The Increasing Role of Vegetation Transpiration in Soil Moisture Loss across China under Global Warming

Abstract Changing pathways of soil moisture loss, either directly from (evaporation) or indirectly through vegetation (transpiration), are an indicator ecosystem and land hydrological cycle responses to the changing climate. Based on ratio transpiration evaporation, this paper investigates loss pathway changes across China using five reanalysis-type datasets for past Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) climate projections future. The results show that China, evaporation has generally increased vegetated areas, except in grasslands croplands north China. During 1981–2014, there was increase by 51.4 percentage points (pps, p < 0.01) average according reanalyses 42.7 pps 13 CMIP6 models. suggest holistic increasing trend will continue into twenty-first century at a rate 40.8 SSP585, 30.6 SSP245, ?1.0 SSP126 shared socioeconomic scenarios period 2015–2100 relative 1981–2014. Major contributions come increases over semiarid subhumid grasslands, croplands, forestlands under influence temperatures prolonged growing seasons (with twin peaks May October). future implies potential regional greening global warming risks intensifying surface dryness altering coupling between regions with water-limited ecosystems.