(1) MODEL AND VERSION:
Full model name: VECODE (Vegetation Continuous Description model)
Host institution: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany
Key references:
Brovkin, V., Ganopolski, A. & Svirezhev, Y. (1997) A continuous climate-vegetation classification for use in climate-biosphere studies. Ecological Modelling 101, 251-261.
Ganopolski, A., Kubatzki, C., Claussen, M., Brovkin, V. & Petoukhov, V. (1998) The influence of vegetation-atmosphere-ocean interaction on climate during the mid-Holocene. Science 280, 1916-1919.
Brovkin, V., Claussen, M., Ganopolski, A. & Petoukhov, V. (1998) On the stability of the atmosphere-vegetation system in the Sahara/Sahel region. Journal of Geophysical Research D24, 31613-31624.
(2) MODEL TYPE (E.G. ECOSYSTEM, BIOGEOGRAPHY, DGVM):
DGVM
(3) PRIMARY MODEL PURPOSE:
Simulation of vegetation dynamics and carbon cycle within climate system model CLIMBER-2
(4) MODELING APPROACH:
Fractional description of vegetation cover, regressional model for NPP and parameters of the carbon cycle, explicit equations for vegetation dynamics
(5) RESOLUTION (SPATIAL, TEMPORAL):
0.5° in validation, 10° lat x 51° lon in CLIMBER-2; annual
(6) SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SCALE(S) AT WHICH THE MODEL RESULTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED:
The model is designed for simulations on a global spatial scale and on a time scale from decades to millennia. However, for model intercomparison purposes, it can be used on a fine (local) spatial resolution. Seasonal dynamics of carbon fluxes/pools are not accounted for in the present version of the model.
(7) PROCESSES AND PROCESS COMPONENTS SIMULATED (E.G. CARBON: GPP, NPP, NEP):
Carbon:
NPP, allocation of NPP between leaves and structural biomass, SOC dynamics, NEP
Water:
Soil water budget, energy balance are not accounted for in VECODE; their dynamics are calculated in climate module of CLIMBER-2
a) Soils (simple bucket, saturated/unsaturated flow, controls on water movement through the profile, etc.):
b) Energy balance: (e.g. latent, sensible heat, aet, pet):
c) Snow:
e) 'Order' of water balance: (e.g. incoming water is first evaporated from plant/soil surface, then infiltration, transpiration, runoff)
Nitrogen: No
(8) SIMULATED RESERVOIRS:
Carbon:
a) Vegetation: leaves and structural biomass
b) Litter:
c) SOC: SOC and slow decomposing litter are presented by two pools with relatively fast (~30 yr) and slow (~800 yr) dynamics
Nitrogen: No
a) Vegetation:
b) Litter:
c) SON:
Soil water: Soil water dynamics is calculated in climate module of CLIMBER-2 based on BATS scheme
(9) CALIBRATION VARIABLE(S) AND METHOD:
The model is validated globally on a base of observed climate, vegetation, and NPP/biomass distribution. It has not been validated for local sites.
(10) SCALING OF THE PROCESSES TO THE GRID CELL:
No downscaling procedure
(11) DISTURBANCE (FIRE, HARVEST, TREE REMOVAL, ETC.):
Not applied. Disturbances are implicitly taken into account because parameterizations of equilibrium vegetation distribution and time scale of vegetation dynamics are climate dependent
(12) VEGETATION I/O (E.G. POTENTIAL, ACTUAL):
Potential vegetation cover
(13) INPUT DRIVERS (CLIMATIC, SITE, VEG, SOILS) AND RESOLUTION (E.G. DAILY, MONTHLY) REQUIRED FOR MODEL INITIALIZATION:
Climatic information (temperature, precipitation) only; monthly data
(14) ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Version with seasonal dynamics is under development.