80
M. D. Alba-Rodríguez et al.
Fig. 7 Flow of the determination of garden evapotranspiration. Own elaboration
Table 4 Species factor [17]
Species factor (Fs)
Minimum
Maximum
Very low
0.01
0.10
Low
0.11
0.30
Moderate
0.31
0.60
High
0.61
0.90
Species Factor
The species factor includes the calculation of the water requirements taking into
account the characteristics of each botanical species. In Table 4, the values for the
different species can be observed depending on the needs. Two ranges are distinguished, the Fs values included within the very low range, which will be applied
in the cases of an ideal situation for the use of xero-gardening, and the Fs values
included within the high range, which will be used for species that require greater
contribution of water to maintain aesthetics.
To obtain the data, the publication made by Cotello and his team (1999), was
used, in which more than 1800 species are listed, III Manual WUCOLS (Water Use
Classification of Landscape Species) [17]. When choosing the value of Fs, it must be
taken into account that this database refers to climatic zones of California, and this
means that it may have a different value of Fs if it is located in our climatic zone of