Evaluation of FAO-56 Penman-Monteith Model with Limited Data and the Valiantzas Models for Estimating Grass-Reference Evapotranspiration in Sahelian Conditions
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 11
Abstract
Accurate determination of grass-reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is very important for agricultural, hydrological, and environmental studies, especially under increasing water scarcity and climate mitigation conditions. The FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (FAO-PM) model is renowned for being the most accurate model; however, it requires a full climate data set that is not always available at all weather stations, especially in most of the developing countries. Thus, using ETo models that require a reduced set of climate data continues to be an important alternative in such cases. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith equation to estimate ETo with limited climate data, and (2) evaluate two of the latest ETo equations developed by Valiantzas. Climatic variables, including maximum and minimum air temperature, maximum and minimum relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed were collected from eight weather stations across Burkina Faso. The results showed that when solar radiation data were missing, solar radiation estimation from maximum and minimum daily air temperatures generated accurate estimates of ETo, with regression slope from 0.98 to 1.04, root mean squared error (RMSE) less than , and low mean biased error (MBE) within the range of . In the case of lacking relative humidity data, the RMSE and MBE varied from 0.07 to and from to , respectively, and the regression slope varied from 0.90 to 1.14, and the coefficient of determination () ranged from 0.77 to 0.92. In the case of missing wind speed, the method that used long-term average wind speed (ETo-um) resulted in the best estimates, especially for lower ETo rates () as compared to the method (ETo-w2) that adopted the default wind speed of . Indeed the ETo-w2 method overestimated ETo from 4 to 35%. With the ETo-um method, RMSE varied from 0.43 to and the MBE varied from to whereas the (ETo-w2) method had the RMSE ranging from 0.59 to and the MBE ranging from 0.26 to . The FAO-PM equation had the least accurate performance when only temperature data is available. The Valiantzas 1 equation that uses only air temperature and relative humidity data was not suitable and is not recommended for use in Burkina Faso climatic conditions. The Valiantzas 2 equation with full climatic data resulted in good ETo estimates relative to the FAO-PM ETo with full data under the Burkina Faso climate conditions; however, the FAO-PM equation is recommended because of limitations of the Valiantzas 2 equation under limited data conditions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Allen, R. G. (1997). “Self-calibrating method for estimating solar radiation from air temperature.” Hydrol. Eng., 56–67.
Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Howell, T. A., and Jensen, M. E. (2011). “Evapotranspiration information reporting: II. Recommended documentation.” Agric. Water Manage., 98(6), 921–929.
Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D., and Smith, M. (1998). “Crop evapotranspiration: Guidelines for computing crop water requirements.” FAO, Rome.
ASCE-EWRI. (2005). “The ASCE standardized reference evapotranspiration equation.” Reston, VA.
Azhar, A. H., and Perera, B. J. C. (2011). “Evaluation of reference evapotranspiration estimation methods under Southeast Australian conditions.” J. Irrig. Drain Eng., 268–279.
Benli, B., Bruggeman, A., Oweis, T., and Üstün, H. (2010). “Performance of Penman-Monteith FAO56 in a semiarid highland environment.” J. Irrig. Drain Eng., 757–765.
Blaney, H. F., and Criddle, W. D. (1962). “Determining consumptive use and irrigation water requirements.”, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Beltsville.
Bodner, G., Loiskandl, W., and Kaulm, H. (2007). “Cover crop evapotranspiration under semi-arid conditions using FAO dual crop coefficient method with water stress compensation.” Agric. Water Manage., 93(3), 85–98.
Córdova, M., Carrillo-Rojas, G., Crespo, P., Wilcox, B., and Célleri, R. (2015). “Evaluation of the Penman-Monteith (FAO 56 PM) method for calculating reference evapotranspiration using limited data. Application to the Wet Páramo of Southern Ecuador.” Mt. Res. Dev., 35(3), 230–239.
