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Information on evapotranspiration (ET) can help us understand water balance, particularly in forested watersheds. Previous studies in China show that ET was relatively low (30-40% of total precipitation) in the Minjiang Valley located in the upper reach of the Yangtze River Basin. However, this conclusion was derived from research on small-scale watersheds (<100 km2). The objective of this paper was to present ET information on meso-scale watersheds in the Minjiang Valley. Four meso-scale watersheds (1,700-5,600 km2) located in the Minjiang Valley were used to estimate ET using the water balance approach. We first generated forest vegetation variables (coniferous forest percentage, forest cover percentage, and derived forest vegetation index) using remote sensing data. Landsat 5 TM satellite images, acquired on June 26, 1994, were selected for the vegetation classification. Actual annual ET was calculated based on 11-year estimated precipitation and measured streamflow data (1992-2002). We also calculated potential ET (PET) using an improved Thornthwaite model for all four watersheds for the period of 1992-1998. PET can provide additional information about potential capacity of water flux to atmosphere in the region. Seasonal (dry and rainy) PET and ET for all studied watersheds were also estimated for comparison purposes as the water balance approach, at shorter than annual scales, would likely provide inaccurate estimates of ET. The dominant vegetations in the Minjiang Valley were grasslands, conifer forests, and shrub-lands. Our results confirmed that both ET and PET for three studied meso-scale watersheds in the Minjiang Valley is relatively low (39.5-43.8 and 28.2-47.7% for ET and PET, respectively), with an exception of ET in the Yuzixi watershed being 71.1%. This result is generally consistent with previous research at small watershed scales. Furthermore, the low ET across various scales in the Minjiang Valley may be related to the unique deeply cut valley environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]