The influence of vapor pressure deficit changes on global terrestrial evapotranspiration
- 1Northwest Normal University (Lanzhou, China)
Abstract
Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) has been widely recognized as a key driver of uncertainty in future global evapotranspiration ( E ) trends. Accurately characterizing the spatiotemporal dynamics of VPD and elucidating its influence on terrestrial E are critical for understanding land–atmosphere water and energy feedback processes under climate warming. However, previous studies have largely focused on the physiological regulation of plant transpiration ( E t ) at the leaf or canopy scale, leaving the quantitative understanding of VPD– E interactions at the global scale incomplete. By integrating multi-source remote sensing products and reanalysis datasets, this study quantitatively evaluates the role of VPD in regulating global terrestrial E variability. The main findings are as follows: (1) Approximately 60.7 % of global land area exhibits positive apparent sensitivity of E to VPD, with a global mean sensitivity of 293.3±62.3 mm hPa ⁻¹ , and stronger responses observed in warm and humid regions. (2) VPD is positively correlated with E t overall, particularly in mid-to-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, whereas its correlation with bare soil evaporation ( E b ) is weaker and tends to be negative in water-limited regions. (3) The VPD– E relationship exhibits a pronounced aridity-dependent threshold, which decreases progressively from arid (1.90 kPa) and semi-arid (1.46 kPa) regions to semi-humid (0.49 kPa) and humid (0.47 kPa) regions. Further path analysis reveals that VPD regulates E through interconnected pathways involving atmospheric demand, soil moisture, vegetation physiology, and energy supply, with an overall negative net effect on E . This study clarifies the dominant pathways and regional heterogeneity of VPD– E interactions at the global scale, providing quantitative constraints for predicting the response of the terrestrial water cycle to increasing atmospheric aridity.
Versions
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BibTeX
@article{miao2026influence,
title = {{The influence of vapor pressure deficit changes on global terrestrial evapotranspiration}},
author = {Yuxin Miao and Guofeng Zhu and Yuhao Wang and Enwei Huang and Qingyang Wang and Yani Gun and Zhijie Zheng and Jiangwei Yang and Wenmin Li and Ziwen Liu},
journal = {Hydrology and Earth System Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5194/hess-30-6249-2026},
url = {https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/30/6249/2026/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The influence of vapor pressure deficit changes on global terrestrial evapotranspiration
AU - Yuxin Miao
AU - Guofeng Zhu
AU - Yuhao Wang
AU - Enwei Huang
AU - Qingyang Wang
AU - Yani Gun
AU - Zhijie Zheng
AU - Jiangwei Yang
AU - Wenmin Li
AU - Ziwen Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
DO - 10.5194/hess-30-6249-2026
UR - https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/30/6249/2026/
AB - Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) has been widely recognized as a key driver of uncertainty in future global evapotranspiration ( E ) trends. Accurately characterizing the spatiotemporal dynamics of VPD and elucidating its influence on terrestrial E are critical for understanding land–atmosphere water and energy feedback processes under climate warming. However, previous studies have largely focused on the physiological regulation of plant transpiration ( E t ) at the leaf or canopy scale, leaving the quantitative understanding of VPD– E interactions at the global scale incomplete. By integrating multi-source remote sensing products and reanalysis datasets, this study quantitatively evaluates the role of VPD in regulating global terrestrial E variability. The main findings are as follows: (1) Approximately 60.7 % of global land area exhibits positive apparent sensitivity of E to VPD, with a global mean sensitivity of 293.3±62.3 mm hPa ⁻¹ , and stronger responses observed in warm and humid regions. (2) VPD is positively correlated with E t overall, particularly in mid-to-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, whereas its correlation with bare soil evaporation ( E b ) is weaker and tends to be negative in water-limited regions. (3) The VPD– E relationship exhibits a pronounced aridity-dependent threshold, which decreases progressively from arid (1.90 kPa) and semi-arid (1.46 kPa) regions to semi-humid (0.49 kPa) and humid (0.47 kPa) regions. Further path analysis reveals that VPD regulates E through interconnected pathways involving atmospheric demand, soil moisture, vegetation physiology, and energy supply, with an overall negative net effect on E . This study clarifies the dominant pathways and regional heterogeneity of VPD– E interactions at the global scale, providing quantitative constraints for predicting the response of the terrestrial water cycle to increasing atmospheric aridity.
SN - 1607-7938
ER -