Reframing gullies as recharge zones in dryland landscapes of the Loess Plateau, China

Ji, Zhenxia; Ziegler, Alan D.; Wang, Li

doi:10.5194/hess-30-1891-2026

Articles | Volume 30, issue 7

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1891-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1891-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 30, issue 7

Research article

|

09 Apr 2026

Research article |

| 09 Apr 2026

Reframing gullies as recharge zones in dryland landscapes of the Loess Plateau, China

Zhenxia Ji, Alan D. Ziegler, and Li Wang

Data sets

Reframing gullies as recharge zones in dryland landscapes of the Loess Plateau, China Zhenxia Ji et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18596600

Short summary

Isotopic and chemical tracers show that precipitation dominates recharge of shallow pore water in engineered gully zones, whereas deeper fissure water is recharged more slowly through percolation. These systems enhance groundwater recharge in dry regions, providing opportunities for sustainable water management.