We use a simple model of coupled carbon and nitrogen cycles in terrestrial ecosystems to examine how explicitly representing grazers versus having grazer effects implicitly aggregated in with other biogeochemical processes in the model alters predicted responses to elevated carbon dioxide and warming. The aggregated approach can affect model predictions because grazer-mediated processes can respond differently to changes in climate from the processes with which they are typically aggregated.
Data Set Results
We use a simple model of coupled carbon and nitrogen cycles in terrestrial ecosystems to examine how explicitly representing grazers versus having grazer effects implicitly aggregated in with other biogeochemical processes in the model alters predicted responses to elevated carbon dioxide and warming. The aggregated approach can affect model predictions because grazer-mediated processes can respond differently to changes in climate from the processes with which they are typically aggregated.
Climate change is increasing extreme weather events, but effects on high-frequency weather variability and the resultant impacts on ecosystem function are poorly understood. We assessed ecosystem responses of arctic tundra to changes in day-to-day weather variability using a biogeochemical model and stochastic simulations of daily temperature, precipitation, and light. Changes in weather variability altered ecosystem carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stocks and cycling rates.
Climate change is increasing extreme weather events, but effects on high-frequency weather variability and the resultant impacts on ecosystem function are poorly understood. We assessed ecosystem responses of arctic tundra to changes in day-to-day weather variability using a biogeochemical model and stochastic simulations of daily temperature, precipitation, and light. Changes in weather variability altered ecosystem carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stocks and cycling rates.