The Future of Evapotranspiration: Global requirements for ecosystem functioning, carbon and climate feedbacks, agricultural management, and water resources

Joshua B. Fisher, Forrest Melton, Elizabeth Middleton, Christopher Hain, Martha Anderson, Richard Allen, Matthew McCabe, Simon Hook, Dennis Baldocchi, Philip A. Townsend, Ayse Kilic, Kevin Tu, Diego G. Miralles, Johan Perret, Jean-Pierre Lagouarde, Duane Waliser, Adam J. Purdy, Andrew French, David Schimel, James S. FamigliettiGraeme Stephens, Eric F. Wood

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

630 Scopus citations

Abstract

The fate of the terrestrial biosphere is highly uncertain given recent and projected changes in climate. This is especially acute for impacts associated with changes in drought frequency and intensity on the distribution and timing of water availability. The development of effective adaptation strategies for these emerging threats to food and water security are compromised by limitations in our understanding of how natural and managed ecosystems are responding to changing hydrological and climatological regimes. This information gap is exacerbated by insufficient monitoring capabilities from local to global scales. Here, we describe how evapotranspiration (ET) represents the key variable in linking ecosystem functioning, carbon and climate feedbacks, agricultural management, and water resources, and highlight both the outstanding science and applications questions and the actions, especially from a space-based perspective, necessary to advance them. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2618-2626
Number of pages9
JournalWater Resources Research
Volume53
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 10 2017

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