Overview

This documentation is work in progress. Potential discrepancies and omissions may exist for the time being. If you find any, contact us here.

LandRCBM is a modular, transparent, and spatially explicit carbon modelling framework that links the LandR vegetation model with the spadesCBM carbon budget model.

LandRCBM development follows the PERFICT approach of McIntire et al. (2022) for ecological modelling systems, an approach that helps solve many of the complex issues in ecological modelling, supports continuous workflows, and nimble, enter operable modelling systems. The SpaDES platform is the toolkit that enables this implementation of the PERFICT principle.

Usage

Three modules of the spadesCBM collection are used in LandRCBM. These are CBM_defaults, which reads in default CBM parameters for Canada, CBM_dataPrep, the CBM data preparation module, and CBM_core, the central module of spadesCBM where carbon transfers between pools are applied at each time step. In-depth information on these modules can be found in the spadesCBM manual.

Five modules of the LandR Biomass_ series of modules are used to run the basics of LandRCBM. These are Biomass_borealDataPrep, a data preparation module for Western Canadian boreal forests, Biomass_speciesFactorial, a data preparation module that runs factorial simulation experiments for LANDIS-II-like species traits, Biomass_speciesParametes, a calibration module for species growth and mortality, Biomass_core, the primary forest succession module that simulates tree cohort aging, growth, mortality, light competition, and seed dispersal, and Biomass_yieldTables, a module that generates yield tables based on Biomass_core outputs. While a part of the Biomass_ collection of modules, Biomass_yieldTables was developed with LandRCBM in mind and has an associated chapter in this manual. More information on the other modules can be found in the LandR manual

A LandRCBM-specific module was also created to bridge outputs between the two models and is necessary to run LandR simulations. LandRCBM_split3pools builds yearly growth increments using the biomass outputs of Biomass_core and splits them between the 3 main aboveground biomass pools (merchantable, foliage, and other) for use in the carbon transfers of CBM_core. Details on this module’s functioning can be found in its manual chapter.

Figure 1: Conceptual diagram of a basic LandRCBM run with a disturbance module

These modules are the basis with which one can run LandRCBM. However, thanks to the flexibility of the SpaDES platform, it is possible to link additional modules when running simulations. The most common use-case for this is the addition of one or more disturbance models. Fire models, for examples, can be run alongside LandRCBM and users can add the Biomass_regeneration module to incorporation stand removal, serotiny, and regeneration into the vegetation dynamics.