Estimation of aquifer recharge is key to effective groundwater management and protection. In mountain hard-rock aquifers, the average annual discharge of a spring generally reflects the vertical aquifer recharge over the spring catchment. However, the determination of average annual spring discharge requires expensive and challenging field monitoring. A power-law correlation was previously reported in the literature that would allow quantification of the average annual spring discharge starting from only a few discharge measurements in the low-flow season, in a dry summer climate. The correlation is based upon the Maillet model and was previously derived by a 10-year monitoring program of discharge from springs and streams in hard-rock aquifers composed of siliciclastic and calcareous turbidites that did not have well defined hydrogeologic boundaries. In this research, the same correlation was applied to two ophiolitic (peridotitic) hard-rock aquifers in the Northern Apennines (Northern Italy) with well-defined hydrogeologic boundaries and base-outflow springs. The correlation provided a reliable estimate of the average annual spring discharge thus confirming its effectiveness regardless of bedrock lithology. In the two aquifers studied, the measurable annual outputs (i.e. sum of average annual spring discharges) could be assumed equal to the annual inputs (i.e. vertical recharge) based on the clear-cut aquifer boundaries and a quick groundwater circulation inferable from spring water parameters. Thus, in such setting, the aforementioned correlation also provided an estimate of the annual aquifer recharge allowing the assessment of coefficients of infiltration (i.e. ratio between aquifer recharge and total precipitation) ranging between 10 and 20%.

估算含水层补给量是有效管理和保护地下水的关键。在山区硬岩含水层中，春季的年均排放量通常反映了春季流域上方的垂直含水层补给量。然而，确定年均春季排放量需要昂贵且具有挑战性的现场监测。以前在文献中报道了幂律相关性，该相关性允许在干旱的夏季气候中，仅从低流量季节中的几次流量测量开始，对年均春季流量进行量化。相关性是基于Maillet模型的，以前是通过10年的监测计划得出的，该监测程序是由硅质碎屑和钙质浊质组成的硬岩含水层中的泉水和水流没有明确的水文地质边界的。在这项研究中，将相同的相关性应用于北亚平宁山脉（意大利北部）的两个片状（橄榄岩质）硬岩含水层，具有明确的水文地质边界和底流泉。该相关性提供了对年均春季出水量的可靠估计，从而证实了其有效性，无论基岩岩性如何。在所研究的两个含水层中，可测量的年产量（即平均年春季排放量的总和）可假定等于年投入量（即 垂直补给量）基于明确的含水层边界和从泉水参数推断出的快速地下水循环。因此，在这种情况下，上述相关性还提供了对含水层年补给量的估算，从而可以估算介于10％至20％之间的入渗系数（即含水层补给量与总降水量之比）。