A general predictive model for estimating monthly ecosystem evapotranspiration

Sun, Ge; Alstad, K. P.; Chen, Jiquan; Chen, Shiping; Ford, Chelcy R.; Lin, Guanghui; Liu, Chenfeng; Lü, Nan; McNulty, Steven G.; Miao, H.; Noormets, Asko; Vose, James M.; Wilske, Burkhard; Zeppel, Melanie; Zhang, Yan; Zhang, Zhiqiang

doi:10.1002/eco.194

Cited by 218 publications

(207 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

202

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Changes in land use/land cover and climate can directly impact the regional hydrological cycle by altering ET processes (Zhang et al, 2001(Zhang et al, , 2004Sun et al, 2011a). Previous studies on the vegetation-water yield relationships for the Loess Plateau region focus on annual ET modelling using Zhang's ET model Ma et al, 2008;Zhang et al, 2008a, b).…”

Section: M Feng Et Al: Regional Effects Of Vegetation Restoratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Monthly ET is estimated by a monthly scale ET model as described below. Monthly actual ET can be sufficiently predicted by potential ET (PET), precipitation, and leaf area index (Sun et al, 2011a). This study adopted the same logic to develop an ET model by employing a subset of the eddy flux ET database for dry regions.…”

Section: Monthly Et and Annual Water Yield (Q) Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As described in Sun et al (2011a), monthly ET can be estimated from key environmental controls that include available energy (i.e., potential evapotranspiration, PET), water (i.e., precipitation, PPT) and seasonal vegetation biomass dynamics (i.e., Leaf Area Index). Thus, the ET model has the following form:…”

Section: Monthly Et and Annual Water Yield (Q) Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a subset of the ET flux databases in Sun et al (2011a) for model development that only include ecosystems of dry forests and grasslands in China, Australia and the US, a total of 10 sites. The 10 sites cover non-humid regimes as indicated by average air temperature (0.6-17 • C) and annual precipitation (148-840 mm yr −1 ), resulting in a large difference in vegetation conditions (i.e., leaf area index, LAI) and water balance patterns.…”

Section: Monthly Et and Annual Water Yield (Q) Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This database contains 134 records (i.e., 134 site-months). Detailed descriptions of the study sites can be found in Sun et al (2011a).…”

Section: Monthly Et and Annual Water Yield (Q) Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Regional effects of vegetation restoration on water yield across the Loess Plateau, China

Feng

Sun

et al. 2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

194

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The general relationships between vegetation and water yield under different climatic regimes are well established at a small watershed scale in the past century. However, applications of these basic theories to evaluate the regional effects of land cover change on water resources remain challenging due to the complex interactions of vegetation and climatic variability and hydrologic processes at the large scale. The objective of this study was to explore ways to examine the spatial and temporal effects of a large ecological restoration project on water yield across the Loess Plateau region in northern China. We estimated annual water yield as the difference between precipitation input and modelled actual evapotranspiration (ET) output. We constructed a monthly ET model using published ET data derived from eddy flux measurements and watershed streamflow data. We validated the ET models at a watershed and regional levels. The model was then applied to examine regional water yield under land cover change and climatic variability during the implementation of the Grain-for-Green (GFG) project during 1999-2007. We found that water yield in 38 % of the Loess Plateau area might have decreased (1-48 mm per year) as a result of land cover change alone. However, combined with climatic variability, 37 % of the study area might have seen a decrease in water yield with a range of 1-54 mm per year, and 35 % of the study area might have seen an increase with a range of 1-10 mm per year. Across the study region, climate variability masked or strengthened the water yield response to vegetation restoration. The absolute annual water yield change due to vegetation restoration varied with precipitation regimes with the highest in wet years, but the relative water yield changes were most pronounced in dry years. We concluded that the effects of land cover change associated with ecological restoration varied greatly over time and space and were strongly influenced by climatic variability in the arid region. The current regional vegetation restoration projects have variable effects on local water resources across the region. Land management planning must consider the influences of spatial climate variability and long-term climate change on water yield to be more effective for achieving environmental sustainability.

