A new approach for estimating spatial-temporal phreatic evapotranspiration at a regional scale using NDVI and water table depth measurements

Abstract

Accurate estimation of the spatial-temporal distribution of phreatic evapotranspiration (ET) is critical for managing water resources and preventing soil salinization in arid and semiarid agricultural areas where substantial water-saving efforts are needed. Traditional phreatic ET estimation approaches either are for small scales or cannot consider spatial and/or temporal variations in phreatic ET. This study developed a new approach for estimating the spatial-temporal phreatic ET based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and measured water table depths. The NDVI was used to calculate the actual evapotranspiration (ETc act) by scaling it with the reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo). The water table depths measured during the periods of no other factors (i.e., precipitation, irrigation and groundwater extraction) were used to establish an equation used to estimate the phreatic ET contribution coefficient (defined as the ratio of phreatic ET to the corresponding ETc act). To improve estimation accuracy, a time-related correction factor was considered in the equation for estimating the phreatic ET. The new approach was used to estimate monthly phreatic ET with a spatial resolution of 250 m in the Hetao irrigation district, located in arid Northwest China. The estimated phreatic ET at different spatial and temporal scales matched well with the groundwater balance model results. The results show that the spatial distribution of phreatic ET is affected by both natural factors (e.g., land cover types) and human activities (e.g., groundwater extraction, planted crops). In the Hetao irrigation district, phreatic ET contributes an average of 24.4% to ETc act during the non-freezing-thawing period (from June to November), demonstrating the essential role of phreatic ET in supporting crop growth and the general ecological environment in arid areas with shallow water table depths. The new approach of estimating spatial-temporal phreatic ET may be used for designing effective and efficient water resource management policies at the regional scale.