Assessing the Impact of Groundwater Extraction and Climate Change on a Protected Playa-Lake System in the Southern Iberian Peninsula: La Ratosa Natural Reserve

Miguel Rodríguez-Rodríguez (), Laszlo Halmos, Alejandro Jiménez-Bonilla (), Manuel Díaz-Azpiroz, Fernando Gázquez, Joaquín Delgado, Ana Fernández-Ayuso, Inmaculada Expósito, Sergio Martos-Rosillo and José Luis Yanes
Additional contact information
Miguel Rodríguez-Rodríguez: Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Seville, Spain
Laszlo Halmos: Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Seville, Spain
Alejandro Jiménez-Bonilla: Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Seville, Spain
Manuel Díaz-Azpiroz: Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Seville, Spain
Fernando Gázquez: Water Resources and Environmental Geology Research Group, Department of Biology and Geology, University of Almeria, 04120 Almeria, Spain
Joaquín Delgado: Department of Crystallography, Mineralogy and Agricultural Chemistry, University of Seville, 41004 Seville, Spain
Ana Fernández-Ayuso: Department of Geology and Geochemistry, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Inmaculada Expósito: Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Seville, Spain
Sergio Martos-Rosillo: Geological Survey of Spain (IGME), Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), 18071 Granada, Spain
José Luis Yanes: Department of Physical, Chemical and Natural Systems, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Seville, Spain

Geographies, 2025, vol. 5, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: We modeled the water level variations in a protected playa-lake system (La Ratosa Natural Reserve, S Spain) comprising two adjacent playa-lakes: La Ratosa and Herriza de los Ladrones. For this purpose, daily water balances were applied to reconstruct the water level. Model results were validated using actual water level monitoring over the past 20 years. We surveyed post-Pliocene geological structures in the endorheic watershed to investigate lake nucleation and to improve the hydrogeological model. Additionally, we investigated the groundwater level evolution in nearby aquifers, which have been profusely affected by groundwater exploitation for domestic and agricultural use. Then, the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 climate change scenarios were applied to forecast the future of this lake system. We found that the playa-lake hydroperiod will shorten, causing the system to shift from seasonal to ephemeral, which appears to be a general trend in this area. However, the impact on the La Ratosa-Herriza de los Ladrones system would be likely more severe due to local stressors, such as groundwater withdrawal for urban demand and agriculture, driving the system to complete desiccation for extended periods. These results highlight the sensitivity of these protected ecosystems to changes in the watershed’s water balance and underscore the urgent need to preserve watersheds from any form of water use, other than ecological purposes. This approach aims to support informed decision-making to mitigate adverse impacts on these fragile ecosystems, ensuring their ecological integrity in the context of climate change and increasing water demand for various uses.

Keywords: wetland hydrology; climate change; playa-lakes; ecosystem preservation; groundwater withdrawal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q15 Q5 Q53 Q54 Q56 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7086/5/2/21/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7086/5/2/21/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jgeogr:v:5:y:2025:i:2:p:21-:d:1651453

Access Statistics for this article

Geographies is currently edited by Ms. Fannie Xu

More articles in Geographies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().