Model description

BIOME4 (Kaplan et al., 2003) is a coupled biogeography and biogeochemistry model which simulates the equilibrium distribution of 28 major potential natural vegetation types (biomes) from latitude (for the calculation of incoming short-wave and photosynthetically active solar radiation), atmospheric CO₂ concentration, mean monthly climate (i.e. mean monthly precipitation, temperature, and percent sunshine) and soil physical properties (water holding capacity and percolation rate). Photosynthesis, stomatal behaviour and hydrology are simulated as in BIOME3 (Haxeltine & Prentice, 1996) and the ecosystem dynamics model LPJ (Sitch et al., 2003). BIOME4 implicitly simulates competition between plant functional types (PFTs) as a function of relative net primary productivity (NPP) and uses an optimisation algorithm to calculate the maximum sustainable leaf area (LAI) of each PFT and its associated NPP. Empirical rules are used to classify these outputs and assign biomes based on the identity of the most successful and second-most successful PFT and their sustainable LAI.

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BIOME4 successfully reproduces the distribution of potential natural vegetation and associated phenological, hydrological and biogeochemical properties. BIOME4 and earlier members of the BIOME model family have been used previously as diagnostic tools (e.g. Prentice et al., 1993; Harrison et al., 1995; TEMPO, 1996; Kutzbach et al., 1996; Kutzbach et al., 1998; Harrison et al., 1998; Coe & Harrison, 2002; Vavrus & Harrison, 2003), to simulate vegetation patterns consistent with a given climate simulation for comparison with observed palaeovegetation data (e.g. Broström et al., 1998; Jolly et al., 1998; Prentice et al., 1998; Mahowald et al., 1999; Kaplan et al., 2003), and to simulate vegetation-climate feedbacks in the past (de Noblet et al., 1996; Claussen, 1997; Texier et al., 1997; Kubatzki & Claussen, 1998; Braconnot et al., 1999).

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If you wish to use BIOME4 in asynchronously-coupled mode to simulate vegetation changes and feedback, please cite Kaplan et al. (2003) as the source of the model. Technical queries about the BIOME4 (and other models in the BIOME family) should be addressed to Colin Prentice. Development of BIOME4 was spearheaded by Jed Kaplan and funded by the Swedish Natural Science Research Council (NFR) and the Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry.

References

1. Braconnot, P., Joussaume, S., Marti, O., and de Noblet, N. (1999). Synergistic feedbacks from ocean and vegetation on the African monsoon response to mid-Holocene insolation. Geophysical Research Letters 26(16), 2481-2484.
   
   
2. Broströöm, A., Coe, M., Harrison, S. P., Gallimore, R., Kutzbach, J. E., Foley, J., Prentice, I. C., and Behling, P. (1998). Land surface feedbacks and palaeomonsoons in northern Africa. Geophysical Research Letters 25(19), 3615-3618.
   
   
3. Claussen, M. (1997). Modeling bio-geophysical feedback in the African and Indian monsoon region. Climate Dynamics 13(4), 247-257.
   
   
4. Coe, M. T., and Harrison, S. P. (2002). The water balance of northern Africa during the mid-Holocene: an evaluation of the 6 ka BP PMIP simulations. Climate Dynamics 19(2), 155-166.
   
   
5. de Noblet, N. I., Prentice, I. C., Joussaume, S., Texier, D., Botta, A., and Haxeltine, A. (1996). Possible role of atmosphere-biosphere interactions in triggering the last glaciation. Geophysical Research Letters 23(22), 3191-3194.
   
   
6. Harrison, S. P., Jolly, D., Laarif, F., Abe-Ouchi, A., Dong, B., Herterich, K., Hewitt, C., Joussaume, S., Kutzbach, J. E., Mitchell, J., de Noblet, N., and Valdes, P. (1998). Intercomparison of simulated global vegetation distributions in response to 6 kyr BP orbital forcing. Journal of Climate 11, 2721-2742.
   
   
7. Harrison, S. P., Kutzbach, J. E., Prentice, I. C., Behling, P. J., and Sykes, M. T. (1995). The response of northern hemisphere extratropical climate and vegetation to orbitally induced changes in insolation during the last interglaciation. Quaternary Research 43(2), 174-184.
   
   
8. Haxeltine, A., and Prentice, I. C. (1996). BIOME3: an equilibrium terrestrial biosphere model based on ecophysiological constraints, resource availability, and competition among plant functional types. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 10(4), 693-709.
   
   
9. Jolly, D., Prentice, I. C., Bonnefille, R., Ballouche, A., Bengo, M., Brenac, P., Buchet, G., Burney, D., Cazet, J. P., Cheddadi, R., Edorh, T., Elenga, H., Elmoutaki, S., Guiot, J., Laarif, F., Lamb, H., Lezine, A. M., Maley, J., Mbenza, M., Peyron, O., Reille, M., Reynaud-Farrera, I., Riollet, G., Ritchie, J. C., Roche, E., Scott, L., Ssemmanda, I., Straka, H., Umer, M., Van Campo, E., Vilimumbalo, S., Vincens, A., and Waller, M. (1998). Biome reconstruction from pollen and plant macrofossil data for Africa and the Arabian peninsula at 0 and 6000 years. Journal of Biogeography 25(6), 1007-1027.
   
   
10. Kaplan, J. O., Bigelow, N. H., Prentice, I. C., Harrison, S. P., Bartlein, P. J., Christensen, T. R., Cramer, W., Matveyeva, N. V., McGuire, A. D., Murray, D. F., Razzhivin, V. Y., Smith, B., Walker, D. A., Anderson, P. M., Andreev, A. A., Brubaker, L. B., Edwards, M. E., and Lozhkin, A. V. (2003 - in press). Climate change and arctic ecosystems II: Modeling, paleodata-model comparisons, and future projections. Journal of Geophysical Research.
    
    
11. Kaplan, J. O., Bigelow, N. H., Prentice, I. C., Harrison, S. P., Bartlein, P. J., Christensen, T. R., Cramer, W., Matveyeva, N. V., McGuire, A. D., Murray, D. F., Razzhivin, V. Y., Smith, B., