Estimation of evapotranspiration using a remote sensing model over agricultural land in the North China Plain

Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) from agricultural land is the most common form of water consumption in the North China Plain. Based on in situ measurements by an eddy covariance (EC) system, the present study tested the surface energy balance system (SEBS) model for estimating surface energy fluxes from a wheat/maize rotation cropland. Applicability of the SEBS model using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land products to estimate ET was further validated. The model proved to be appropriate to measure heat flux during the wheat-growing season, but underestimated the sensible heat flux during the maize-growing season. Although the SEBS model performed better during the wheat-growing season, the relative error of the latent heat flux was within 20% in both wheat- and maize-growing seasons. Results showed that the SEBS model using remote sensing data could provide a reasonable estimate of the surface energy fluxes from an irrigated cropland in the North China Plain.