Potential Evapotranspiration Reduction and Its Influence on Crop Yield in the North China Plain in 1961–2014

Abstract

Climate change has caused uneven changes in hydrological processes (precipitation and evapotranspiration) on a space-temporal scale, which would influence climate types, eventually impact agricultural production. Based on data from 61 meteorological stations from 1961 to 2014 in the North China Plain (NCP), the spatiotemporal characteristics of climate variables, such as humidity index, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration (ET0), were analyzed. The sensitivity coefficients and contribution rates were applied to ET0. The NCP has experienced a semiarid to humid climate from north to south due to the significant decline of ET0 (−13.8 mm decade−1). In the study region, 71.0% of the sites showed a “pan evaporation paradox” phenomenon. Relative humidity had the most negative influence on ET0, while wind speed, sunshine hours, and air temperature had a positive effect on ET0. Wind speed and sunshine hours contributed the most to the spatiotemporal variation of ET0, followed by relative humidity and air temperature. Overall, the key climate factor impacting ET0 was wind speed decline in the NCP, particularly in Beijing and Tianjin. The crop yield in Shandong and Henan provinces was higher than that in the other regions with a higher humidity index. The lower the humidity index in Hebei province, the lower the crop yield. Therefore, potential water shortages and water conflict should be considered in the future because of spatiotemporal humidity variations in the NCP.

Spatiotemporal Distribution Characteristics of Reference Evapotranspiration in Shandong Province from 1980 to 2019

“…According to the background of global climate warming, this conclusion is consistent with that of Ma [31] on irrigation water demand and its influencing factors in Shandong Province. Dong et al [32] found that the annual average ET 0 of the North China Plain was 1071.37 mm, and the ET 0 decreased over the past 53 years (−12.8 mm/10 a). This study found that, in the Shandong Province over the past 40 years, ET 0 overall showed a significant downward trend.…”

Quantitative exploration of the innovative trend method for evapotranspiration and its sensitivity to climatic parameters: The case study in Southeast Vietnam

“…Evapotranspiration is in uenced by multiple components, including temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, solar radiation, and land-use change (Van Der Velde et al 2013; Guo et al 2017; Dong et al 2020). Changes in any of these variables can affect the spatiotemporal distribution of evapotranspiration (Irmak et al 2012; Wang et al 2017).…”

“…This decrease in evapotranspiration in the face of rising temperatures is known as the "evaporation paradox" (Brutsaert and Parlange 1998). The paradox can be explained by a combination of factors, including the increase in relative humidity (Dong et al 2020), the decrease in wind speed (Zhao et al 2015;Liu et al 2021), the decrease in solar radiation (Guo et al 2017;Ndiaye et al 2021).…”

Estimation of Single Crop Coefficient and Crop Evapotranspiration Using Remote Sensing for Irrigation Management

“…On dry land, evapotranspiration is influenced by soil moisture, rainfall, and groundwater depth [3]. The duration of solar radiation, air temperature, and wind speed also positively affect potential evapotranspiration, while relative humidity negatively affects potential evapotranspiration [4]. Meanwhile, the factors that affect evaporation are temperature differences, irradiation time, wind speed, and rainfall [5] This evapotranspiration can be used to estimate crop water requirements.…”