Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Adjustment of Thornthwaite equation for estimating evapotranspiration in Vojvodina

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Theoretical and Applied Climatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Evapotranspiration is one of the crucial components of hydrological cycle. The Penman-Monteith method (PM) is recommended as the sole standard method for estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET0). The usage of the PM method is limited in many regions due to the lack of required weather data. In such circumstances, simple Thornthwaite equation is often used to estimate ET0. The main objectives of the present study are (i) to estimate reference evapotranspiration using different Thornthwaite approaches, (ii) to develop optimal adjusted equation, and (iii) to consider the spatial variability of the empirical coefficient(s) of adjusted equation for the study area. In this study, six Thornthwaite approaches were compared to the full set PM equation using weather data from Vojvodina region, Serbia. The original Thornthwaite equation was very poor in estimating ET0 and greatly underestimated PM values at all locations. It can be concluded that an adjustment of the Thornthwaite equation is necessary. The obtained results indicate that ET0 could be estimated from the new Th65 approach (effective temperature, k = 0.65), which reproduced statistical characteristics better compared to other Thornthwaite approaches. The spatial variability of the empirical k coefficient showed that k values varied from 0.62 to 0.69 across the study area with deviations of − 5% to 6% compared to a unique k value of 0.65. These results suggested that single regional k value can be successfully used for estimating ET0.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmadi SH, Fooladmand HR (2008) Spatially distributed monthly reference evapotranspiration derived from the calibration of Thornthwaite equation: a case study, south of Iran. Irrig Sci 26(4):303–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-007-0094-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen RG, Pereira LS, Raes D, Smith M (1998) Crop evapotranspiration guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Almorox J, Quej VH, Martí P (2015) Global performance ranking of temperature-based approaches for evapotranspiration estimation considering Köppen climate classes. J Hydrol 528:514–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almorox J, Senatore A, Quej VH, Mendicino G (2018) Worldwide assessment of the penman–Monteith temperature approach for the estimation of monthly reference evapotranspiration. Theor Appl Climatol 131(1–2):693–703

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amatya DM, Harrison CA (2016) Grass and forest potential evapotranspiration comparison using five methods in the Atlantic coastal plain. J Hydrol Eng 21(5):05016007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bautista F, Bautista D, Delgado-Carranza C (2009) Calibration of the equations of Hargreaves and Thornthwaite to estimate the potential evapotranspiration in semi–arid and subhumid tropical climates for regional applications. Atmosfera 22(4):331–348

    Google Scholar 

  • Camargo AP, Marin FR, Sentelhas PC, Picini AG (1999) Adjust of the Thornthwaite’s method to estimate the potential evapotranspiration for arid and superhumid climates, based on daily temperature amplitude. Rev Bras Agrometeorol 7(2):251–257 (in Portuguese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinpashoh Y (2006) Study of reference crop evapotranspiration in I.R. of Iran. Agric Water Manag 84:123–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farzanpour H, Shiri J, Sadraddini AA, Trajkovic S (2019) Global comparison of 20 reference evapotranspiration equations in a semi-arid region of Iran. Hydrol Res 50(1):282–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hrnjak I, Lukic T, Gavrilov MB, Markovic SB, Unkasevic M, Tosic I (2014) Aridity in Vojvodina, Serbia. Theor Appl Climatol 115:323–332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-0893-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen ME, Burman RD, Allen RG (1990) Evapotranspiration and irrigation water requirements. ASCE manuals and reports on engineering practice no. 70. ASCE, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiafar H, Babazadeh H, Marti P, Kisi O, Landeras G, Karimi S, Shiri J (2017) Evaluating the generalizability of GEP models for estimating reference evapotranspiration in distant humid and arid locations. Theor Appl Climatol 130(1–2):377–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landeras G, Bekoe E, Frederick A, Mbaye L, Cisse MD, Shiri J (2018) New alternatives for reference evapotranspiration estimation in West Africa using limited weather data and ancillary data supply strategies. Theor Appl Climatol 132(3–4):701–716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu J, Sun G, Amatya DM, McNulty SG (2005) A comparison of six potential evapotranspiration methods for regional use in the southeastern United States. J Am Water Res Assoc 41(3):621–633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer WC (1965) Meteorological drought. US weather bureau technical paper, Washington D.C.

  • Paredes P, Fontes JC, Azevedo EB, Perreira LS (2018) Daily reference crop evapotranspiration in the humid environments of Azores islands using reduced data sets: accuracy of FAO-PM temperature and Hargreaves-Samani methods. Theor Appl Climatol 134(1–2):595–611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira AR, Pruitt WO (2004) Adaptation of the Thornthwaite scheme for estimating daily reference evapotranspiration. Agric Water Manag 66(3):251–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quej VH, Almorox J, Arnaldo AJ, Moratiel M (2019) Evaluation of temperature-based methods for the estimation of reference evapotranspiration in the Yucatán peninsula, Mexico. J Hydrol Eng 24(2):05018029. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiri J (2017) Evaluation of FAO56-PM, empirical, semi-empirical and gene expression programming approaches for estimating daily reference evapotranspiration in hyper-arid regions of Iran. Agric Water Manag 188:101–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiri J (2019) Modeling reference evapotranspiration in island environments: assessing the practical implications. J Hydrol 570:265–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornthwaite CW (1948) An approach toward a rational classification of climate. Geogr Rev 38(1):55–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tosic I, Hrnjak I, Gavrilov MB, Unkasevic M, Markovic SB, Lukic T (2014) Annual and seasonal variability of precipitation in Vojvodina. Theor Appl Climatol 117:331–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-1007-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trajkovic S (2005) Temperature-based approaches for estimating reference evapotranspiration. J Irrig Drain Eng 131(4):316–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trajkovic S, Kolakovic S (2009) Evaluation of reference evapotranspiration equations under humid conditions. Water Resour Manag 23:3057–3067. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-009-9423-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsakiris G, Vangelis H (2005) Establishing a drought index incorporating evapotranspiration. Eur Water 9(10):3–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Vicente-Serrano SM, Beguería S, López-Moreno JI (2010) A multi-scalar drought index sensitive to global warming: the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index – SPEI. J Clim 23(6):1696–1718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang G, Gong T, Lu J, Lou D, Hagan DFT, Chen T (2018) On the long-term changes of drought over China (1948–2012) from different methods of potential evapotranspiration estimations. Int J Climatol 38(7):2954–2966

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu CY, Singh VP (2001) Evaluation and generalization of temperature-based methods for calculating evaporation. Hydrol Process 15:305–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The paper is a part of the research done within the bilateral project “Project changes of hydrological hazards (extreme precipitation and drought) in Hungary and Serbia” financed by the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (TR37003) and Hungarian Ministry of Science.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Nis, Aleksandra Medvedeva 14, Nis, Serbia

    Slavisa Trajkovic & Milan Gocic

  2. Department of Meteorology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, Budapest, 1117, Hungary

    Rita Pongracz & Judit Bartholy

Authors
  1. Slavisa Trajkovic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Milan Gocic
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rita Pongracz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Judit Bartholy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Slavisa Trajkovic.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Trajkovic, S., Gocic, M., Pongracz, R. et al. Adjustment of Thornthwaite equation for estimating evapotranspiration in Vojvodina. Theor Appl Climatol 138, 1231–1240 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-019-02873-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-019-02873-1

Search

Navigation