The influence of shrub spatial patterns on the partitioning of evapotranspiration in the Mojave Desert

Evapotranspiration (ET) is the largest water flux in the water budget and on average consists of 90% of the movement of water in dry ecosystems. It is also considered to be the most troublesome component to measure and partition when observing the hydrological budget of a region, which makes it extremely important to understand in an arid environment like the Mojave Desert. In the last few years, there has been an increase in attention on partitioning ET into evaporation (E) and transpiration (T), especially when trying to quantify the impact that shrub spatial patterns have on EBT and T/ET rates. Multiple parameters were inflicted on two types of soil moisture/pressure conditions: uniform and hydrostatic. We aggregated the location we chose into three different grid sizes with three different shrub spatial patterns and three different soil moisture levels. The results illustrated that grid size, soil moisture, and water distribution through the soil profile impact ET significantly. T/ET increases with cell size and moisture level at a rate higher than it does with E/ET. The significant differences between transpiration and evaporation between the two soil moisture distribution conditions were linked to an increase in grid size as well as soil moisture level. Rates also indicated that soil profiles with hydrostatic conditions have higher rates of E/ET and T/ET than they do with a uniform soil moisture distribution throughout the soil column. The significance of this research has widespread implications. Arid climates are one of the most sensitive environments on this planet. They are heavily impacted by climate change, so understanding the breakdown of the water budget within this type of region is crucial in understanding where the water is allocated to and where it ends up evaporating back into the atmosphere.