A review of information on interactions between vegetation and groundwater

Abstract

Vegetation plays key roles in the interactions between groundwater and surface-water systems, because of its direct and indirect influence on recharge and because of the dependence of vegetation communities on groundwater. Despite this, groundwater and surface water have traditionally been treated as separate legal entities in South Africa and scientific disciplines have also tended to view them as separate, or at least separable, hydrological systems. This situation is beginning to change as South Africa’s new Water Act recognises them both as inseparable elements of the hydrological cycle. The Act also requires that water resources be managed sustainably and a much greater understanding of these interactions is needed to meet this obligation. This paper provides a review of what is known about groundwater - vegetation interactions based on local and international literature and on information from the “grey” literature and unpublished sources.

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