Evaporation is one of the most important ways for soil water loss of shallow layer from karst areas in Southwest China. The storage of soil water in shallow layer is very important for agricultural production and ecological restoration in these regions. Based on a series of indoor evaporation experiments, four moss crust biomass levels (0, 0.32, 0.64 and 0.95 kg/m²) and three pine needle biomass levels (0, 0.32 and 0.64 kg/m²) were used to estimate the influences of moss crusts and pine needles on the evaporation losses and the temporal and spatial distribution of soil surface temperature. The performances of three different evaporation models (Black, Rose and Bulk) to simulate the evaporation process of carbonate laterite in karst forest were compared. The results showed that the cumulative evaporation and evaporation rate of moss and pine needle coverage were significantly reduced (P<0.05), and the cumulative evaporation of soil treated with moss inoculation (0.95 kg/m²) and pine needle coverage (0.64 kg/m²) was reduced by 36.9% compared with that of bare soil. Soil water content was significantly increased by moss crusts and pine needles (P<0.05). Moss crusts and pine needles increased the average temperature of the topsoil, and the effect of pine needles on soil temperature was stronger than that of moss crusts. Black, Rose, and Bulk models could well simulate the evaporation process of carbonate derived laterite, but Black model had better performance than Rose and Bulk models. Our results can provide theoretical support for the analysis of water balance and strengthen the understanding of surface hydrologic process in karst forests.