SUPSUP, ROEL D.

IABE Faculty
 is the process by which water is converted from its liquid
form to its vapor form and thus transferred from land and
water masses to the atmosphere.
 Evaporation from the oceans accounts for 80% of the water
delivered as precipitation, with the balance occurring on land,
inland waters and plant surfaces.

•The rate of evaporation depends upon:

 Wind speed: the higher the wind speed, the more evaporation
 Temperature: the higher the temperature, the more
evaporation
 Humidity: the lower the humidity, the more evaporation
 consists of the vaporization of
liquid water contained in plant
tissues and the vapour removal to
the atmosphere.
 Crops predominately lose their
water through transpiration via the
stomata.
 the process where water contained
in liquid form in plants is converted
to vapor and released to the
atmosphere.
 It is difficult to separate the
processes of evaporation and
transpiration, so this transfer of
water is sometimes simply called
evapotranspiration.
 Less than 1% of the water intake
of plant is retained by the plant.
 Mass Transfer - water moves away from evaporating and
transpiring surfaces in response to the combined
phenomena of turbulent mixing of the air and the vapor
pressure gradient
 Energy Balance - so if there is no change in water
temperature, the net radiation or heat supplied can be
related to evaporation. Most methods include an energy
component.
 Empirical Methods - based primarily on the assumption
that energy available for evaporation or
evapotranspiration is proportional to the temperature
Dalton’s Law (for evaporation from free-water surfaces)
𝑬 = 𝑪 𝒆 𝒔 − 𝒆𝒅

Where: 𝐸 = rate of evaporation (mm/day)

𝐶 = constant (mm day-1 kPa-1)
es = saturation vapor pressure at the
temperature of the water surface (kPa)
ed = actual vapor pressure of the air (kPa)
= es times relative humidity)
 Dalton’s Law
Rohwer (1931) evaluated the constant
𝑪 = (𝟑. 𝟑𝟎 + 𝟏. 𝟗𝟕𝟑𝑼𝟎.𝟏𝟓 )(𝟏. 𝟒𝟔𝟓 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟓𝟒𝟖𝑷)
Where: 𝑈0.15 = average water surface wind velocity at a height of 0.15 m
(m/s)
𝑃 = atmospheric pressure (kPa)

Meyer (1942) evaluated the constant for pans and shallow ponds (E as
mm/month),
𝑪 = 𝟏𝟏𝟐. 𝟓 + 𝟐𝟓. 𝟏𝑼𝟕.𝟔
and for small lakes and reservoirs,
𝑪 = 𝟖𝟐. 𝟔 + 𝟏𝟖. 𝟓 𝑼𝟕.𝟔
Where: 𝑈7.6 = average wind velocity for the period at a height of 7.6 m (m/s)
Pan Evaporation

The evaporation pan is a standard

set made of stainless steel and has
the dimensions of a 54 mm (10
inches) in height and 1206 mm
(47.5 inches) in diameter (“class
A“ evaporation pan). Daily the
result of evaporation and
precipitation is measured within
the still well, by means of a high
quality evaporation micrometer.
Because of differences in soil texture and
in expected soil water movement, it is
difficult to generalize on the amounts of
evaporation from soil surfaces.

Mulches reduce evaporation by restricting

air movement, maintaining a high air
vapor pressure near the soil surface, and
shielding the soil from solar energy.
Evapotranspiration (ET) in agro-ecosystems is the sum of
two processes:
(1) transpiration, in which water entering the plant
roots is carried to stems and leaves for building plant
tissue via photosynthesis and then passed through
the leaves into the atmosphere, and

(2) evaporation, which is water evaporating from

soil, water surfaces, or plant leaf surfaces holding
water droplets from rain, irrigation, or dew
formation.

ET, also referred to as consumptive use.

