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Comparative analysis of 31 reference evapotranspiration methods under humid conditions

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Abstract

Evaluation of simple reference evapotranspiration (ETo) methods has received considerable attention in developing countries where the weather data needed to estimate ETo by the Penman–Monteith FAO 56 (PMF-56) model are often incomplete and/or not available. In this study, eight pan evaporation-based, seven temperature-based, four radiation-based and ten mass transfer-based methods were evaluated against the PMF-56 model in the humid climate of Iran, and the best and worst methods were selected from each group. In addition, two radiation-based methods for estimating ETo were derived using air temperature and solar radiation data based on the PMF-56 model as a reference. Among pan evaporation-based and temperature-based methods, the Snyder and Blaney–Criddle methods yielded the best ETo estimates. The ETo values obtained from the radiation-based equations developed here were better than those estimated by existing radiation-based methods. The Romanenko equation was the best model in estimating ETo among the mass transfer-based methods. Cross-comparison of the 31 tested methods showed that the five best methods as compared with the PMF-56 model were: the two radiation-based equations developed here, the temperature-based Blaney–Criddle and Hargreves-M4 equations and the Snyder pan evaporation-based equation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express a gratitude to the Islamic Republic of Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO) for access to the weather station data. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Irrigation, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, 65174, Hamedan, Islamic Republic of Iran

    Hossein Tabari

  2. Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA, 95616-8627, USA

    Mark E. Grismer

  3. Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Nis, A. Medvedeva 14, 18000, Nis, Serbia

    Slavisa Trajkovic

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  1. Hossein Tabari
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  2. Mark E. Grismer
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  3. Slavisa Trajkovic
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Correspondence to Hossein Tabari.

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Communicated by A. Kassam.

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Tabari, H., Grismer, M.E. & Trajkovic, S. Comparative analysis of 31 reference evapotranspiration methods under humid conditions. Irrig Sci 31, 107–117 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-011-0295-z

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