Evapotranspiration is the process of evaporation and transpiration combined. Evaporation is when water evaporates from the ground. This is when the sunlight heats the water and turns it into a gas called water vapor. As the sunlight heats up the water, the molecules get farther apart and start to turn into a gas or water vapor! That vapor rises into the air. Transpiration is when plants let out water through their leaves. Plants put down roots into the soil to draw water and nutrients up into the stems and leaves. Some of this water is returned to the air by transpiration. Evapotranspiration is when the transpired water from plants’ leaves evaporates into the air! Evapotranspiration makes up over 10% of the air moisture!! That is what evapotranspiration is.