Transpiration ratio is the ratio of the weight of water
transpired to the dry weight of the plant. Measure
of how efficiently crops use water.
Crops Transpiration Ratio

sorghum 304
corn 350
wheat 557
cotton 568
potatoes 575
rice 682
alfalfa 844
Source: Howell [Link]., 1990
Quantification of ET is used for many purposes;

effective and efficient irrigation management,

water resources management,
environmental assessment, and
crop production.

When evaporative demand exceeds precipitation,

plant growth and quality may be adversely affected
by soil water deficit.
 tank and lysimeter experiments;
 field experimental plots where the quantity of water applied
is controlled to avoid deep percolation losses and surface
runoff is measured;
 soil water studies, with large numbers of samples taken at
various depths in the root zone ;
 analysis of climatological data;
 integration methods where the water used by plants and
evaporation from the water and soil surfaces are combined
for the entire area involved; and
 inflow-outflow methods for large areas where yearly inflow
into the area, annual precipitation, yearly outflow from the
area, and the change in groundwater level are evaluated.
[Link] evapotranspiration (ETp) is the rate of ET
from a well watered cropped field or where there is no
limitation in water availability.
[Link] Crop evapotranspiration (ETref) refers to the
amount of water actually evapotranspired from a soil-
water-plant system where water supply is limiting
(usually below field capacity)
 radiation
air temperature
humidity
wind speed
crop type
variety
development stage
soil salinity
While evapotranspiration rates are known to increase with higher temperature, other
factors in addition to rising temperatures also affect evapotranspirationsoil fertility
(ET). For
example, increasing humidity and higher CO2 concentrations both
soil tend to reduce
management
transpiration and counteract the higher temperature effects on ET. As the oceans and
soil moisture content
other water bodies warm and evaporate more water into the atmosphere, global
soil water
humidity is likely to increase. As CO2 concentrations increase,holding capacity
leaf stomata partially
close in response to maintain the CO2 concentration inside the stomata. practices
cultivation Thus, while
climate change is likely to increase air temperature, the effect of higher humidity and
use of mulches
CO2 concentration could partially offset the temperature effect on ET. (Snyder et al.,
2011) types of irrigation
Evaporation Pan Method

𝑬𝑻𝒐 = 𝑲𝒑𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒑𝒂𝒏

Where : ETo = grass based reference ET (L/T),

Kpan = factor for converting pan evaporation to ETo,
Epan = measured pan evaporation (L/T)

For desert or semi-desert conditions with no agricultural development

and bare soils, Kpan may need to be reduced up to 20%. If the pan is
located in tall crops, Kpan may need to be increased upto 30% .
(Allen et al., 1998)
Penman-Monteith Combination Method

combined components for the energy required to sustain

evaporation and a mechanism for removal of the vapor with
aerodynamic and surface resistance. The ASCE Standardized
Penman-Monteith equation for daily time steps is (ASCE, 2005)

𝑪𝒏
𝟎. 𝟒𝟎𝟖𝜟 𝑹𝒏 − 𝑮 + 𝜸 (𝒆𝒔 − 𝒆𝒂 )𝒖𝟐
𝑬𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒇 = 𝑻 + 𝟐𝟕𝟑
𝜟 + 𝜸(𝟏 + 𝑪𝒏 𝒖𝟐 )
Temperature-Based Methods

The Blaney-Criddle method was the most popular in the

semiarid western parts of the United States and was based on a
consumptive use coefficient, mean air temperature, and percent
of annual daylight hours occurring during the period of
calculation

𝒖 = 𝒌𝒑(𝟎. 𝟒𝟔𝑻 + 𝟖. 𝟏𝟑)

Where: u = monthly evapotranspiration (mm)
k = monthly ET coefficient or crop coefficient
T = mean monthly temperature (oC)
p = monthly percent of total daytime hours of year (monthly
daytime hours x 100/total annual daytime hours)
Radiation Methods

Includes an energy term by adding a solar radiation variable.

The Jensen-Haise alfalfa reference radiation method (Jensen
and Haise, 1963; Jensen, 1966) was the most widely accepted of
these methods.

