title: Reimplementation of the Biome-BGC model to simulate successional change.
abstract: Biogeochemical process models are increasingly employed to simulate current and future forest dynamics, but most simulate only a single canopy type. This limitation means that mixed stands, canopy succession and understory dynamics cannot be modeled, severe handicaps in many forests. The goals of this study were to develop a version of Biome-BGC that supported multiple, interacting vegetation types, and to assess its performance and limitations by comparing modeled results to published data from a 150-year boreal black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) chronosequence in northern Manitoba, Canada. Model data structures and logic were modified to support an arbitrary number of interacting vegetation types; an explicit height calculation was necessary to prioritize radiation and precipitation interception. Two vegetation types, evergreen needle-leaf and deciduous broadleaf, were modeled based on site-specific meteorological and physiological data. The new version of Biome-BGC reliably simulated observed changes in leaf area, net primary production and carbon stocks, and should be useful for modeling the dynamics of mixed-species stands and ecological succession. We discuss the strengths and limitations of Biome-BGC for this application, and note areas in which further work is necessary for reliable simulation of boreal biogeochemical cycling at a landscape scale.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Ecology and Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA. bpbond@wisc.edu
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bond-Lamberty
authors.forename: Stith T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Gower
authors.forename: Douglas E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Ahl
authors.forename: Peter E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Thornton
mesh_terms: D001272:Atmosphere; D017753:Ecosystem; D008027:Light; D008954:Models, Biological; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000502:physiology; D028222:Picea / Q000502:physiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012987:Soil; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D014867:Water; D009584:Nitrogen