Evapotranspiration of Irrigated Crops under Warming and Elevated Atmospheric CO2: What Is the Direction of Change?

Future changes in crop evapotranspiration (ETc) are of interest to water management stakeholders. However, long-term projections are complex and merit further investigation due to uncertainties in climate data, differential responses of crops to climate and elevated atmospheric CO2, and adaptive agricultural management. We conducted factor-control simulation experiments using the process-based CropSyst model and investigated the contribution of each of these factors. Five major irrigated crops in the Columbia Basin Project area of the USA Pacific Northwest were selected as a case study and fifteen general circulation models (GCM) under two representative concentration pathways (RCP) were used as the climate forcing. Results indicated a wide range in ETc change, depending on the time frame, crop type, planting dates, and CO2 assumptions. Under the 2090s RCP8.5 scenario, ETc changes were crop-specific: +14.3% (alfalfa), +8.1% (potato), −5.1% (dry bean), −8.1% (corn), and −12.5% (spring wheat). Future elevated CO2 concentrations decreased ETc for all crops while earlier planting increased ETc for all crops except spring wheat. Changes in reference ET (ETo) only partially explains changes in ETc because crop responses are an important modulating factor; therefore, caution must be exercised in interpreting ETo changes as a proxy for ETc changes.