Enhanced evapotranspiration in Europe over the plant growing season: an induced regional warming effect?
This study targets at investigating the climatic mechanisms related to the variability of reference (ET0) evapotranspiration in the context of warming and climate extremes recently observed in the Mediterranean area as well as in the rest of Europe. A simplified ET0 calculation method is introduced and tested as suitable for long-term applications, whereas complex, physically-based models (e.g. FAO-56 Penman-Monteith approach) are difficult to apply. A case-study is provided for Monte Pino MetROBS site (Benevento, South Italy) giving insights in order to anticipate changing demands on water supply systems at a variety of time scales. The trend observed at the study-site is put into context of wider scenarios at European level, where positive trends in ET0 are also registered. The impact of climate change on the evaporative demand of agro-forestry systems is also discussed. This study emphasizes the importance of gaining understanding and predictability of the climate forcing mechanisms, provided that periods with ET0 high rates are expected to increase. This methodological basis of this study is suitable for assessing spatial and temporal patterns of ET0 and for its simulation on the long time scales parallel to the climate history change.
In: Deforestation Research Progress, Nova Science Publisher, pp 189-201
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