[MODIS-driven estimation of regional evapotranspiration in Karst area of Southwest China based on the Penman-Monteith-Leuning algorithm.].

Karst area in southwestern China is characterized with complex topography, low soil water capacity, and fragile ecosystem. Accurate estimation of regional evapotranspiration is essential for ecological restoration and water resources management in southwestern China. Based on observed evapotranspiration and meteorological data, this study aimed to estimate spatial upscale evapotranspiration using the MOD15A2 LAI and Penman-Monteith-Leuning (PML) model, within which the stomatal conductance and soil wetness index were optimized by the least-square method. The results showed that the modeled ET well fitted with the observations, with the determination coefficient, Nash efficiency coefficient and RMSE being 0.85, 0.75 and 1.56 mm·d, respectively. The ET exhibited clear seasonality and reached to its maximum in summer, coinciding with vegetation phenology. The annual ET ranged from 534 to 1035 mm·a, with strong spatial heterogeneity which highly related to the precipitation. Evapotranspiration may be affected by precipitation as well as land use types.