Monitoring the variations of evapotranspiration due to land use/cover change in a semiarid shrubland

Evapotranspiration (E-T) is an important process in the hydrological cycle, and vegetation change is a primary factor that affects E-T. In this study, we analyzed the annual and inter-annual characteristics of E-T using continuous observation data from eddy covariance (EC) measurement over 4 years (1 July 2011 to 30 June 2015) in a semiarid shrubland of Mu Us Sandy Land, China. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was demonstrated as the predominant factor that influences the seasonal variations in E-T. Additionally, during the land degradation and vegetation rehabilitation processes, E-T and normalized E-T both increased due to the integrated effects of the changes in vegetation type, topography, and soil surface characteristics. This study could improve our understanding of the effects of land use/cover change on E-T in the fragile ecosystem of semiarid regions and provide a scientific reference for the sustainable management of regional land and water resources.

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