WATER INSTITUTE

ENGINEERING HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
HYU07103
GROUP ASSIGMENT: 02
N CANDIDATES NAME REG, NUMBER
o
01 FRANK NGOWI WI/2022/EHY4-2
02 HAMZA
03 MARTHA FUNDI
04 PETRO SAMWEL NDABALIZE WI/2023/EHY3006

05 SALMA MFANGAVO
06 AGNES ABASI CHELESI WI/2023/EHY3004
07 SAMSON MARIKI WI/2023/EHY3012
08 ANGELINA ELIAS WI/2023/EHY3013
Consumptive use
Consumptive use refers to the total water taken up by a plant through its roots
and lost to the atmosphere through processes such as transpiration and
evaporation. It represents the amount of water consumed by a plant during its
growth.
Consumptive Use (mm/day) = E + T + Wm
where;
E + T >99%, E = evaporation and
T = transpiration and
Wm = water required for metabolic process
Potential evapotranspiration
• Potential evapotranspiration
Is an estimation of the amount of water that could evaporate and
transpire under optimum condition, assuming a sufficient water supply.
In simpler term potential evapotranspiration provide an idea of how
much water the atmosphere will use if there were no limitation on
water availability in the soil.
This concept is often used in hydrology and agriculture to understand
the potential water loss from an area due to the combined processes of
evaporation from soil and transpiration from plant.
Factors affecting evapotranspiration
• The following are the factors affecting the evaporation and
transpiration process:
1. Weather parameters
2. crop characteristics
3. management and environmental aspects.
1. Weather Parameters
a. Temperature: Warmer temperatures generally increase the rate of
evapotransipiration as they enhance the vaporization of water from
the surfaces.
b. Wind Speed: Higher wind speeds enhance evaporation by removing
the saturated air layer near the evaporating surface.
c. Humidity: Lower humidity allows for a higher rate of evaporation,
as the air has greater capacity to absorb moisture
d. Solar Radiation: Solar energy drives the evaporation process, areas
with more sunlight typically experience higher evapotranspiration
rate.
2. crop characteristics

a. Leaf area and density: Crop with larger leaf area generally have
higher evapotranspiration rate due to increased transpiration.
b. Crop height: crops with high height tend to reduce the rate of
evaporation from the surface of the land due to shadow and block
the freely movement of the air.
c. Crop rooting Characteristic: The density and distribution of roots
also impact the overall water extraction capacity. A well-developed
and extensive root system can enhance a crop's ability to extract
water efficiently, influencing both transpiration and soil
evaporation.
3. Management and environmental conditions
a. Soil Moisture: the availability of soil moisture influence evaporation
from the ground, while dry soil tends to absorb more water
b. Poor land fertility: poor land fertility leads to stunted growth,
reduce leaf area and lower transpiration rate.
c. Soil Salinity: this affect the uptake of water due to high salinity level
this lead plant to stomatal closure as a defense mechanism to
conserve water.