Knowra Evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration is the transfer of water from land to the atmosphere through evaporation from surfaces and transpiration by plants. It links the water and energy cycles at the land surface.
Evaporation : The change of a liquid into vapor at a surface. It is the non-biological pathway that contributes water vapor to evapotranspiration.
Water cycle : The continuous movement of water among the atmosphere, land, oceans, and living things. Evapotranspiration returns land water to the atmosphere within this cycle.
Penman–Monteith equation : A physically based equation for estimating evapotranspiration from weather, surface, and vegetation properties. It is a widely used method for estimating reference and actual evapotranspiration.
Potential evapotranspiration : The rate of evapotranspiration that could occur under specified conditions with ample water supply. It represents atmospheric demand, unlike actual loss constrained by available water.
Transpiration : The release of water vapor from plant tissues, chiefly through leaf stomata. It is the plant-mediated pathway that combines with evaporation.
Soil moisture : Water held in the pores of soil, available in varying degrees to plants and evaporation. Its availability often limits evaporation and plant water uptake.
Eddy covariance : A micrometeorological method that estimates exchanges of gases and energy from correlated turbulent fluctuations. It measures water-vapor exchange over landscapes, providing evapotranspiration observations.
Actual evapotranspiration : The water actually transferred from a land surface to the atmosphere during a specified period. It is the realized flux that evapotranspiration estimates often seek to quantify.
Latent heat flux : Energy transferred from a surface through the phase change of water, without changing temperature. Evapotranspiration consumes surface energy as water becomes vapor.
Vapor-pressure deficit : The difference between the water-vapor pressure at saturation and the actual vapor pressure of air. It expresses atmospheric drying demand that draws water from leaves and surfaces.
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