Effects of boreal forest vegetation on global climate

Bonan, Gordon B.; Pollard, David; Thompson, Starley L.

doi:10.1038/359716a0

Cited by 915 publications

(563 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Surface-vegetation-atmosphere transfer schemes (SVATs [e.g., Henderson-Sellers et al, 1996]) are used in general circulation models (GCMs) to simulate exchanges of sensible, latent, and kinetic energy at the surface. Using SVATs, a large number of studies have been carried out to quantify the impact of changes in prescribed distributions or physiological characteristics of vegetation on the simulated climate and climate changes [e.g., Bonan et al, 1992;Foley et al, 1994;Kutzbach et al, 1996;Douville et al, 2000;Betts, 2000].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dynamic global vegetation model for studies of the coupled atmosphere‐biosphere system

Krinner

Viovy

Noblet‐Ducoudré

et al. 2005

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

1,985

2,050

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[1] This work presents a new dynamic global vegetation model designed as an extension of an existing surface-vegetation-atmosphere transfer scheme which is included in a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model. The new dynamic global vegetation model simulates the principal processes of the continental biosphere influencing the global carbon cycle (photosynthesis, autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration of plants and in soils, fire, etc.) as well as latent, sensible, and kinetic energy exchanges at the surface of soils and plants. As a dynamic vegetation model, it explicitly represents competitive processes such as light competition, sapling establishment, etc. It can thus be used in simulations for the study of feedbacks between transient climate and vegetation cover changes, but it can also be used with a prescribed vegetation distribution. The whole seasonal phenological cycle is prognostically calculated without any prescribed dates or use of satellite data. The model is coupled to the IPSL-CM4 coupled atmosphereocean-vegetation model. Carbon and surface energy fluxes from the coupled hydrologyvegetation model compare well with observations at FluxNet sites. Simulated vegetation distribution and leaf density in a global simulation are evaluated against observations, and carbon stocks and fluxes are compared to available estimates, with satisfying results.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A dynamic global vegetation model for studies of the coupled atmosphere‐biosphere system

Krinner

Viovy

Noblet‐Ducoudré

et al. 2005

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

1,985

2,050

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“…By changing the vegetation present in various grid cells of the underlying LSM, climate models have been used to explore the climatic consequences of historic changes in land use (Bonan, 1997) or changes in surface properties of large-scale features such as the Amazon and boreal forests (Bonan et al, 1992;Henderson-Sellers et al, 1993). More recently, researchers have modified the LSM component of several climate models to address potential climatic consequences of land use strategies (afforestation) aimed at reducing atmospheric CO 2 levels (Betts, 2000;Gibbard et al, 2005;Schaeffer et al, 2006;Bala et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Albedo estimates for land surface models and support for a new paradigm based on foliage nitrogen concentration

Hollinger

Ollinger

Richardson

et al. 2010

Global Change Biology

150

104

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; Schmid, H. P.; Stoy, P. C.; Suyker, Andrew E.; and Verma, Shashi, "Albedo estimates for land surface models and support for a new paradigm based on foliage nitrogen concentration" (2010 Albedo estimates for land surface models and support for a new paradigm based on foliage nitrogen concentration AbstractVegetation albedo is a critical component of the Earth's climate system, yet efforts to evaluate and improve albedo parameterizations in climate models have lagged relative to other aspects of model development. Here, we calculated growing season albedos for deciduous and evergreen forests, crops, and grasslands based on over 40 site-years of data from the AmeriFlux network and compared them with estimates presently used in the land surface formulations of a variety of climate models. Generally, the albedo estimates used in land surface models agreed well with this data compilation. However, a variety of models using fixed seasonal estimates of albedo overestimated the growing season albedo of northerly evergreen trees. In contrast, climate models that rely on a common two-stream albedo submodel provided accurate predictions of boreal needle-leaf evergreen albedo but overestimated grassland albedos. Inverse analysis showed that parameters of the two-stream model were highly correlated. Consistent with recent observations based on remotely sensed albedo, the AmeriFlux dataset demonstrated a tight linear relationship between canopy albedo and foliage nitrogen concentration (for forest vegetation: albedo 5 0.01 1 0.071%N, r 2 5 0.91; forests, grassland, and maize: albedo 5 0.02 1 0.067%N, r 2 5 0.80). However, this relationship saturated at the higher nitrogen concentrations displayed by soybean foliage. We developed similar relationships between a foliar parameter used in the two-stream albedo model and foliage nitrogen concentration. These nitrogen-based relationships can serve as the basis for a new approach to land surface albedo modeling that simplifies albedo estimation while providing a link to other important ecosystem processes.

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“…Preliminary predictions, based on climate models, suggest that the boreal regions of interior, western Canada are among the most sensitive areas in the world to warming responses of greenhouse gases [Manabe and WetheraM, 1986]. According to Bonan et al [1992], continental warming and the associated reduction in vegetation height would result in a large increase in the wintertime albedo and dramatic changes in the climate of the northern high latitudes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%