Food and floods. Shallow groundwater and agricultural land management in the Pampas

The document examines the relationship between agricultural land management and groundwater dynamics in the Pampas. It finds that annual crop rotations (soybean-wheat-corn) lead to higher groundwater levels and more frequent flooding compared to perennial alfalfa pastures, which maintain deeper water tables through higher annual transpiration. The text argues that planting water-logging tolerant cover crops or pastures during high-risk periods can reduce waterlogging frequency and increase the number of years suitable for farming by 40%.

• Perennial alfalfa pastures maintain groundwater tables at greater average depths (-4.4 m) compared to annual wheat-soybean-maize rotations (-2 m) and result in significantly fewer flooding events (2 versus 47 over a 100-year simulation).
• Annual crop production increases flood risk because fields remain bare and without plant water use for parts of the year, allowing surplus water to accumulate, whereas deep-rooted, year-round alfalfa keeps soils drier.
• The 1997-2003 flood event in the western Pampas was associated with average groundwater levels rising by 2.3 meters, which covered 27% of the area and caused significant economic losses.
• Integrating water-logging tolerant cover crops, such as ryegrass or alfalfa, during high-risk periods can increase the number of years suitable for farming by 40% and reduce the frequency of waterlogging.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2024). Food and floods. Shallow groundwater and agricultural land management in the Pampas. https://iai.int/en/alimentos-e-inundaciones/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Food and floods. Shallow groundwater and agricultural land management in the Pampas. 2024. https://iai.int/en/alimentos-e-inundaciones/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Food and floods. Shallow groundwater and agricultural land management in the Pampas |date=8 October 2024 |url=https://iai.int/en/alimentos-e-inundaciones/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2024food, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Food and floods. Shallow groundwater and agricultural land management in the Pampas}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://iai.int/en/alimentos-e-inundaciones/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }