Spatiotemporal Variations and Influencing Factors of Terrestrial Evapotranspiration and Its Components during Different Impoundment Periods in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Identifying the spatiotemporal variations and influencing climate factors of evapotranspiration (ET) and its components (vegetation transpiration (Ec), soil evaporation (Es), and canopy interception evaporation (Ei)) can greatly improve our understanding of water cycle, carbon cycle, and biogeochemical processes in a warming climate. As the world′s largest hydropower project, the construction of the Three Gorges Project (TGP) coupled with the significant land use/land cover change affected the regional water and energy exchange in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA). This study aimed to reveal the spatiotemporal variations and influencing climate factors in ET and its components using PML-V2 products in TGRA during 2000–2020. Results showed that the mean annual ET, Ec, Es, and Ei in TGRA were 585.12, 328.49, 173.07, and 83.56 mm, respectively. The temporal variation of ET was dominated by Ec, with no significant change in the time trend. Es decreased (2.92 mm/y) and Ei increased (1.66 mm/y) significantly mainly in the cultivated land. ET, Ec, and Ei showed a similar seasonal variation pattern with a single peak, while Es presented a bimodal pattern. From the pre-impoundment to the first impoundment period, ET and Ec mainly increased in the head of TGRA, meanwhile, Es in urban area increased significantly by 27.8%. In the subsequent impoundment periods, ET and Ec changed slightly while Es sharply decreased. The Ei increased persistently during different impoundment period. The dominant climate factors affecting changes in Ec and Es were air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and sunshine hours, while the variation of Ei was mainly affected by air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and precipitation.