TRANSPIRATION AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Factors affecting transpiration are similar to those affecting evaporation plus plant physiological factors,
such as leaf structure, plant disease, and behavior of stomata. Soil moisture content is also important and
perhaps one of the more important limiting factors.

Transpiration for small plant areas can be determined by a close container in which humidity changes are
measured. The soil can be sealed to prevent evaporation from soil. These experiments are performed
onsite or by use of a phytometer, which is a container with a particular plant rooted in it. Precise
determinations of transpiration are difficult, and extrapolation to other areas can be misleading. Exact
environmental and physiological conditions should be reported when measuring transpiration. Water
budgets are valuable but again require estimates of other variables, and, thus the transpiration estimates
are frequently only as accurate as the measurements of the other variables.

If total monthly consumptive use (evapotranspiration) can be measured for a vegetative area, and the
monthly evaporation is known, the transpiration rate per time period can be estimated by using:

T = ET – E

Where,
T = Transpiration rate (mm/time)
ET = Evapotranspiration Rate (mm/time)
E = Evaporation rate (mm/time)

Estimates for evapotranspiration are made by measuring losses of water using soil sampling tubes and
lysimeters (pervious bottom tubes). Field measures are in general very costly or difficult; thus, empirical
equations have been developed using generally available climatic data. Some typical equations are:

1. Thornthwaite’s (1944):
10𝑡
ET = 1.6( 𝑇𝐸 )a

Where
 a = 0.49239 + 0.01792TE
ET = monthly evapotranspiration (cm)
t = mean monthly temperature (◦C)
TE = Thornthwaite’s Temperature Efficiency

𝑡𝑖
Index = ∑12
𝑖=1( 5 )
1.514

(This equation usually has to be adjusted for time of year (month) and latitude)

2. Blaney and Criddle (1950):

ET = kpt/100

Where
k = consumptive use coefficient
p = percent of daytime hours per year in the study month
ET = monthly evapotranspiration (in)

Values for k and p are found in tables 4.5 and 4.6. When a range of k values is presented, the
lower values are for coastal areas with the higher values for arid lands. Also shown in table 4.5 are ranges
of water transpired during the growing season per equal weight of dry matter grown.
The above equations estimate potential evapotranspiration. It is that quantity of water vapor that
is not constrained by an inadequate moisture supply. When soil moisture is a constraint, potential
evapotranspiration is never attained. The water budget method is one way of estimating
evapotranspiration rather than potential evapotranspiration. The water budget method is more
appropriate for monthly, seasonal or yearly time intervals. The calculation of starting and ending
watershed storage can reduce the error of estimation, but over a longer period of time the difference in
storage can be assumed equal to zero.
TABLE 4.5 Seasonal Potential Consumptive-Use Coefficients, k
GRAM OF WATER
LENGTH OF GROWING
Crop k PER GRAM DRY
SEASON OR PERIOD
MATTER GROWN
Alfalfa Between frosts 0.80 – 0.85 700 – 1000
Beans 3 months 0.60 – 0.70 350 – 600
Corn 4 months 0.75 – 0.85 250 – 350
Cotton 7 months 0.65 – 0.75 500 – 700
Orchard, Citrus 7 months 0.50 – 0.65 300 – 600
Walnuts Between frosts 0.70 250 – 400
Deciduous Between frosts 0.60 – 0.70 300 – 700
Pasture, grass Between frosts 0.60 – 0.75 300 – 600
Ladino clover Between frosts 0.80 – 0.85 300 – 800
Potatoes 3 ½ months 0.65 – 0.75 300 – 600
Rice 3-5 months 1.00 – 1. 20 609 – 900
Sugar Beets 6 months 0.65 – 0.75 300 – 500
Tomatoes 4 months 0.70 500 – 800
Vegetables, small 3 months 0.60 400 – 800
Source: Criddle, 1958; Blaney, 1959
TABLE 4.6 Daytime hours Percentages, p
LATITUDE (DEG) JAN FEB MAR APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
North
60 4.67 5.65 8.08 9.65 11.74 12.39 12.31 10.70 8.57 6.98 5.04 4.22
50 5.98 6.30 8.24 9.24 10.68 10.91 10.99 10.00 8.46 7.45 6.10 5.65
40 6.76 6.72 8.33 8.95 10.02 10.08 10.22 9.54 8.39 7.75 6.72 6.52
35 7.05 6.88 8.35 8.83 9.76 9.77 9.93 9.37 8.36 7.87 6.97 6.86
30 7.30 7.03 8.38 8.72 9.53 9.49 9.67 9.22 8.33 7.99 7.19 7.15
25 7.53 7.14 8.39 8.61 9.33 9.23 9.45 9.09 8.32 8.09 7.40 7.42
20 7.74 7.25 8.41 8.52 9.15 9.00 9.25 8.96 8.30 8.18 7.58 7.66
15 7.94 7.36 8.43 8.44 8.98 8.80 9.05 8.83 8.28 8.26 7.75 7.88
10 8.13 7.47 8.45 8.37 8.81 8.60 8.86 8.71 8.25 8.34 7.91 8.10
0 8.50 7.66 8.49 8.21 8.50 8.22 8.50 8.49 8.21 8.50 8.22 8.50
South
10 8.86 7.87 8.53 8.09 8.18 7.86 8.14 8.27 8.17 8.62 8.53 8.88
20 9.24 8.09 8.57 7.94 7.85 7.43 7.76 8.03 8.13 8.76 8.87 9.33
30 9.70 8.33 8.62 7.73 7.45 6.96 7.31 7.76 8.07 8.97 9.24 9.85
40 10.27 8.63 8.67 7.49 6.97 6.37 6.76 7.41 8.05 9.21 9.71 10.49
Source: From Criddle, 1959
TABLE 4.7 North Florida Evapotranspiration Data (Latitude 28◦ N, Longitude 80◦ W)

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
MONTH MONTH
(cm/mo) (cm/mo)
JANUARY 3.05 JULY 12.95
FEBRUARY 4.88 AUGUST 11.40
MARCH 6.86 SEPTEMBER 9.15
APRIL 10.29 OCTOBER 6.60
MAY 12.20 NOVEMBER 4.55
JUNE 12.95 DECEMBER 3.00