Djaman, K., et al. (2015). “Evaluation of sixteen reference evapotranspiration methods under Sahelian conditions in the Senegal River Valley.” J. Hydrol.: Reg. Stud., 3, 139–159.
Doorenbos, J., and Pruitt, W. O. (1977). “Guidelines for predicting crop water requirements.” FAO, Rome.
Droogers, P., and Allen, R. G. (2002). “Estimating reference evapotranspiration under inaccurate data conditions.” Irrig. Drain. Syst., 16(1), 33–45.
Fisher, D., and Pringle III, H. (2013). “Evaluation of alternative methods for estimating reference evapotranspiration.” Agric. Sci., 4, 51–60.
Garcia, M., Raes, D., Allen, R., and Herbas, C. (2004). “Dynamics of reference evapotranspiration in the Bolivian highlands (Altiplano).” Agric. Forest Meteorol., 125(1–2), 67–82.
Gelcer, E. M., Fraisse, C. W., and Sentelhas, P. C. (2010). “Evaluation of methodologies to estimate reference evapotranspiration in Florida.” Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc., 123, 189–195.
Hargreaves, G. H., and Allen, R. G. (2003). “History and evaluation of Hargreaves evapotranspiration equation.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 53–63.
Hargreaves, G. H., and Samani, Z. A. (1982). “Estimating potential evapotranspiration.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 108(3), 225–230.
Hargreaves, G. H., and Samani, Z. A. (1985). “Reference crop evapotranspiration from temperature.” Appl. Eng. Agric., 1(2), 96–99.
Irmak, S., Irmak, A., Howell, T. A., Martin, D. L., Payero, J. O., and Copeland, K. S. (2008). “Variability analyses of alfalfa-reference to grass-reference evapotranspiration ratios in growing and dormant seasons.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 147–159.
Irmak, S., Irmak, A., and Jones, J. W. (2003). “Solar and net radiation-based equations to estimate reference evapotranspiration in humid climates.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 336–347.
Jabloun, M., and Sahli, A. (2008). “Evaluation of FAO-56 methodology for estimating reference evapotranspiration using limited climatic data application to Tunisia.” Agrc. Water Manage., 95(6), 707–715.
Kisi, O. (2014). “Closure to ‘Comparison of different empirical methods for estimating daily reference evapotranspiration in Mediterranean climate’ by Ozgur Kisi.” J. Irrig. Drain Eng., 07014045.
Kisi, O., and Zounemat-Kermani, M. (2014). “Comparison of two different adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems in modelling daily reference evapotranspiration.” Water Resour. Manage., 28(9), 2655–2675.
Kwon, H., and Choi, M. (2011). “Error assessment of climate variables for FAO-56 reference evapotranspiration.” Meteorol. Atmos. Phys., 112(1–2), 81–90.
Li, Z., Zheng, F. L., and Liu, W. Z. (2012). “Spatiotemporal characteristics of reference evapotranspiration during 1961–2009 and its projected changes during 2011–2099 on the Loess Plateau of China.” Agric. Forest Meteorol., 154–155, 147–155.
Lima, J., Antonino, A., Souza, E., Hammecker, C., Montenegro, S., and Lira, C. (2013). “Calibration of Hargreaves-Samani equation for estimating reference evapotranspiration in sub-humid region of Brazil.” J. Water Resour. Prot., 5(12A), 1–5.
López-Urrea, R., Martín de Santa Olalla, F., Fabeiro, C., and Moratalla, A. (2006). “Testing evapotranspiration equations using lysimeter observations in a semiarid climate.” Agric. Water Manage., 85(1–2), 15–26.
Martinez, C. J., and Thepadia, M. (2010). “Estimating reference evapotranspiration with minimum data in Florida, USA.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 494–501.
Martınez-Cob, A., and Tejero-Juste, M. (2004). “A wind-based qualitative calibration of the Hargreaves ETo estimation equation in semiarid regions.” Agric. Water Manage., 64(3), 251–264.
