Climatic effects on tundra carbon storage inferred from experimental data and a model
- Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole, MA (United States); and others
A process-based model of ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics, MBL-GEM (Marine Biological Laboratory General Ecosystem Model) was used, to integrate and analyze the results of several experiments that examined the response of arctic tussock tundra to manipulations of CO{sub 2}, temperature, light, and soil nutrients. The experiments manipulated these variables over 3- to 9-yr periods and were intended to simulate anticipated changes in the arctic environment. Our objective was to use the model to extend the analysis of the experimental data so that unmeasured changes in ecosystem C storage and the underlying mechanisms controlling those changes could be estimated and compared. Using an inverse calibration method, we derived a single parameter set for the model that closely simulated the measured responses of tussock tundra to all of the experimental treatments. This parameterization allowed us to infer confidence limits for ecosystem components and processes that were not directly measured in the experiments. Thus, we used the model to estimate changes in ecosystem C storage by inferring key soil processes within the constraints imposed by measured components of the ecosystem C budget. 28 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 585129
- Journal Information:
- Ecology, Vol. 78, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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