Effect of actual vapor pressure on estimating evapotranspiration at Serbia

Actual vapor pressure (VP) is an important parameter that is used in many evapotranspiration equations. However, vapor pressure is difficult to measure accurately. In the humid climate, the actual vapor pressure can be derived from minimum air temperature. The objectives of this study were: first, to estimate errors that can arise if VP data are not available and have to be estimated; second, to compare the Priestley-Taylor ET0 values computed under various levels of VP data availability; and third, to evaluate the reliability of Priestley-Taylor equation as compared to the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method. The following main conclusions can be drawn: Estimated VP values generally were in closest agreement with measured VP values. The measurements of air humidity at humid locations are not indispensable for estimating reference evapotranspiration. The Priestley-Taylor method (with measured or estimated VP) provides the very good agreement with the evapotranspiration obtained by the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method except windless locations.