Improving the representation of tropical wetlands in LPJ-GUESS
(2024) In Student thesis series INES NGEM01 20232Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
- Abstract
- Tropical wetlands are considered to be the greatest source of wetland-associated methane emissions. Yet, their representation in bottom-up modelling approach is oversimplified in many cases, leading to low confidence in current and future attribution attempts. The LPJ-GUESS dynamic global ecosystem model (DGVM) combines a detailed representation of high-latitude peatlands with a primitive placeholder representation of temperate and tropical wetlands. This study aimed to improve the representation of tropical wetlands within this LPJ-GUESS model. The implementation of a seasonal wetland representation was successfully added. Connected to a set of vegetation dynamics and a simple hydrology functionality, the resulting scheme was shown to be... (More)
- Tropical wetlands are considered to be the greatest source of wetland-associated methane emissions. Yet, their representation in bottom-up modelling approach is oversimplified in many cases, leading to low confidence in current and future attribution attempts. The LPJ-GUESS dynamic global ecosystem model (DGVM) combines a detailed representation of high-latitude peatlands with a primitive placeholder representation of temperate and tropical wetlands. This study aimed to improve the representation of tropical wetlands within this LPJ-GUESS model. The implementation of a seasonal wetland representation was successfully added. Connected to a set of vegetation dynamics and a simple hydrology functionality, the resulting scheme was shown to be capable of distinguishing the upland, floodplains and permanent wetland ecosystems. Calibration with observational data suggests small improvements to the productivity estimation of the model. Implementation of a mechanistic methane scheme was attempted but was ultimately not successful. The conclusion outline further areas of potential improvement to the representation of tropical wetlands and their methane dynamics within the LPJ-GUESS model. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- The wetlands of the tropics are a major source of methane, a strong greenhouse gas. Current estimations rely on mathematical models, which often oversimplify their complexity. This leads to uncertainties in predictions. The LPJ-GUESS model simulates global wetlands, using a detailed representation of the northern peatlands and a very simple placeholder for temperate and tropical wetlands. This study focussed on improving the model’s accuracy in the tropical regions. The study adds a simple hydrology scheme, a new vegetation dynamic and extends the methane scheme. The resulting model differentiates between the dry upland, the seasonally wet floodplains and the permanent wetlands. Calibration with observed data suggests only slight... (More)
- The wetlands of the tropics are a major source of methane, a strong greenhouse gas. Current estimations rely on mathematical models, which often oversimplify their complexity. This leads to uncertainties in predictions. The LPJ-GUESS model simulates global wetlands, using a detailed representation of the northern peatlands and a very simple placeholder for temperate and tropical wetlands. This study focussed on improving the model’s accuracy in the tropical regions. The study adds a simple hydrology scheme, a new vegetation dynamic and extends the methane scheme. The resulting model differentiates between the dry upland, the seasonally wet floodplains and the permanent wetlands. Calibration with observed data suggests only slight improvements to the productivity estimates. The implementation of the methane scheme remained unsuccessful. The study concludes that further model developments and observations are needed to properly represent the tropical wetlands within this modelling framework. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9170681
- author
- Böckenhoff, Linus LU
- supervisor
-
- Paul Miller LU
- organization
- course
- NGEM01 20232
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- LPJ-GUESS, wetlands, Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (DGVM), Methane, tropical wetlands
- publication/series
- Student thesis series INES
- report number
- 674
- language
- English
- id
- 9170681
- date added to LUP
- 2024-08-27 17:52:38
- date last changed
- 2024-08-27 17:52:38
@misc{9170681,
abstract = {{Tropical wetlands are considered to be the greatest source of wetland-associated methane emissions. Yet, their representation in bottom-up modelling approach is oversimplified in many cases, leading to low confidence in current and future attribution attempts. The LPJ-GUESS dynamic global ecosystem model (DGVM) combines a detailed representation of high-latitude peatlands with a primitive placeholder representation of temperate and tropical wetlands. This study aimed to improve the representation of tropical wetlands within this LPJ-GUESS model. The implementation of a seasonal wetland representation was successfully added. Connected to a set of vegetation dynamics and a simple hydrology functionality, the resulting scheme was shown to be capable of distinguishing the upland, floodplains and permanent wetland ecosystems. Calibration with observational data suggests small improvements to the productivity estimation of the model. Implementation of a mechanistic methane scheme was attempted but was ultimately not successful. The conclusion outline further areas of potential improvement to the representation of tropical wetlands and their methane dynamics within the LPJ-GUESS model.}},
author = {{Böckenhoff, Linus}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Student thesis series INES}},
title = {{Improving the representation of tropical wetlands in LPJ-GUESS}},
year = {{2024}},
}