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Estimation of evapotranspiration with drainage lysimeters in the Taihang Mountain area, China

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  • Published:
Forestry Studies in China

Abstract

In this research, the evapotranspiration (ET) of three native vegetation communities were measured using drainage lysimeters in the Taihang Mountain area, China. They are a local grass, Themeda japonica, a local shrub, Vitex negundo var. heterophylla Rehd. and a mixture of both communities. The ET was measured using level lysimeters (with a slope of 0°) and slope lysimeters (with a slope of 25°). In general, the measured ET was higher in the level lysimeters than in the slope lysimeters because of the water loss of surface runoff from the slope lysimeter. The total ETs over the growing season for the grass, shrub, and the mixture were 730.4, 742.0 and 790.7 mm, respectively in the level lysimeters, and 535.5, 504.1 and 540.1 mm, respectively in the slope lysimeters. In addition, the monthly ET peaked in August and had close linear relationship with leaf area index. The drainage lysimeter is an effective tool to estimate plant ET in mountain areas. The results from this research would provide scientific information for the vegetation recovery and sustainable development of forestry in the TM areas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China

    Fan Yang

  2. Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, 050021, P. R. China

    Fan Yang & Wan-jun Zhang

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  1. Fan Yang
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  2. Wan-jun Zhang
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Correspondence to Fan Yang.

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Yang, F., Zhang, Wj. Estimation of evapotranspiration with drainage lysimeters in the Taihang Mountain area, China. For. Stud. China 11, 219–224 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11632-009-0038-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11632-009-0038-x

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