© 2005 Heron Publishing—Victoria, Canada
Reimplementation of the Biome-BGC model to simulate successional change
Ben Bond-Lamberty (1, 2), Stith T. Gower (1), Douglas E. Ahl (1) and Peter E. Thornton (3)
1. Department of Forest Ecology and Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA / 2. Corresponding author (bpbond@wisc.edu) / 3. The National Center for Atmospheric Research, Climate and Global Dynamics Division, 1850 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder, CO 80305,
USA / Received June 15, 2004; accepted September 10, 2004; published online February 1, 2005
Summary
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.
Keywords:
black spruce, boreal forest, carbon, ecological modeling.
