Precipitation trends in the Medina del Campo groundwater body region (Spain) towards implementing Nature Base Solutions for drought and flood events.

Abstract

This is the presentation of the Medina del Campo precipitation analysis as it was given under the groundwater-body framing of the NAIAD demonstration site. Observed rainfall records for the region around the Medina del Campo groundwater body are examined for trend over the instrumental period, with the results grouped by the two hazards the demonstration site was set up to address.

For drought, the relevant signals are the accumulation of deficits across successive years, the length of dry spells and the shift in the seasonal distribution of rainfall away from the recharge period. For flooding, the relevant signal is the increasing share of total rainfall delivered in short, intense events. Both matter for the design of Nature Based Solutions in the basin, because the measures under consideration — wetland restoration, managed aquifer recharge and changes in agricultural soil management — alter how much of each rainfall event is retained and how long it remains available.

The groundwater body is also the unit at which recharge, dependent ecosystems and agricultural abstraction can be considered together, which is why this framing was used for the site.