Sensitivity Analysis of the Maximum Entropy Production Method to Model Evaporation in Boreal and Temperate Forests

Abstract

AbstractThe maximum entropy production (MEP) approach has been little used to simulate evaporation in forests and its sensitivity to input variables has yet to be systematically evaluated. This study addresses these shortcomings. First, we show that the MEP model performed well in simulating evaporation during snow‐free periods at six sites in temperate and boreal forests (0.68 ≤ NSE ≤ 0.82). Second, we computed a sensitivity coefficient S representing the proportion of change in the input variable transferred to the latent heat flux (λE). Net radiation (Rn) was the most influential variable (S ≈ 1) at all sites, indicating that an increase in Rn translates into an equivalent increase in λE. The MEP model avoided the issue of oversensitivity to air temperature (S < 0.5 at peak evaporation) and captured limitations to transpiration associated with the atmospheric evaporative demand. Overall, the MEP model offers a promising tool for climate change studies.