Groundwater–Surface Water Interaction: Process Understanding, Conceptualization and Modelling (Proceedings of Symposium HS1002 at IUGG2007, Perugia, July 2007). IAHS Publ. 321, 2008, 54-60.

Effect of forest stand succession from conifer trees to broad-leaved evergreen trees on infiltration and groundwater recharge processes

TADASHI TANAKA¹, SHIN’ICHI IIDA², JUN’ICHI KAKUBARI³ &
YOHEI HAMADA⁴

1 Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan

tadashi@geoenv.tsukuba.ac.jp

2 Forest and Forest Products Research Institute, Ibaraki 305-8687, Japan

3 Student of Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan

4 Research Student of Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan

Abstract The study describes the water movement underneath different species of forest stands and considers the effects that the succession from conifer trees to broad-leaved evergreen trees has on infiltration and groundwater recharge processes. The study was conducted at a Japanese red pine forest within the Terrestrial Environment Research Center (TERC), the University of Tsukuba, Japan. The results indicate that input to the soil surface is different for the different species and that water uptake pattern within the soil varies due to the different root distributions. It is concluded that the succession of forest stands from conifer trees to broad-leaved evergreen trees, which can be due to natural thinning, but also due to global warming, will cause significant changes in water movement and groundwater recharge processes.

Key words forest stands; succession; conifer trees; evergreen trees; natural thinning; global warming; soil water; infiltration; groundwater recharge