Groundwater recharge is affected by land use in (semi) arid areas. A new application of the
chloride-massbalance approach has been developed to estimate the reduction in
groundwater recharge following land-use change by comparing chloride concentrations
below the root zone and above the base of the chloride accumulation zone, before and after
the land-use conversion. Two sites in the Loess Plateau of central China have been
selected for study. Results from the Guyuan terrace region show that groundwater recharge …