Evapotranspiration (ET) — the distribution and partitioning of which is strongly mediated by vegetation — is central to the water, energy and carbon cycles. In this Review, we examine the spatiotemporal patterns of ET changes and their linkages with vegetation. A multi-decadal and accelerating rise in global ET is apparent since the 1980s. Diagnostic data sets indicate increases of 0.66 ± 0.38 mm year⁻² (mean ± one standard deviation) over 1982–2011 and 1.19 ± 0.31 mm year⁻² over 2001–2020. These changes are largely related to vegetation greening (increasing leaf area index (LAI)), hence large ET increases occur in northern high latitudes where greening predominates; increased precipitation and enhanced atmospheric evaporative demand have secondary roles. The impacts of specific drivers of vegetation change on ET, such as CO₂ fertilization, land use change and nitrogen deposition, are uncertain and difficult to quantify at the global scale but have strong impacts at local and/or regional scales. Owing to projected increases in LAI, global ET is expected to continue rising with future anthropogenic warming, although ET sensitivity to greening is lower than in the present climate. Enhanced model validation with respect to long-term trends and ET partitioning, improved mechanistic understanding of key processes and greater data-model fusion techniques are essential for improved understanding of ET characteristics.

蒸散量（ET）——其分布和分配很大程度上受植被介导——是水、能量和碳循环的核心。在这篇综述中，我们研究了蒸散变化的时空模式及其与植被的联系。自 20 世纪 80 年代以来，全球 ET 的数十年加速增长是显而易见的。诊断数据集表明，1982-2011 年期间增加了 0.66 ± 0.38 毫米年^-2（平均值±一个标准差），年增加了 1.19 ± 0.31 毫米^-22001 年至 2020 年。这些变化很大程度上与植被绿化（叶面积指数（LAI）增加）有关，因此在绿化占主导地位的北部高纬度地区，ET 大幅增加；降水量增加和大气蒸发需求增加具有次要作用。植被变化的特定驱动因素对 ET 的影响，例如 CO ₂施肥、土地利用变化和氮沉降在全球范围内是不确定且难以量化的，但在地方和/或区域范围内具有强烈影响。由于 LAI 的预计增加，全球 ET 预计将随着未来人为变暖而继续上升，尽管 ET 对绿化的敏感性低于当前气候。加强对长期趋势和蒸散划分的模型验证、改进对关键过程的机械理解以及更好的数据模型融合技术对于提高对蒸散特征的理解至关重要。