Articles | Volume 30, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-6075-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-6075-2026
Research article
 | 
29 Sep 2026
Research article |  | 29 Sep 2026

Incorporating spatial heterogeneity into evapotranspiration estimates for bioretention basins

Joshua S. Caplan, Martin Bouda, Allyson B. Salisbury, Michael Alonzo, Jonathan E. Nyquist, Laura Toran, and Sasha W. Eisenman

Related authors

The Global Spectra-Trait Initiative: A database of paired leaf spectroscopy and functional traits associated with leaf photosynthetic capacity
Julien Lamour, Shawn P. Serbin, Alistair Rogers, Kelvin T. Acebron, Elizabeth Ainsworth, Loren P. Albert, Michael Alonzo, Jeremiah Anderson, Owen K. Atkin, Nicolas Barbier, Mallory L. Barnes, Carl J. Bernacchi, Ninon Besson, Angela C. Burnett, Joshua S. Caplan, Jérôme Chave, Alexander W. Cheesman, Ilona Clocher, Onoriode Coast, Sabrina Coste, Holly Croft, Boya Cui, Clément Dauvissat, Kenneth J. Davidson, Christopher Doughty, Kim S. Ely, John R. Evans, Jean-Baptiste Féret, Iolanda Filella, Claire Fortunel, Peng Fu, Robert T. Furbank, Maquelle Garcia, Bruno O. Gimenez, Kaiyu Guan, Zhengfei Guo, David Heckmann, Patrick Heuret, Marney Isaac, Shan Kothari, Etsushi Kumagai, Thu Ya Kyaw, Liangyun Liu, Lingli Liu, Shuwen Liu, Joan Llusià, Troy Magney, Isabelle Maréchaux, Adam R. Martin, Katherine Meacham-Hensold, Christopher M. Montes, Romà Ogaya, Joy Ojo, Regison Oliveira, Alain Paquette, Josep Peñuelas, Antonia Debora Placido, Juan M. Posada, Xiaojin Qian, Heidi J. Renninger, Milagros Rodriguez-Caton, Andrés Rojas-González, Urte Schlüter, Giacomo Sellan, Courtney M. Siegert, Viridiana Silva-Perez, Guangqin Song, Charles D. Southwick, Daisy C. Souza, Clément Stahl, Yanjun Su, Leeladarshini Sujeeun, To-Chia Ting, Vicente Vasquez, Amrutha Vijayakumar, Marcelo Vilas-Boas, Diane R. Wang, Sheng Wang, Han Wang, Jing Wang, Xin Wang, Andreas P. M. Weber, Christopher Y. S. Wong, Jin Wu, Fengqi Wu, Shengbiao Wu, Zhengbing Yan, Dedi Yang, and Yingyi Zhao
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 245–265, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-245-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-245-2026, 2026
Short summary

Cited articles

Achanta, R., Shaji, A., Smith, K., Lucchi, A., Fua, P., and Süsstrunk, S.: SLIC superpixels compared to state-of-the-art superpixel methods, IEEE T. Pattern Anal., 34, 2274–2282, https://doi.org/10.1109/TPAMI.2012.120, 2012. 
Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D., and Smith, M.: Crop evapotranspiration: Guidelines for computing crop water requirements, FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, ISBN 92-5-104219-5, 1998. 
Alonzo, M., Dial, R. J., Schulz, B. K., Andersen, H.-E., Lewis-Clark, E., Cook, B. D., and Morton, D. C.: Mapping tall shrub biomass in Alaska at landscape scale using structure-from-motion photogrammetry and lidar, Remote Sens. Environ., 245, 111841, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111841, 2020. 
Ampomah, R., Holt, D., Smith, C., Smith, V., Sample-Lord, K., and Nyquist, J.: Modeling bioinfiltration surface dynamics through a hybrid geomorphic-infiltration model, Blue-Green Sys., 5, 152–168, https://doi.org/10.2166/bgs.2023.027, 2023. 
Download
Short summary
We sought to test and improve the modeling tools used to quantify evapotranspiration (ET) in urban bioretention basins, where plant size and shade vary widely. Using direct measurements and spatially detailed data from a basin in Philadelphia, we found that common models often produce ET estimates that differ substantially from empirical estimates. Simple corrections to standard models greatly improve agreement, helping cities better predict green stormwater infrastructure performance.
Share