CHARACTERISTICS OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION IN THE YANGTZE DELTA REGION FOR PAST 40 YEARS AND MAIN INFLUENCE FACTORS*

The Kotoda-Bortan (KB) model (Liu and Kotoda 1998) used for estimating evapotranspiration was modified.The monthly evapotranspiration for various surfaces in the Yangtze Delta (118-123°E,28-33°N) was calculated using the modified model,and the annual regional average of evapotranspiration from 1961 to 1998 was obtained using a weighting method.The spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of evapotranspiration were analyzed.It is found that the regional averaged annual evapotranspiration has a decreasing trend over the past 40 years;the value dropped by about 24mm from 1961 to 1998.The main reason for this tendency is due to the change of land surface condition.Compared with the case of 1980,the current proportions of paddy field,farmland and water surface have decreased by 1.353%,4.42% and 2.597% respectively,while the proportions of urban area and non-agriculture land have increased by 3.345%.These changes clearly result in a decrease of the regional averaged evapotranspiration.