The transfer of water from the surface of the earth into the atmosphere occurs both through evaporation from surfaces and transpiration from plants, combined known as “evapotranspiration”. It is a critical process within the hydrologic cycle – the transformation of water from the liquid to vapor phase cools down the surrounding atmosphere, contributes to cloud formation, and acts as a distillation process creating pure H2O, while transpiration is a key mechanism that moves water and nutrients through plants. Evapotranspiration processes have received considerably less research effort than other aspects of the hydrologic cycle, for example runoff and stream flow.
Publications:
- Pauliukonis, N. and R.L. Schneider. 2001. Temporal patterns in evapotranspiration from lysimeters with three common wetland plant species in the eastern United States. Aquatic Botany 71(1): 35-46. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304377001001681
- Walter, M.T., D.S. Wilks, J-Y. Parlange, and R.L.Schneider. 2004. Increasing evapotranspiration from the conterminous United States. J. Hydrometeorology 5: 405-408. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1525-7541(2004)005<0405:IEFTCU>2.0.CO;2