To elucidate the non-linear evolution characteristics of regional potential evapotranspiration (PET) in China under climate change, and specifically to quantify the often-overlooked physiological regulation effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, this study employed high-precision meteorological data from 1961 to 2022 to calculate PET using an improved FAO Penman-Monteith (FAO-PM) equation that incorporates a CO2 stomatal resistance mechanism. A segmented model and a sensitivity attribution method were employed to accurately identify the trend turning points of PET and dissect its underlying driving mechanisms. The results indicate the following: 1) The trend of annual PET in China exhibited a distinct turning point in 1998, shifting from a significant decrease (-3.10 mm/a) during 1961-1998 to a marked increase (7.57 mm/a) during 1998-2022; 2) PET was most sensitive to changes in relative humidity (sensitivity coefficient of -1.57), followed by air temperature and wind speed; 3) The attribution analysis revealed phased differences in the driving mechanisms. The decrease in PET before 1998 was primarily driven by declining wind speeds (-13.45% contribution), which offset the positive effects of rising temperatures. Conversely, the surge in PET after 1998 was mainly driven by a significant decline in relative humidity (18.87% contribution), with rebounding wind speeds and rising temperatures acting as synergistic amplifiers; 4) Regardless of the overarching PET trend, the continuous elevation of atmospheric CO2 concentrations consistently generated a negative effect (-1.77% and -1.71%) via the stomatal regulation mechanism, partially offsetting the increased evaporative demand induced by climate warming. This study confirms that the evolution of PET in China has undergone a dynamic mechanism shift from a “wind speed-dominated decrease” to a “humidity-dominated increase”.
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