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Sensitivity of Potential Evapotranspiration to Climate and Vegetation in a Water-Limited Basin at the Northern Edge of Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is important for both hydrological studies and water resources management, especially in arid regions. To better understand how PET varies due to the changing environment, analysis of the sensitivity of PET to climate and underlying surface characteristics is an important necessity. Based on gridded multi-source data sets, the present study estimated PET by using the Shuttleworth-Wallace model from 2000 to 2010 in the upstream and midstream areas of the Heihe River basin. Sensitivity coefficient and contribution coefficient of each parameter were calculated by the sensitivity coefficient method to quantitatively detect and compare the effect of changes in vegetation and climate exerted on the variation of PET. Results showed that: (1) PET varied greatly in the study area. Both climate and vegetation exert effects on the variation of PET; (2) PET is most sensitive to relative humidity in the study area. The sensitivity of PET to vegetation was also great and it increased with the decline of vegetation; (3) relative humidity contributed more to the intra-annual variation than other selected parameters. Vegetation indicated by LAI contribute more than net solar radiation. With this study, our understanding of variations of PET and its driving factors could be expanded from meteorological aspects to vegetation or ecological aspects, which is quite important for eco-hydrology and agricultural water resources management.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 91125015), and China Scholarship Council (No.201406040178).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Jie Zhao, Zongxue Xu & Depeng Zuo

  2. Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2117, USA

    Jie Zhao & Vijay P. Singh

  3. Joint Center for Global Change Studies (JCGCS), Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Zongxue Xu

  4. Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2117, USA

    Vijay P. Singh

  5. China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Mo Li

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  1. Jie Zhao
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  2. Zongxue Xu
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  4. Depeng Zuo
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  5. Mo Li
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Correspondence to Zongxue Xu.

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Zhao, J., Xu, Z., Singh, V.P. et al. Sensitivity of Potential Evapotranspiration to Climate and Vegetation in a Water-Limited Basin at the Northern Edge of Tibetan Plateau. Water Resour Manage 30, 4667–4680 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1446-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1446-z

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