Mendonça, J. C., Sousa, E. F., de Bernardo, S., Dias, G. P., and Grippa, S. (2003). “Comparison of estimation methods of reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) for northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil.” Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, 7(2), 275–279.
Popova, Z., Kercheva, M., and Pereira, L. (2006). “Validation of the FAO methodology for computing ETo with limited data: Application to south Bulgaria.” Irrig. Drain., 55(2), 201–215.
Rahimikhoob, A., Behbahani, M. R., and Fakheri, J. (2012). “An evaluation of four reference evapotranspiration models in a subtropical climate.” Water Resour. Manage., 26(10), 2867–2881.
Rojas, J., and Sheffield, R. (2013). “Evaluation of daily reference evapotranspiration methods as compared with the ASCE-EWRI Penman-Monteith equation using limited weather data in northeast Louisiana.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 285–292.
Sentelhas, P. C., Gillespie, T. J., and Santos, E. A. (2010). “Evaluation of FAO Penman-Monteith and alternative methods for estimating reference evapotranspiration with missing data in Southern Ontario, Canada.” Agric. Water Manage., 97(5), 635–644.
Snyder, R. L. (1992). “Equation for evaporation pan to evapotranspiration conversions.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 977–980.
Stockle, C. O., Kjelgaard, J., and Bellocchi, G. (2004). “Evaluation of estimated weather data for calculating Penman-Monteith reference crop evapotranspiration.” Irrig. Sci., 23(1), 39–46.
Tabari, H., Grismer, M., and Trajkovic, S. (2013). “Comparative analysis of 31 reference evapotranspiration methods under humid conditions.” Irrig. Sci., 31(2), 107–117.
Thornthwaite, C. W. (1948). “An approach towards a rational classification of climate.” Geogr. Rev., 38(1), 55–94.
Todorovic, M., Karic, B., and Pereira, L. S. (2013). “Reference evapotranspiration estimate with limited weather data across a range of Mediterranean climates.” J. Hydrol., 481, 166–176.
Trajkovic, S., and Kolakovic, S. (2009). “Evaluation of reference evapotranspiration equations under humid conditions.” Water Resour. Manage., 23(14), 3057–3067.
Utset, A., Farre, I., Martinez-Cob, A., and Cavero, J. (2004). “Comparing Penman-Monteith and Priestley-Taylor approaches as reference evapotranspiration inputs for modeling maize water use under Mediterranean conditions.” Agric. Water Manage., 66(3), 205–219.
Valiantzas, J. D. (2013a). “Simple ETo forms of Penman’s equation without wind and/or humidity data. I: Theoretical development.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 1–8.
Valiantzas, J. D. (2013b). “Simple ETo forms of Penman’s equation without wind and/or humidity data. II: Comparisons with reduced set-FAO and other methodologies.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 9–19.
Valiantzas, J. D. (2013c). “Simplified forms for the standardized FAO-56 Penman-Monteith reference evapotranspiration using limited data.” J. Hydrol., 505, 13–23.
Valiantzas, J. D. (2013d). “Simplified reference evapotranspiration formula using an empirical impact factor for Penman’s aerodynamic term.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 108–114.
Valipour, M. (2015a). “Importance of solar radiation, temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed for calculation of reference.” Archiv. Agron. Soil Sci., 61 (2),.239–255.
Valipour, M. (2015b). “Investigation of Valiantzas’ evapotranspiration equation in Iran.” Theor. Appl. Climatol., 121 (1), 267–278.
Xing, Z., Chow, L., Meng, F., Rees, H. W., Monteith, J., and Lionel, S. (2008). “Testing reference evapotranspiration estimation methods using evaporation pan and modeling in maritime region of Canada.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 417–424.
Xystrakis, F., and Matzarakis, A. (2011). “Evaluation of 13 empirical reference potential evapotranspiration equations on the island of Crete in southern Greece.” J. Irrig. Drain Eng., 211–222.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 11 • November 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 5, 2016
Accepted: Mar 14, 2016
Published online: Jun 7, 2016
Published in print: Nov 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Nov 7, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.