A dynamic global vegetation model for studies of the coupled atmosphere-biosphere system

G. Krinner (1) , Nicolas Viovy (2, 3) , Nathalie N. de Noblet-Ducoudré (2, 4) , Jérôme Ogée (5) , Jan Polcher (6) , Pierre Friedlingstein (7) , Philippe Ciais (2, 8) , Stephen Sitch (9) , I Colin Prentice

1 LGGE - Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement
2 LSCE - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]
3 MOSAIC - Modélisation des Surfaces et Interfaces Continentales
4 ESTIMR - Extrèmes : Statistiques, Impacts et Régionalisation
5 UMR ISPA - Interactions Sol Plante Atmosphère
6 LMD - Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539)
7 University of Exeter
8 ICOS-ATC - ICOS-ATC
9 College of Life and Environmental Sciences [Exeter]

This work presents a new dynamic global vegetation model designed as an extension of an existing surface-vegetation-atmosphere transfer scheme which is included in a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model. The new dynamic global vegetation model simulates the principal processes of the continental biosphere influencing the global carbon cycle (photosynthesis, autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration of plants and in soils, fire, etc.) as well as latent, sensible, and kinetic energy exchanges at the surface of soils and plants. As a dynamic vegetation model, it explicitly represents competitive processes such as light competition, sapling establishment, etc. It can thus be used in simulations for the study of feedbacks between transient climate and vegetation cover changes, but it can also be used with a prescribed vegetation distribution. The whole seasonal phenological cycle is prognostically calculated without any prescribed dates or use of satellite data. The model is coupled to the IPSL-CM4 coupled atmosphere-ocean-vegetation model. Carbon and surface energy fluxes from the coupled hydrology-vegetation model compare well with observations at FluxNet sites. Simulated vegetation distribution and leaf density in a global simulation are evaluated against observations, and carbon stocks and fluxes are compared to available estimates, with satisfying results.

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]; Interfaces continentales, environnement

G. Krinner, Nicolas Viovy, Nathalie N. de Noblet-Ducoudré, Jérôme Ogée, Jan Polcher, et al.. A dynamic global vegetation model for studies of the coupled atmosphere-biosphere system. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2005, 19 (GB1015), 1 à 33 p. ⟨10.1029/2003GB002199⟩. ⟨hal-02865384⟩