A simple method for calibrating the dual-porosity MACRO model via in situ TDR measurements during a brief infiltration run (2.8h) is proposed with the aim of estimating local groundwater recharge (GR). The recharge was modeled firstly by considering the entire 3m of unsaturated soil, and secondly by considering only the topsoil to the zero-flux plane (0-0.70m). The modeled recharge was compared against the GR obtained from field measurements. Measured GR was 313mm during a 1-year period (15 October 1990-15 October 1991). The best simulation results were obtained when considering the entire unsaturated soil under equilibrium conditions excluding the macropore flow effect (330mm), whereas under non-equilibrium conditions GR was overestimated (378mm). Sensitivity analyses showed that the investigation of the topsoil is sufficient in estimating local GR in this case, since the water stored below this depth appears to be below the typical rooting depth of the vegetation and is not available for evapotranspiration. The modeled recharge under equilibrium conditions for the 0.7-m-topsoil layer was found to be 364mm, which is in acceptable agreement with measurement
