Comparison of Calculation Methods for Potential Reference Crop Evapotranspiration ET^sub 0^ in North Xinjiang

[...]the calculation of ET0 by FAO56 PM requires detailed meteorological data, whose acquisition is quite difficult in many areas, especially in the developing regions including China. [...]other calculation methods, such as temperature model, could be applied to the estimation of ET0. [...]a lot of scholars would evaluate the results of Penman-Monteith method and modified formula of Penman12,7-101. [...]the paper makes comparative analysis on the results of ET0 by five common methods-FAO56 PM, Priestley-Taylor, FAO-17 Penman, Hargreaves-Samani and irmarkAllen fitting method based on the daily meteorological data provided by the weather station in Fuhai County, and studies the difference between the FAO56 PM method as a standard and the other four methods, and also evaluates the applicability of every method. [...]a more precise method demanding less weather data for calculating ET0 is required to support the forecasting of soil moisture in the Altay Prairie with technologies and theories. PT gave no consideration to the influence of wind speed, but the average wind speed of North Xinjiang was as large as 2.7 m/s during May and September and it even surpassed 3 m/s in May and June. [...]the calculation result was relatively small.