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Updated: Sep 13, 2025
13:27
Exploring the Effects of Atmospheric Forcings on Evaporation: Experimental Integration of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Shallow Subsurface
Published on: June 8, 2015
8.8K
Decoupling vegetation and soil-moisture interaction in evapotranspiration interannual variability.
Xiaowen Huang1,2, Shijing Liang2,3,4, Alan D Ziegler5
1State Key Laboratory of Soil Pollution Control and Safety, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.
Iscience
|July 31, 2025
Summary
Vegetation significantly influences evapotranspiration (ET) variability through land-atmosphere coupling (LAC). Understanding this dynamic is crucial for predicting climate variability and extreme weather events in a warming world.
Area of Science:
- Earth System Science
- Climate Science
- Ecology
Background:
- Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key driver of climate variability via land-atmosphere coupling (LAC).
- The interplay between vegetation, soil moisture, and ET in LAC is not fully understood.
- Existing research often underestimates the role of vegetation in ET dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To differentiate the impacts of soil moisture and vegetation on ET interannual variability.
- To quantify the contribution of soil moisture versus vegetation to ET variability across different climate zones.
- To assess the implications of vegetation's role in ET for climate change projections.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Community Earth System Model (CESM) for global simulations.
- Analyzed the coupling strength between soil moisture, vegetation, and ET.
- Differentiated ET variability contributions from soil evaporation and plant transpiration.
Main Results:
- Globally, 55.7% of land exhibits strong coupling between soil moisture, vegetation, and ET.
- Soil moisture-ET coupling is dominant in low-latitude LAC regions.
- Vegetation-ET coupling prevails in arid and high-latitude areas, with transpiration showing greater variability than soil evaporation in hot, dry regions.
Conclusions:
- Vegetation plays a critical, often underestimated, role in ET dynamics.
- Current LAC assessments may overlook vegetation's influence, potentially leading to underestimations of extreme event risks.
- Accurate representation of vegetation's impact on ET is vital for reliable climate change modeling and adaptation strategies.
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