Scientific Research and Essays

  • Abbreviation: Sci. Res. Essays
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1992-2248
  • DOI: 10.5897/SRE
  • Start Year: 2006
  • Published Articles: 2767

Full Length Research Paper

Contribution of the melioration canal to the water regime of forest areas

Goran Gjetvaj1, Dragutin Petošić2 and Ivan Mustać2*
  1Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb, Kačićeva 26, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia. 2Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska 25, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 20 March 2012
  •  Published: 09 May 2012

Abstract

 

The paper analyzes the intensity of draining and recharging action of the melioration canal foreseen for the Biđ-Bosut Field irrigation, with special reference to its potential impact on forest areas. The designed canal will enable a series of agro-amelioration interventions aimed at recharging or draining soils and thereby regulating their water regime. The paper describes the influence of infiltration and drainage through the hyporheic zone between the designed melioration canal and groundwater. The amount of water infiltrated from precipitation and from the designed canal are analyzed and compared. Research results indicate that, in dry periods of the year, canal water will infiltrate into the solum of canal-bank soils, while the draining impact of the canal will be noticed in forest areas in case of high groundwater levels. In the studied region, the canal will be dug into poorly permeable covering layers and, according to the designed numerical model, its impact on the groundwater level could be noticed at the distance of 1000 m, namely at 500 m on each side of the longitudinal canal axis. It is also expected that water infiltration from the canal will be considerably lower than the infiltration of precipitation.

 

Key words: Melioration canal, water regime, forest areas, water flow modelling.