What is it about?
The NEP of different forest ecosystems in Italy was currently simulated by the use of a remote sensing driven parametric model (modified C-Fix) and a biogeochemical model (BIOME-BGC). The outputs of the two models, which simulate forests in quasi-equilibrium conditions, are combined to estimate the carbon fluxes of actual conditions using information regarding the existing woody biomass.
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Why is it important?
Several studies have demonstrated that Monteith’s approach can efficiently predict forest gross primary production (GPP), while the modeling of net ecosystem production (NEP) is more critical, requiring the additional simulation of forest respirations. Here we demonstrate the potential for employing an integrated methodology based on two models, C-Fix and BIOME-BGC (BioGeochemical Cycles), to predict the gross and net carbon fluxes of forest ecosystems. This approach combines the advantages of the former, which is capable of directly estimating photosynthesis based on remotely sensed data, with those of the latter, capable of simulating all other processes needed to retrieve net carbon fluxes (i.e., respirations and allocations). A recombination of the two model outputs is finally required to take into account the effects of the occurred ecosystem disturbances.
Perspectives
This study confirms that the modeling strategy based on the integrated use of C-Fix and BIOME-BGC is capable of providing reliable daily estimates of NEP at 1 km spatial resolution. This capacity can be attributed to the general applicability of the biogeochemical model for the majority of environmental situations, which is currently reinforced by the aforementioned capacity of C-Fix to stabilize all of the final estimates. Another fundamental modeling step is the correct reproduction of the NEP/GPP ratio, which is achieved by an ecophysiologically sound simulation of the ecosystem trophic condition. The results of this study encourage the application of the proposed modeling strategy over large areas (e.g., at national and continental scales) wherever appropriate input data sets are available.
Piermaria Corona
CREA Research Centre for Forestry and Wood
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Estimating daily forest carbon fluxes using a combination of ground and remotely sensed data, Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences, February 2016, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/2015jg003019.
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