1. General Model Information
Name: Simulation model of Carbon cYCle in Land Ecosystems
Acronym: SIM-CYCLE
Main medium: terrestrial
Main subject: biogeochemistry, meteorology
Organization level: Ecosystem, Ecosphere
Type of model: not specified (1D), not specified (2D)
Main application: research, simulation/optimisation tool
Keywords: carbon cycle, global change, productivity
Contact:
Akihiko Ito
JAMSTEC-FRCGC, 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0001, Japan
Phone: +81-45-778-5599
Fax: +81-45-778-5706
email: itoh@jamstec.go.jp, sim_cycle@biogeomodel.org
Author(s):
Akihiko Ito
Abstract:
Ito and Oikawa (2002; Ecological Modelling 151: 147-179)
In this paper, we present a new model of the terrestrial carbon cycle
(Sim-CYCLE), with the objectives of retrieving the carbon dynamics of various
terrestrial ecosystems and estimating their response to global environmental
change. The model can be characterized in three ways.
- It is a compartment model. Ecosystem carbon storage is divided into five
compartments: foliage, stem, root, litter, and mineral soil. This approach made
the model simple and sound, and allowed us to run the model on a broad scale;
indeed, the simulation in this paper was performed using data available at the
global scale.
- It is a process-based model. Sim-CYCLE estimates net primary production
(NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) by explicitly calculating such carbon
fluxes as gross primary production, plant respiration, and soil decomposition
on a monthly time-step; these fluxes are regulated by a multitude of
environmental factors at the physiological scale. In relation to global change,
responses to increased atmospheric CO2 and temperature should be modeled in a
mechanistic manner.
- It is a prognostic model. Sim-CYCLE is designed to be applicable not only
to the simulation of an equilibrium state under given conditions, but also to
the prediction of a transitional state under changing environmental conditions.
Importantly, Sim-CYCLE is based on the dry-matter production theory, which
enabled us to achieve the scaling-up from single-leaf to canopy and to
conceptualize the growth process. Since the model includes both radiation
and hydrological conditions, some indirect influences of the initial
environmental change can be properly evaluated.
We present a comprehensive model description and preliminary results
confirmed at the plot scale: (1) intensively in four natural ecosystems
and (2) extensively in global 21 sites. At each site, model parameters were
calibrated to capture the observed carbon dynamics (e.g., productivity and
carbon storage) at the equilibrium state. Successional growth patterns and
seasonal variations in CO2 exchange were also examined in a qualitative manner. Sim-CYCLE successfully expressed the differences between tropical forest and boreal forest and between humid forest and arid grassland in terms of productivity and carbon storage. Next, we simulated transitional ecosystem carbon dynamics, in response to step-wise atmospheric CO2 doubling and disturbance regime. The simulated temporal patterns of carbon cycle were realistic and ensured that Sim-CYCLE is an effective tool for predicting the impact of global change.
II. Technical Information
II.1 Executables:
Operating System(s):
II.2 Source-code:
Programming Language(s): C language
II.3 Manuals:
II.4 Data:
Climate, soil, and vegetation maps
III. Mathematical Information
III.1 Mathematics
Ecological Modelling 151: 147-179
III.2 Quantities
Leaf area index, aboveground and belowground biomass, soil organic matter, gross primary production (GPP), autotrophic respiration, net primary productio (NPP), heterotrophic respiration, net ecosystem production (NEP)
III.2.1 Input
Biome type, soil water holding capacity, rooting depth, latitude and longitude, air temperature and humidity, cloudiness, soil temperature, precipitation, wind velocity
III.2.2 Output
Leaf area index, aboveground and belowground biomass, soil organic matter, gross primary production (GPP), autotrophic respiration, net primary productio (NPP), heterotrophic respiration, net ecosystem production (NEP)
IV. References
Ito A. & Oikawa T. (2000) A model analysis of the relationship between climate perturbations and carbon budget anomalies in global terrestrial ecosystems: 1970-1997. Climate Research, 15, 161-183.
Ito A. & Oikawa T. (2000) The large carbon emission from terrestrial ecosystems in 1998: a model simulation. Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, 78, 103-110.
Ito A. & Oikawa T. (2002) A simulation model of the carbon cycle in land ecosystems (Sim-CYCLE): A description based on dry-matter production theory and plot-scale validation. Ecological Modelling, 151, 147-179.
Ito A. (2003) A global-scale simulation of the CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere with a mechanistic model including stable carbon isotopes, 1953-1999. Tellus, 55B, 596-612.
Ito A. & Oikawa T. (2004) Global mapping of terrestrial primary productivity and light-use efficiency with a process-based model. In: Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land (ed M. Shiyomi), pp. 343-358. TERRAPUB, Tokyo.
V. Further information in the World-Wide-Web
VI. Additional remarks
Last review of this document by: : Wed Feb 2 01:40:22 2005
Status of the document: Contributed by Akihiko Ito
last modified by
Joachim Benz Fri May 6 14:09:53 CEST 2005