1. General Model Information

Name: RANGES

Acronym: RANGES

Main medium: terrestrial
Main subject: biogeochemistry
Organization level: ecosystems
Type of model: not specified
Main application:
Keywords: grassland model, grazing management, economics, growth, nutrients,transpiration

Contact:

J.D. Hanson
USDA Agricultural Research Service, Crops Research Laboratory,
Colorado State University,Fort Collins,CO 80523, USA.

W.J. Parton and G.S. Innis
Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.

Author(s):

Abstract:

The objective to develop a plant growth model to link a rangeland ecosystem with range management and range economic systems, constraining the model to the input requirements of the management and economic models. A substantial amount of production data was used to construct this conceptually very simple model. The simplistic model seems adequate for the study because the objective was to compare grazing management alternatives from the perspective of maximum economic return. The production portion of this model begins with a piecewise linear function of soil water for predicting growth. The growth rate is then modified by temperature and limited so that transpiration does not exceed available water. Nutrients (including nitrogen, phosphorous, protein, chlorophyll and vitamin A) and plant water are calculated from production using piecewise linear relationships.

Aboveground processes simulated in the RANGES model:

Growth (soil water,temperature, leaf area)
Carbon allocation (fixed allocation)

No belowground processes were simulated in the RANGES model.

(from: Hanson, J.D.; Parton, W.J.; Innis, G.S.; 1985 : Plant growth and production of grassland ecosystems: A comparison of modelling approaches. Ecological Modelling (29), P. 131-144.)

II. Technical Information

II.1 Executables:

Operating System(s):

II.2 Source-code:

Programming Language(s):

II.3 Manuals:

II.4 Data:

III. Mathematical Information

III.1 Mathematics

III.2 Quantities

III.2.1 Input

III.2.2 Output

IV. References

Gilbert, B.J.: RANGES: Grassland simulation model. Range ScienceService, 17, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 119 pp, 1975.

Hanson, J.D.; Parton, W.J.; Innis, G.S.: Plant growth and productionof grassland ecosystems - A comparison of modelling approaches. EcologicalModelling (29) 1985, P. 131-144.

V. Further information in the World-Wide-Web

VI. Additional remarks

Last review of this document by: 28.Apr 1997
Status of the document:
last modified by Tobias Gabele Wed Aug 21 21:44:48 CEST 2002