Present state and future prospects for groundwater ecosystems.

SUMMARY Ecological and socioeconomic aspects of subterranean hydrosystems have changed during the past 40‐50 years. The major environmental pressures (mainly anthropogenic ones) impact the quantity and quality of groundwater resources and the state of subsurface ecosystems, and it is expected that the environmental pressures on groundwater will continue, at least until 2025, unless new environmental policies change this state of affairs. The world demographic increase and the general rise of water demand constitute one of the major environmental pressures on groundwater