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Implications of accounting for land use in simulations of ecosystem carbon cycling in Africa

Lindeskog, Mats LU ; Arneth, A. ; Bondeau, A. ; Waha, K. ; Seaquist, Jonathan LU ; Olin, Stefan LU and Smith, Benjamin LU (2013) In Earth System Dynamics 4(2). p.385-407
Abstract
Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) are important tools for modelling impacts of global change on ecosystem services. However, most models do not take full account of human land management and land use and land cover changes (LULCCs). We integrated croplands and pasture and their management and natural vegetation recovery and succession following cropland abandonment into the LPJ-GUESS DGVM. The revised model was applied to Africa as a case study to investigate the implications of accounting for land use on net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) and the skill of the model in describing agricultural production and reproducing trends and patterns in vegetation structure and function. The seasonality of modelled monthly fraction of absorbed... (More)
Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) are important tools for modelling impacts of global change on ecosystem services. However, most models do not take full account of human land management and land use and land cover changes (LULCCs). We integrated croplands and pasture and their management and natural vegetation recovery and succession following cropland abandonment into the LPJ-GUESS DGVM. The revised model was applied to Africa as a case study to investigate the implications of accounting for land use on net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) and the skill of the model in describing agricultural production and reproducing trends and patterns in vegetation structure and function. The seasonality of modelled monthly fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR) was shown to agree well with satellite-inferred normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI). In regions with a large proportion of cropland, the managed land addition improved the FPAR vs. NDVI fit significantly. Modelled 1991-1995 average yields for the seven most important African crops, representing potential optimal yields limited only by climate forcings, were generally higher than reported FAO yields by a factor of 2-6, similar to previous yield gap estimates. Modelled inter-annual yield variations during 1971-2005 generally agreed well with FAO statistics, especially in regions with pronounced climate seasonality. Modelled land-atmosphere carbon fluxes for Africa associated with land use change (0.07 PgC yr(-1) release to the atmosphere for the 1980s) agreed well with previous estimates. Cropland management options (residue removal, grass as cover crop) were shown to be important to the land-atmosphere carbon flux for the 20th century. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Earth System Dynamics
volume
4
issue
2
pages
385 - 407
publisher
Copernicus GmbH
external identifiers
  • wos:000328767200014
  • scopus:84893452566
ISSN
2190-4979
DOI
10.5194/esd-4-385-2013
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6449c828-edc2-4622-b84e-e8c95c045c4f (old id 4330106)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 09:53:18
date last changed
2022-04-19 20:36:04
@article{6449c828-edc2-4622-b84e-e8c95c045c4f,
  abstract     = {{Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) are important tools for modelling impacts of global change on ecosystem services. However, most models do not take full account of human land management and land use and land cover changes (LULCCs). We integrated croplands and pasture and their management and natural vegetation recovery and succession following cropland abandonment into the LPJ-GUESS DGVM. The revised model was applied to Africa as a case study to investigate the implications of accounting for land use on net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) and the skill of the model in describing agricultural production and reproducing trends and patterns in vegetation structure and function. The seasonality of modelled monthly fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR) was shown to agree well with satellite-inferred normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI). In regions with a large proportion of cropland, the managed land addition improved the FPAR vs. NDVI fit significantly. Modelled 1991-1995 average yields for the seven most important African crops, representing potential optimal yields limited only by climate forcings, were generally higher than reported FAO yields by a factor of 2-6, similar to previous yield gap estimates. Modelled inter-annual yield variations during 1971-2005 generally agreed well with FAO statistics, especially in regions with pronounced climate seasonality. Modelled land-atmosphere carbon fluxes for Africa associated with land use change (0.07 PgC yr(-1) release to the atmosphere for the 1980s) agreed well with previous estimates. Cropland management options (residue removal, grass as cover crop) were shown to be important to the land-atmosphere carbon flux for the 20th century.}},
  author       = {{Lindeskog, Mats and Arneth, A. and Bondeau, A. and Waha, K. and Seaquist, Jonathan and Olin, Stefan and Smith, Benjamin}},
  issn         = {{2190-4979}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{385--407}},
  publisher    = {{Copernicus GmbH}},
  series       = {{Earth System Dynamics}},
  title        = {{Implications of accounting for land use in simulations of ecosystem carbon cycling in Africa}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/esd-4-385-2013}},
  doi          = {{10.5194/esd-4-385-2013}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}