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Integrating nitrogen and carbon cycling into LANDIS-II/PnET-Succession to improve forest landscape modeling: methods and sensitivity analyses

Author

Listed:
  • Zhou, Zaixing
  • Gustafson, Eric J.
  • Ollinger, Scott V.
  • Ouimette, Andrew P.
  • Miranda, Brian R.
  • Duveneck, Matthew J.
  • Foster, Jane R.
  • Sturtevant, Brian R.
  • Bronson, Dustin R.
  • Laflower, Danelle

Abstract

Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles are closely coupled in forested ecosystems. Studies of interactions between nitrogen cycling and forest succession have been challenging due to the broad spatial and temporal scales involved in feedbacks between successional dynamics and N cycling mechanisms. In this study, algorithms were added to a forest landscape model (LANDIS-II/PnET-Succession extension) to account for nitrogen cycling and its effects on growth and competition. In the revised model, PnET-CN-Succession, with coupled C and N cycling, forest species compete for not only light and water resources, but also for nutrients. Parameterized and validated for both deciduous and evergreen (hemlock) stands at Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA, along with a sensitivity analysis, the PnET-CN-Succession model replicated empirical C and N cycling patterns in deciduous and coniferous forests under a N constraint. Predicted C and N cycles were faster in deciduous forests, but more tightly coupled in evergreen forests. Analysis of harvesting scenarios demonstrated that N constraints reduced rates of biomass accumulation in early to mid-successional stages, compared to results from simulations with a version of PnET-Succession that did not simulate N cycling. Predicted changes in post-harvest species composition agreed with the observed successional patterns at Harvard Forest. By accounting for an important constraint on tree growth and competition, PnET-CN-Succession is a valuable tool to improve our ability to predict forest dynamics in response to various scenarios of forest management and global changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou, Zaixing & Gustafson, Eric J. & Ollinger, Scott V. & Ouimette, Andrew P. & Miranda, Brian R. & Duveneck, Matthew J. & Foster, Jane R. & Sturtevant, Brian R. & Bronson, Dustin R. & Laflower, Danel, 2025. "Integrating nitrogen and carbon cycling into LANDIS-II/PnET-Succession to improve forest landscape modeling: methods and sensitivity analyses," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 510(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:510:y:2025:i:c:s0304380025002716
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111285
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Scheller, Robert M. & Domingo, James B. & Sturtevant, Brian R. & Williams, Jeremy S. & Rudy, Arnold & Gustafson, Eric J. & Mladenoff, David J., 2007. "Design, development, and application of LANDIS-II, a spatial landscape simulation model with flexible temporal and spatial resolution," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 201(3), pages 409-419.
    2. Scheller, Robert M. & Hua, Dong & Bolstad, Paul V. & Birdsey, Richard A. & Mladenoff, David J., 2011. "The effects of forest harvest intensity in combination with wind disturbance on carbon dynamics in Lake States Mesic Forests," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(1), pages 144-153.
    3. Trevor F. Keenan & David Y. Hollinger & Gil Bohrer & Danilo Dragoni & J. William Munger & Hans Peter Schmid & Andrew D. Richardson, 2013. "Increase in forest water-use efficiency as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations rise," Nature, Nature, vol. 499(7458), pages 324-327, July.
    4. de Bruijn, Arjan & Gustafson, Eric J. & Sturtevant, Brian R. & Foster, Jane R. & Miranda, Brian R. & Lichti, Nathanael I. & Jacobs, Douglass F., 2014. "Toward more robust projections of forest landscape dynamics under novel environmental conditions: Embedding PnET within LANDIS-II," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 287(C), pages 44-57.
    5. Gustafson, Eric J. & Sturtevant, Brian R. & Miranda, Brian R. & Duveneck, Matthew J., 2024. "Overcoming conceptual hurdles to accurately represent trees as cohorts in forest landscape models," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 490(C).
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