Evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiration (ET) is the sum of

water evaporation and transpiration from
a surface area to the atmosphere.
Evaporation accounts for the movement
of water to the air from sources such as
the soil, canopy interception, and water
bodies. Transpiration accounts for the
movement of water within a plant and
the subsequent exit of water as vapor
through stomata in its leaves in vascular
plants and phyllids in non-vascular
plants. A plant that contributes to
evapotranspiration is called an
evapotranspirator.[1] Evapotranspiration
is an important part of the water cycle.

Water cycle of the Earth's surface, showing the

individual components of transpiration and
evaporation that make up evapotranspiration. Other
closely related processes shown are runoff and
groundwater recharge.
Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is a
representation of the environmental
demand for evapotranspiration and
represents the evapotranspiration rate of
a short green crop (grass), completely
shading the ground, of uniform height
and with adequate water status in the
soil profile. It is a reflection of the energy
available to evaporate water, and of the
wind available to transport the water
vapor from the ground up into the lower
atmosphere. Often a value for the
potential evapotranspiration is calculated
at a nearby climatic station on a
reference surface, conventionally short
grass. This value is called the reference
evapotranspiration (ET0). Actual
evapotranspiration is said to equal
potential evapotranspiration when there
is ample water. Some US states utilize a
full cover alfalfa reference crop that is
0.5 m in height, rather than the short
green grass reference, due to the higher
value of ET from the alfalfa reference.[2]

Water cycle

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Types of vegetation and land use
significantly affect evapotranspiration,
and therefore the amount of water
leaving a drainage basin. Because water
transpired through leaves comes from
the roots, plants with deep reaching roots
can more constantly transpire water.
Herbaceous plants generally transpire
less than woody plants because they
usually have less extensive foliage.
Conifer forests tend to have higher rates
of evapotranspiration than deciduous
forests, particularly in the dormant and
early spring seasons. This is primarily
due to the enhanced amount of
precipitation intercepted and evaporated
by conifer foliage during these periods.[3]
Factors that affect evapotranspiration
include the plant's growth stage or level
of maturity, percentage of soil cover,
solar radiation, humidity, temperature,
and wind. Isotope measurements
indicate transpiration is the larger
component of evapotranspiration.[4]

Through evapotranspiration, forests may

reduce water yield, except in unique
ecosystems called cloud forests, and
rainforests.

Trees in cloud forests collect the liquid

water in fog or low clouds onto their
surface, which drips down to the ground.
These trees still contribute to
evapotranspiration, but often collect
more water than they evaporate or
transpire.

In rainforests, water yield is increased

(compared to cleared land in the same
climatic zone) as evapotranspiration
increases humidity within the forest (a
portion of which returns quickly as
precipitation experienced at ground level
as rain). The density of the vegetation
reduces temperatures at ground level
(thereby reducing losses due to surface
evaporation), and reduces wind speed
(thereby reducing the loss of airborne
moisture). The combined effect results in
increased surface stream flows and a
higher ground water table whilst the
rainforest is preserved. Clearing of
rainforests frequently leads to
desertification as ground level
temperatures increase, vegetation cover
is lost or intentionally destroyed by
clearing and burning, soil moisture is
reduced by wind, and soils are easily
eroded by high wind and rainfall events.

In areas that are not irrigated, actual

evapotranspiration is usually no greater
than precipitation, with some buffer in
time depending on the soil's ability to
hold water. It will usually be less because
some water will be lost due to
percolation or surface runoff. An
exception is areas with high water tables,
where capillary action can cause water
from the groundwater to rise through the
soil matrix to the surface. If potential
evapotranspiration is greater than the
actual precipitation, then soil will dry out,
unless irrigation is used.

Evapotranspiration can never be greater

than potential evapotranspiration (PET),
but can be lower if there is not enough
water to be evaporated or plants are
unable to transpire readily.

Estimating
evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration can be measured or
estimated using several methods.
Indirect methods …

Pan evaporation data can be used to

estimate lake evaporation, but
transpiration and evaporation of
intercepted rain on vegetation are
unknown. There are three general
approaches to estimate
evapotranspiration indirectly.

Catchment water balance …

Evapotranspiration may be estimated by

creating an equation of the water
balance of a drainage basin. The
equation balances the change in water
stored within the basin (S) with inputs
and outgoes:
The input is precipitation (P) and the
outputs are evapotranspiration (which is
to be estimated), streamflow (Q), and
groundwater recharge (D). If the change
in storage, precipitation, streamflow, and
groundwater recharge are all estimated,
the missing flux, ET, can be estimated by
rearranging the above equation as
follows:

Energy balance …

A third methodology to estimate the

actual evapotranspiration is the use of
the energy balance.

where λE is the energy needed to change

the phase of water from liquid to gas, Rn
is the net radiation, G is the soil heat flux
and H is the sensible heat flux. Using
instruments like a scintillometer, soil
heat flux plates or radiation meters, the
components of the energy balance can
be calculated and the energy available
for actual evapotranspiration can be
solved.

