Including Croplands in a Global Biosphere Model: Methodology and Evaluation at Specific Sites

Abstract

There is a strong international demand for quantitative estimates of both carbon sources/sinks, and water availability at the land surface at various spatial scales (regional to global). These estimates can be derived (and usually are) from global biosphere models, which simulate physiological, biogeochemical, and biophysical processes, using a variety of plant functional types. Now, the representation of the large area covered with managed land (e.g., croplands, grasslands) is still rather basic in these models, which were first designed to simulate natural ecosystems, while more and more land is heavily disturbed by man (crops cover ?35% and grasslands ?30%?40% of western Europe's area as a result of massive deforestation mainly in the Middle Ages). In this paper a methodology is presented that combines the use of a dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM) known as Organizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE) and a generic crop model [the Simulateur Multidisciplinaire pour les Cultures Standard (STICS)]. This association aims at improving the simulation of water vapor and CO2 fluxes at the land?atmosphere interface over croplands, and thereby the calculation of the carbon and water budget. Variables that are much better computed in STICS (e.g., leaf area index, root density profile, nitrogen stress, vegetation height) are assimilated daily into ORCHIDEE, which continues to compute its own carbon and water balance from the fluxes simulated at the half-hourly time step. The allocation of photosynthates in ORCHIDEE was modified in order to maintain the coherence between leaf area index and leaf biomass, as well as between root density and root biomass. Soil moisture stress is computed using a more realistic root density profile. The maximum rates of carboxylation and RuBP (ribulosebisphosphate) regeneration were adjusted to more realistic values, while the actual rates can now be reduced following the nitrogen stress. Finally, harvest has been implemented into ORCHIDEE. The improved model (ORCHIDEE-STICS) is evaluated against measurements of total aboveground biomass, evapotranspiration, and net CO2 flux at four different sites covered with either winter wheat or corn.