Potential evapotranspiration or PET (evaporation size)
Description
In addition to precipitation, water availability for humans, animals and plants is also determined by evapotranspiration. This evapotranspiration is a collective term for the release of water from the soil and vegetation to the atmosphere. This includes all precipitation that enters the atmosphere directly through evaporation or indirectly through ecosystems.
The ‘potential evapotranspiration’ or PET is expressed in mm of precipitation per year. This is the maximum possible evapotranspiration that occurs if there is always enough water available at the surface or in the soil. If the latter is not the case, such as during dry summer periods, the actual evapotranspiration is lower than the potential. However, this indicator describes the potential and not the actual evapotranspiration because the latter is very difficult to quantify. Reasons for this are that the evapotranspiration is strongly area dependent and is a function of the water availability at the surface and in the soil. A forest area or a highly urbanised area therefore have very different evapotranspiration.
Resources
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Description |
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https://metadata.vlaanderen.be/srv/dut/catalog.search#/metadata/425eae3a-d4ca-3f7c-9481-16c9b1f4d2eb |
Tags
- klimaatverandering
- evapotranspiratie
- verdamping
- waterbeschikbaarheid
- pet