Mule Hole forest watershed
Vegetation controls water availability → the regolith stores and delays water → groundwater flows through the crystalline aquifer → groundwater exports the products of weathering.
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Location: Banduipur Forest, South of Bangalore, Karnataka state, India
Elevation: 820-910 masl
Geology: Crystalline rock basement (gneiss, granite)
Aquifer type: fractured crystalline-rock aquifer
Scientific question: "How does forest modify weathering and water cycles in tropical conditions?"
Mule Hole is part of M-TROPICS Observatory and OZCAR research infrastructure
Location map
Key Findings
- Forest evapotranspiration strongly limits groundwater recharge, with deep roots extracting water from the regolith.
- The thick weathered mantle acts as a major water reservoir, buffering and delaying groundwater recharge.
- Groundwater and surface water are largely disconnected, with significant recharge occurring indirectly from the stream.
- Deep groundwater flow dominates the chemical export from the watershed, accounting for more than 90% of the dissolved chemical flux.
Hydrogeological model
[Picture]
(a) Cross section of the experimental site with water table fluctuations (LF: pre-monsoon low flow in June 2006; HF: post-monsoon high flow in December 2005) . (b) Recharge estimated using CMB method. (c) Water content from geophysical measurements (MRS)
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Picture Gallery
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Related publications
Jean Riotte, Laurent Ruiz, Stephane Audry, Jean-Pierre Bedimo Bedimo, Jean-Jacques Braun, Bernard Dupre, Christelle Lagane, Jean-Christophe Marechal, Hemanth Moger, Mandalagiri Subbarayappa Mohan Kumar, Murari Varma, Muddu Sekhar
Hydrological Processes, vol. 35, 2021
J.C. Maréchal, J. Riotte, C. Lagane, S. Subramanian, C. Kumar, L. Ruiz, S. Audry, M.R.R. Varma, J.J. Braun
Applied Geochemistry, vol. 26, 2011, pp. S94-S96
Indirect and direct recharges in a tropical forested watershed: Mule Hole, India
Jean-Christophe Marechal, Murari R R Varma, Jean Riotte, Jean-Michel Vouillamoz, M S Mohan Kumar, Laurent Ruiz, Muddu Sekhar, Jean-Jacques Braun
Journal of Hydrology, vol. 364, 2009 Jan, pp. 272--284