jr., G. J. Kluitenberg, D. O. Whittemore, S. P. Loheide II, W. Jin, M. A. Billinger, and X. Zhan (2007), A field investigation of phreatophyte-induced fluctuations in the water table, Water Resour. Res., 43, W02404, doi:10.1029/2005WR004627.