The SEBAL and METRIC algorithms solve

the energy balance at the earth's surface
using satellite imagery. This allows for
both actual and potential
evapotranspiration to be calculated on a
pixel-by-pixel basis. Evapotranspiration is
a key indicator for water management
and irrigation performance. SEBAL and
METRIC can map these key indicators in
time and space, for days, weeks or
years.[5]

Experimental methods for

measuring evapotranspiration
…

One method for measuring

evapotranspiration is with a weighing
lysimeter. The weight of a soil column is
measured continuously and the change
in storage of water in the soil is modeled
by the change in weight. The change in
weight is converted to units of length
using the surface area of the weighing
lysimeter and the unit weight of water.
evapotranspiration is computed as the
change in weight plus rainfall minus
percolation.

Eddy covariance …

The most direct method of measuring

evapotranspiration is with the eddy
covariance technique in which fast
fluctuations of vertical wind speed are
correlated with fast fluctuations in
atmospheric water vapor density. This
directly estimates the transfer of water
vapor (evapotranspiration) from the land
(or canopy) surface to the atmosphere.

Hydrometeorological equations …

The most general and widely used

equation for calculating reference ET is
the Penman equation. The Penman-
Monteith variation is recommended by
the Food and Agriculture Organization[6]
and the American Society of Civil
Engineers.[7] The simpler Blaney-Criddle
equation was popular in the Western
United States for many years but it is not
as accurate in regions with higher
humidities. Other solutions used includes
Makkink, which is simple but must be
calibrated to a specific location, and
Hargreaves.

To convert the reference

evapotranspiration to actual crop
evapotranspiration, a crop coefficient
and a stress coefficient must be used.
Crop coefficients as used in many
hydrological models usually change
along the year to accommodate to the
fact that crops are seasonal and, in
general, plants behave differently along
the seasons: perennial plants mature
over multiple seasons, and stress
responses can significantly depend upon
many aspects of plant condition.
Potential evapotranspiration

Monthly estimated potential evapotranspiration and

measured pan evaporation for two locations in
Hawaii, Hilo and Pahala.

Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is the

amount of water that would be
evaporated and transpired by a specific
crop or ecosystem if there were
sufficient water available. This demand
incorporates the energy available for
evaporation and the ability of the lower
atmosphere to transport evaporated
moisture away from the land surface.
Potential evapotranspiration is higher in
the summer, on less cloudy days, and
closer to the equator, because of the
higher levels of solar radiation that
provides the energy for evaporation.
Potential evapotranspiration is also
higher on windy days because the
evaporated moisture can be quickly
moved from the ground or plant surface,
allowing more evaporation to fill its
place.

Potential evapotranspiration is expressed

in terms of a depth of water, and can be
graphed during the year (see figure).
Potential evapotranspiration is usually
measured indirectly, from other climatic
factors, but also depends on the surface
type, such as free water (for lakes and
oceans), the soil type for bare soil, and
the vegetation. Often a value for the
potential evapotranspiration is calculated
at a nearby climate station on a reference
surface, conventionally short grass. This
value is called the reference
evapotranspiration, and can be converted
to a potential evapotranspiration by
multiplying with a surface coefficient. In
agriculture, this is called a crop
coefficient. The difference between
potential evapotranspiration and
precipitation is used in irrigation
scheduling.

Average annual potential

evapotranspiration is often compared to
average annual precipitation, P. The ratio
of the two, P/PET, is the aridity index. A
humid subtropical climate is a zone of
climate characterized by hot and humid
summers, and cold to mild winters
Subarctic regions fall between 50°N and
70°N latitude, depending on local
climates. Precipitation is low, and
vegetation is characteristic of the
coniferous/taiga forest.

List of remote sensing based

evapotranspiration models

Classification of RS-based ET models based on

sensible heat flux estimation approaches

ALEXI[8]
BAITSSS[9][10]
METRIC[11]
SEBAL[12]
SEBS[13]
SSEBop[14]
See also
Eddy covariance flux (aka eddy
correlation, eddy flux)
Hydrology (agriculture)
Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill
Performance (HELP)
Latent heat flux
Water Evaluation And Planning system
(WEAP)
Soil plant atmosphere continuum
Deficit irrigation

References
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 25. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
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E. (1974-09-06). "Streamflow Greatly
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7. Rojas, Jose P.; Sheffield, Ronald E.
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External links
 New Mexico Eddy Covariance Flux
Network (Rio-ET)
Texas Evapotranspiration Network
Use and Construction of a Lysimeter to
Measure Evapotranspiration
Washoe County (NV) Et Project
Reference standardization
US Geological Survey

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