Mitigation effectiveness on groundwater-dependent ecosystems revealed by counterfactual AI

Overexploitation of groundwater threatens groundwater-bound aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem stability, underscoring the need to devise appropriate mitigation strategies. Yet, substantial scientific evidence that mitigation measures effectively protect groundwater ecosystems is presently nonexistent. We provide unique and compelling evidence, using counterfactual artificial intelligence and ground truth data, that mitigation measures can successfully sustain ecologically sensitive spring flows and ensure the sustainability of groundwater-bound threatened and endangered endemic species and consumptive groundwater uses under a changing climate.