𝝀𝑬𝑻𝒓 = 𝑪𝒕 𝑻 − 𝑻𝒙 𝑹𝒔
Where: 𝜆𝐸𝑇𝑟 = alfalfa based reference ET expressed as latent heat
flux density, MJ m-2 day -1
𝑅𝑠 = solar radiation, MJ m-2 day -1
𝑇 = mean air temperature for the period of calculation
in oC
Agricultural crops differ in evaporation and transpiration
from reference crops, particularly grass, because of
differences in ground cover, canopy characteristics, and
aerodynamic resistance.

𝑬𝑻𝒄 = 𝑲𝒄 𝑬𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒇

Where: ETref = calculated reference ET (mm)

Kc = crop coefficient
ETc = crop evapotranspiration or crop water use (mm)
Crop coefficients vary with crop type, climate, and soil
evaporation. For a specific crop the coefficient varies with the
stage of growth of the plant
Crop growth periods can be
divided into four distinct
growth stages; initial, crop
development, mid-season and
late season. The length of each
of these stages depends on the
climate, latitude, elevation and
planting date. Local
observations are best for
determining the growth stage
of the crop and which Kc
values to use.
There are numerous evapotranspiration equations
developed and used by researchers but still there is
confusion in selecting the reliable
evapotranspiration estimation method for the area
concerned.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) in paper 56 recommended the
use of Penman-Monteith (PM) equation (FAO56-PM)
as the standard method for estimating reference ETo,
and for appraisal of other methods (Allen et al.,
1998).
Study conducted by Lee et al. (2004), eight evapotranspiration
estimation methods were tested with 30 years of daily data, in
the west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Evapotranspiration Estimation Method Mean*

Blaney-Criddle 3.276 a
Hargreaves 4.486 e
Kimberly-Penman 3.989 b
Pan 3.229 a
Penman 3.550 c
Penman-Monteith 3.152 a
Priestly-Taylor 4.329 d
Samani-Hargreaves 4.454 e
The Penman-Monteith, Blaney-Criddle and Pan are the best methods
to estimate evapotranspiration in the study area.
Study conducted by Upadhyaya (2016) at Patna, India showed that
mean weekly daily ET0 estimates of combination methods resulted
better ET0 estimates than radiation, temperature and evaporation
methods. Penman-Monteith method produced best ET0 estimate
against FAO-56 Penman-Monteith estimated ET0
In data sparse region like the study area where only limited meteorological data
is available and the FAO56-PM equation recommended as the standard for
estimating ETo is not applicable due to the complexity of its input parameters, the
use of Hamon, Hargreaves, Blaney-Criddle and Class A pan are considered as
suitable methods for estimating ETo. The Class A pan was suggested as practical
method for estimating ETo due to the closeness of its estimated ETo curve to that
of the FAO56-PM estimated ETo curve and its low values of MAE and MAPE even
though it correlated weakly with FAO56-PM. (Joshua, [Link]. 2017)
ETo is one of the most important variables in the
hydrological cycle. It plays an important role in the
water and energy balance on earth’s surface and it is
of particular interest to agricultural and irrigation
practices. Climate change could affect hydrological
processes mainly through ET and assessing it in the
context of climatic variability was therefore very
important in crop production. (Joshua, [Link]. 2017)
References:

[Link]

Lee TS, Najim MMM, Amanul MH (2004) Estimating evapotranspiration of irrigated rice at the
West Coast of the Peninsular of Malaysia. J Appl Irrigat Sci 39:103–117

Upadhyaya, A. 2016. Comparison of Different Methods to Estimate Mean Daily

Evapotranspiration from Weekly Data at Patna, India. Irrigat Drainage Sys Eng 5: 168. doi:
10.4172/2168-9768.1000168
([Link]
dailyevapotranspiration-from-weekly-data-at-patna-india-2168-9768-
[Link]?aid=78420)