A Study of Shelterbelt Transpiration and Cropland Evapotranspiration in an Irrigated Area in the Middle Reaches of the Heihe River in Northwestern China

The transpiration from shelterbelts and the evapotranspiration (ET) from cropland (maize and vegetables) and orchards (apple) in an irrigated area in the middle reaches of the Heihe River, China, were estimated using a modified Penman-Monteith (P-M) formula and airborne remote sensing data. The results were compared to the shelter transpiration results obtained from measurements of sup flow in tree trunks made with thermal dissipation probes and the latent heat fluxes observed by the eddy covariance technique at flux towers in croplands. The modified P-M formula was found to be an effective means to estimate not only the cropland and orchard ET but also the shelter transpiration. The seasonal variation of shelterbelt transpiration was smaller than those of cropland and orchard ET. Estimates of ET made using the P-M formula along with the remote sensing data showed that 9.9%, 3.1%, and 87.0% of the total ET were allotted to shelterbelts, apple orchards, and cropland, respectively.