Recharge of groundwater resources through infiltration of infiltrating precipitation (or snowmelt), i.e. groundwater recharge, is controlled by processes at or near the land surface that are closely related to specific weather events and influenced by direct or indirect climate change impacts. A better understanding of future changes in precipitation distribution/intensity, as well as vegetation and land use (especially with respect to plant/crop water demand), is therefore essential for improved forecasting of hydrologic processes such as groundwater recharge, flooding, etc. In this context, the availability of groundwater resources depends not only on the recharge rate, but also on the management of water resources and thus on socioeconomic changes (e.g., increased water demand due to a shift from rain-fed to irrigated agriculture). Moreover, these changes pose important challenges to groundwater-dependent ecosystems that can only be addressed in an interdisciplinary manner. Research on hydrology is therefore an important contribution to a better understanding of the ecological as well as economic changes caused by climate change.

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