Ouikhlef et al. (2026) Impact of climate variability on land use and groundwater resources: A case study of Wadi Fekan, northwest Algeria

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Atmósfera
• Year: 2026
• Authors: Abdelkader Ouikhlef, Abdelkader Otmane, Radia Gherissi, Mohamed El-Amine Gacemi
• DOI: 10.20937/atm.53471

Research Groups

• Departments of Hydrology, Water Resources, and Environmental Sciences (Northwest Algeria).

Short Summary

This study analyzes 40 years of climatic data in the Wadi Fekan sub-watershed, finding that a shift to a wetter regime after 2000 increased groundwater recharge but failed to offset the hydrologic deficit caused by historical overexploitation.

Objective

• To assess the impact of climatic fluctuations (1983–2023) on land use and groundwater resources in a semi-arid Mediterranean sub-watershed.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Wadi Fekan sub-watershed, Northwest Algeria.
• Temporal Scale: 1983–2023 (40-year period).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Climate Moisture Index (CMI), and break detection tests.
• Data sources: Observational data from 11 rainfall stations and spatial land-use analysis.

Main Results

• Climatic Shift: A pivotal break was detected between 1999 and 2006, transitioning to a wetter regime with a 31.7% increase in rainfall.
• Land Use Impact: Increased runoff led to a 0.045% expansion of the main riverbed area.
• Groundwater Dynamics: Alluvial aquifer recharge volumes increased from 17.997 km³ (2003–2013) to 25.615 km³ (2013–2023).
• Hydrologic Paradox: Despite higher rainfall, the net water balance remained negative due to historical overexploitation during prior droughts.
• Localized Aridity: Spatial analysis identified intensified aridity in the basin’s center attributed to a Foehn effect.

Contributions

• Identifies a "hydrologic deficit" paradox where recent increases in precipitation are insufficient to recover groundwater levels depleted by long-term anthropogenic pressure.
• Highlights the influence of localized topographic effects (Foehn effect) on aridity within a larger basin undergoing a transition to a wetter regime.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Ouikhlef2026Impact,
  author = {Ouikhlef, Abdelkader and Otmane, Abdelkader and Gherissi, Radia and Gacemi, Mohamed El-Amine},
  title = {Impact of climate variability on land use and groundwater resources: A case study of Wadi Fekan, northwest Algeria},
  journal = {Atmósfera},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.20937/atm.53471},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.20937/atm.53471}
}

Generated by BiblioAssistant using gemini-3-flash-preview (Google API)