Estimation of groundwater recharge is one of the most difficult tasks in hydrology, as it may substantially vary in space because of spatial variations in soil hydraulic properties, as well as vegetation and climate forcing. In this study, the spatial pattern of soil hydraulic properties variability was based on laboratory measurements of both K(h) and (h). This allowed obtaining a large spatial data set useful for estimating ensemble hydraulic properties to be used as inputs in the Richards’ equation both in stochastic (Monte Carlo simulation) and deterministic approaches. An investigation was carried out on how well average hydraulic characteristics obtained according to alternative averaging schemes and numerical models produce effective simulated soil water contents averaged between 0-15 cm, closely representing those measured in the soil investigated.
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The effect of the averaging approach on the simulated recharge fluxes (deep percolation fluxes below the root zone at 150 cm) without and with root uptakes has been thoroughly discussed by simulating the water flow process for a bare soil or assuming the presence of a barley crop during the whole growing season.
