Enhancing the spatial resolution of actual evapotranspiration maps for Hungary

Spatially distributed evapotranspiration (ET) data are crucial for the water balance calculations of the different ecosystems. The increasingly used remote sensing-based ET estimation methods allow to obtain information about spatial variability of ET at the field and regional scales. For Hungary, the most reliable actual evapotranspiration mapping model is the CREMAP (Calibration-Free Evapotranspiration Mapping), which uses MODIS surface temperature data. However, its 1 km² resolution is too coarse to be effectively used for smaller scale operations such as precision forest management or agroforestry systems. Therefore, the CREMAP ET was statistically downscaled to the resolution of 250 m * 250 m with MODIS NDVI data as a co-variable. The downscaled data were used for the comparison of ET of different forest stand types during a dry period and a wet period.

The research was supported by the EFOP-3.6.2-16-2017-00018 for the University of Sopron project.