show abstract

Section: M Feng Et Al: Regional Effects Of Vegetation Restoratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Monthly Et and Annual Water Yield (Q) Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Monthly Et and Annual Water Yield (Q) Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Monthly Et and Annual Water Yield (Q) Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This database contains 134 records (i.e., 134 site-months). Detailed descriptions of the study sites can be found in Sun et al (2011a).…”

Section: Monthly Et and Annual Water Yield (Q) Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Regional effects of vegetation restoration on water yield across the Loess Plateau, China

Feng

Sun

et al. 2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

194

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Exploring scale‐dependent ecohydrological responses in a large endorheic river basin through integrated surface water‐groundwater modeling

Tian

Zheng

et al. 2015

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ecohydrological processes in a water-limited environment are sensitive to both climate conditions and human activities, but the response mechanisms have rarely been explored for large endorheic river basins via an integrated modeling approach. This study established an integrated surface watergroundwater model for the Heihe River Basin (HRB), China's second largest endorheic river basin, using GSFLOW as the modeling platform. Evapotranspiration (ET) and Leaf Area Index (LAI) data independently derived from remote sensing products were compared and correlated, respectively, with the modeling results. Scale-dependent interrelationships among ecological, hydrological, and human-impact (i.e., diversion and pumping) variables were revealed through multiple regression analyses. Major study findings include: (1) the independent ET and LAI data enabled the modeler to crosscheck the modeling results from a unique angle not possible with conventional groundwater and streamflow observations; (2) controlling factors for the temporal variability of ET and LAI exhibit notable scale-dependence, reflecting distinctive climate, and human impacts on different land covers; and (3) there exists an intricate linkage between the hydrological regimes in the lower HRB and the middle HRB, essentially equivalent to a tradeoff between the ecosystem health of the lower HRB and the sustainable development of the middle HRB. Overall, the integrated modeling assisted by the independent ET and LAI data has provided a coherent understanding on the regional water cycle, and led to new insights on tackling the existing water conflicts in HRB.

show abstract

Seasonal divergence in the sensitivity of evapotranspiration to climate and vegetation growth in the Yellow River Basin, China

Pei

et al. 2017

JGR Biogeosciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seasonal variations in terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET) in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) have crucial impacts on the seasonal trajectories of the regional water cycle, vegetation growth, and local climate feedback. However, the possibly divergent roles of climate and vegetation growth variations in controlling seasonal ET patterns remain poorly quantified. This study therefore quantifies the interannual sensitivity and attribution of ET to climate and vegetation growth variations in different seasons and different biomes in the YRB in China between 1982 and 2011, using the satellite‐derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), FLUXNET‐based upscaled ET, and concurrent climate data. The results reveal a clear seasonal divergence in the interannual sensitivity of ET to climate and vegetation growth variations in the YRB. Interannual precipitation and NDVI variations play a dominant role in controlling seasonal ET variations in the YRB, with temperature having a marginal effect. Interannual ET sensitivity to precipitation weakens with an increasing mean annual precipitation gradient in almost all seasons, especially in summer and autumn. More importantly, a seasonally varying role of vegetation growth in mediating seasonal ET was discovered, and a crucial role of late‐growing‐season vegetation growth in controlling the seasonal trajectory of regional ET was explicitly identified. These results suggest that ongoing intensive vegetation restoration has crucial impacts on seasonal water‐cycle patterns and consequent terrestrial‐atmospheric biogeochemical feedback in the YRB.

show abstract

A general predictive model for estimating monthly ecosystem evapotranspiration

Cited by 218 publications

References 49 publications

Regional effects of vegetation restoration on water yield across the Loess Plateau, China

Regional effects of vegetation restoration on water yield across the Loess Plateau, China

Exploring scale‐dependent ecohydrological responses in a large endorheic river basin through integrated surface water‐groundwater modeling

Seasonal divergence in the sensitivity of evapotranspiration to climate and vegetation growth in the Yellow River Basin, China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About