Climate change and human activities have caused profound
changes in groundwater systems worldwide. Studying the spatiotemporal
patterns and influencing factors of groundwater changes is of great
significance for groundwater resource management and protection. Based
on the water level depth data of 165 shallow groundwater monitoring
wells in the Huaibei Plain of Anhui Province from 1974 to 2020, linear
trend rate, Sen slope estimation, M-K test, and Kriging interpolation
methods were used to analyze the spatiotemporal variation
characteristics of groundwater depth. Kendall’s rank correlation method
was used to analyze the relationship between precipitation and
groundwater depth, and GeoDetector was used to analyze the impact of
precipitation changes on the spatial distribution of groundwater depth.
The results show that from 1974 to 2020, the shallow groundwater
depth in the study area shows an overall increasing trend, with an increase
of
per decade, due to the combined effects of the reduction of
precipitation, the increase of mining output, and the change of
underlying surface. The trend of shallow groundwater depth changes shows
significant spatial differentiation, with both increases and decreases.
Specifically, significant increases, non-significant increases, basic
stability, non-significant decreases, and significant decreases account
for
,
,
,
, and
of the area, respectively. The spatial distribution characteristics of
shallow groundwater depth gradually decrease from northwest to southeast
in the Huaibei Plain. Precipitation is the main driving factor affecting
the spatiotemporal variation of shallow groundwater depth in the study
area, and has a significant impact on the spatiotemporal variation of
shallow groundwater depth, with a negative correlation between the two.
The study reveals the spatial and temporal patterns, evolution trends,
and the impact of precipitation on the shallow groundwater depth in the
Huaibei Plain, providing a scientific basis for regional groundwater
resource management and protection.