DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjavs.2026.v13i05.001

Pages: 88-94

Actual evapotranspiration is a key parameter for the water balance, crop water requirements and hydrological forecasting. It is therefore very important to understand this parameter in order to comprehend water balance phenomena and manage water resources. Furthermore, remote sensing has proven to be a useful tool for estimating this parameter, thanks to the accuracy and ease of access of this data. This study enabled us to estimate actual evapotranspiration in the Denguélé district using the SEBAL model and Sentinel imagery. Using this model, which is based on the energy balance, the aim of this study was to determine the net radiation, the ground heat flux and the sensible heat flux. Two dates were selected: 21 January 2018 (during the dry season) and 20 June 2018 (during the rainy season). The results for actual evapotranspiration vary depending on the vegetation cover. The highest values are observed in areas with dense vegetation (2.35 and 2.85 mm/day on 21 January 2018 and 6 and 6.52 mm/day on 20 June 2018), whilst areas of bare soil have lower evapotranspiration (between 1.15 and 2 mm/day on 21 January 2018 and between 4.5 and 5.33 mm/day on 20 June 2018). Although these estimates are of limited scope, the model used and the estimated climate parameters appear to hold considerable promise for effective application on a large scale.