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Loss of water from a soil by evaporation or from plants by transpiration

evapotranspiration (Wikipedia)

Evapotranspiration (ET) refers to the combined processes which move water from the Earth's surface (open water and ice surfaces, bare soil and vegetation) into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpiration (evaporation that occurs through the stomata, or openings, in plant leaves). Evapotranspiration is an important part of the local water cycle and climate, and measurement of it plays a key role in agricultural irrigation and water resource management.

Water cycle of the Earth's surface, showing the individual components of transpiration and evaporation that make up evapotranspiration. Other closely related processes shown are runoff and groundwater recharge.
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Global distribution of potential evapotranspiration averaged over the years 1981–2010 from the CHELSA-BIOCLIM+ data set
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