Ecoclimatic modelling

This project models water balance in mountain environments at the landscape scale. It uses local weather station data, gridded climate maps (CHELSA, WorldClim), and regional climate projections (e.g., INPE Eta) to identify potential past, present and future limitations to forest growth. The results will serve as a basis for validating Earth System models and biogeographical theory regarding the potential origin of areas with open vegetation together with their suite of endemic plant and animal species.

Deficit100cmavgmaxAWC
Modelled soil water deficit (after Dyer 2019) averaged across annual deficit values for the period 1973-2000 in relation to aspect (Unpublished material). The modelled soil depth was 100 cm, with a mean soil AWC of 118 mm (thin grey vertical line in figure. Filled black symbols are the mean values for the period; grey symbols are the maximum values modelled for the period. Symbols right of the mean soil AWC line indicate water deficit for plants up to 1-m soil depth and assuming no rooting beyond this depth. Note that all of the points to the right of the AWC line are restricted to N-facing sunny locations.
Reference: Dyer, J.M. 2019. A GIS-based water balance approach using a LiDAR-derived DEM captures fine-scale vegetation patterns.  Remote Sensing 11(20): 2385. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11202385

 

Investigator
Laszlo Nagy
Erika Buscardo
Timeline
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