Present and future climatic trends are expected to markedly alter water fluxes and stores in the hydrologic cycle. In addition, water demand continues to grow due to increased human use and a growing population. Sustainably managing water resources requires a thorough understanding of water storage and flow in natural, agricultural, and urban ecosystems. Measurements of stable isotopes of water (hydrogen and oxygen) in the water cycle (atmosphere, soils, plants, surface water, and groundwater) can provide information on the transport pathways, sourcing, dynamics, ages, and storage pools of water that is difficult to obtain with other techniques. However, the potential of these techniques for practical questions has not been fully exploited yet. Here, we outline the benefits and limitations of potential applications of stable isotope methods useful to water managers, farmers, and other stakeholders. We also describe several case studies demonstrating how stable isotopes of water can support water management decision-making. Finally, we propose a workflow that guides users through a sequence of decisions required to apply stable isotope methods to examples of water management issues. We call for ongoing dialogue and a stronger connection between water management stakeholders and water stable isotope practitioners to identify the most pressing issues and develop best-practice guidelines to apply these techniques.

CNRS UPS Toulouse France; Mohammed 6 Polytechnic University Benguerir Morocco

ETH Zurich Zürich Switzerland

Friedrich Schiller University Jena Germany

Global Change Research Institute Czech Academy of Sciences Brno Czech Republic; Leibniz Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung Müncheberg Germany; Department of Earth Sciences University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden

Green Power Storage Solutions SA Wecker Luxembourg

Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research CSIC Barcelona Spain

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley USA

Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Nanjing People's Republic of China

National Autonomous University of Mexico Mexico City Mexico

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research Birmensdorf Switzerland

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research Birmensdorf Switzerland; ETH Zurich Zürich Switzerland

Technische Universität Braunschweig Braunschweig Germany

Technische Universität Braunschweig Braunschweig Germany; University of Freiburg Freiburg Germany

Technische Universität Dresden Dresden Germany

Tianjin University Tianjin People's Republic of China

U Series s r l via Ferrarese 131 40128 Bologna Italy

Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain

University of Aberdeen Aberdeen UK

University of Almería Almería Spain

University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany

University of California Santa Cruz USA

University of Firenze Firenze Italy; Oregon State University Corvallis USA

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria

University of Padova Legnaro Pavia Italy

University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany

University of Torino Turin Italy

University of Trento Trento Italy

University of Zurich Zürich Switzerland

Citace poskytuje Crossref.org