Version 1.1.0—pyfao56: FAO-56 evapotranspiration in Python

Abstract

The pyfao56 software package is a Python-based implementation of the standardized evapotranspiration (ET) methodologies described in Irrigation and Drainage paper No. 56 of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, commonly known as FAO-56. This update improved pyfao56 by (1) fixing a major bug related to testing for availability of weather data, (2) expanding options for reference ET calculations including hourly estimates, (3) adding functionality to specify variable soil characteristics with profile depth, (4) including optional water balance enhancements that consider soil water depletion for both the dynamic and maximum root zones, and (5) enabling the use of either constant or variable depletion fraction (p). The updates increase software versatility and expand options for use, while also maintaining the core functionality of the original software design.

Keywords

• Crop coefficient
• Evapotranspiration
• Irrigation
• Precision agriculture
• Soil
• Water management