Abstract
Quantifying and monitoring evapotranspiration in large natural forests is vital for monitoring the climate, water resources and biodiversity of the ecosystem, especially in an area with high climatic variability, water and biodiversity, such as Northeast Brazil. The objective of this study is to evaluate evapotranspiration in areas of the Atlantic Forest using remote sensing data and to determine how evapotranspiration can affect rainfall changes on a local scale. We used the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) and Thornthwaite models to estimate evapotranspiration. The input models used Landsat images and observations from agro-meteorological stations. An estimate of the actual evapotranspiration by the Thornthwaite method was over a 10-day period, and SEBAL was used over 24 hours. The daily actual evapotranspiration was between 5 and 6 mm/day. We computed the cross correlation coefficient and standard error with lag seven (10-day) for maximum evapotranspiration with SEBAL (Evap_SEBAL_max) and rainfall decennial (R10). The evapotranspiration had a positive correlation with rainfall. The correlation is major for the last ten days (lag -1), with r=0.389. The results suggest that local evapotranspiration influences the local rainfall. Thus, knowing the amount of water being used by the forest and released to the atmosphere is important. These results can improve climate prediction and climate change models at the local scale.
Highlights
The evapotranspiration from vegetated surfaces transfers large amounts of water and energy to the atmosphere through the evaporation of water in soil and transpiration, in plants
Quantifying and monitoring evapotranspiration in large natural forests is vital for monitoring the climate, water resources and biodiversity of the ecosystem, especially in an area with high climatic variability, abundant water and biodiversity, such as Northeast Brazil
Note that the Landsat image for February 15, 2006 generated the largest values of the actual evapotranspiration, followed by April. This is expected because the summer in Brazil is December to April
Summary
The evapotranspiration from vegetated surfaces transfers large amounts of water and energy (in the form of latent heat) to the atmosphere through the evaporation of water in soil and transpiration, in plants. Given the great concern over global water scarcity, it is increasingly necessary to quantify and monitor water availability at various spatial and temporal scales via soil-plant-atmosphere interactions. Climate change is expected to intensify the hydrological cycle and to alter evapotranspiration, with implications for ecosystem services and feedback to regional and global climate. Evapotranspiration changes may already be underway, but direct observational constraints are lacking at the global scale. Until such evidence is available, changes in the water cycle on land—a key diagnostic criterion of the effects of climate change and variability—remain uncertain” (Jung et al 2010)
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