Open AccessModelling evapotranspiration in semi‐arid terrains: Comparison of two schemes
Author(s) -
Fernández C,
Nieto G,
Prego J A
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
meteorological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1469-8080
pISSN - 1350-4827
DOI - 10.1002/met.5060030305
Subject(s) - evapotranspiration , arid , transpiration , mesoscale meteorology , vegetation (pathology) , environmental science , terrain , latent heat , climatology , physical geography , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , geography , meteorology , ecology , medicine , paleontology , photosynthesis , botany , cartography , geotechnical engineering , pathology , biology
The importance of choosing a relatively detailed parameterisation for plant transpiration in semi‐arid terrains is evidenced by comparison of model results and observations from a European field experiment recently performed in La Mancha (Spain). In severe drought periods the contribution of the vegetation cover to the total latent heat flux is greater, since the evaporation from the bare soil fraction is small. Also, the observed heterogeneity of vegetation types in semi‐arid regions, such as the Iberian peninsula, is an additional argument to recommend the inclusion of somewhat sophisticated parameterisations in mesoscale models. A set of sensitivity tests and different formulations for the stomatal resistance illustrates fairly well the importance of the vegetation properties in regions where plants are scarce.