Modified holdridge method for evapotranspiration assessment

Abstract

An important stage in the development of irrigation regimes for crops is the initial assessment of the deficit in moisture supply, which is primarily conducted by determination of the water balance of the zone. One of the simplest methods for estimation of the moisture supply deficit is a direct comparison of the income of natural humidification through precipitation, groundwater, etc., with the direct losses of moisture from the land surface, expressed by evapotranspiration (or evaporationif the surface is bare and free from any kind of vegetation). Currently, the reference method for calculating evapotranspiration according to FAO, integrated into a number of software products to simulate moisture consumption and crop productivity depending on water regime, such as CROPWAT 8.0, AquaCrop, EVAPO, etc., is the Penman-Monteith equation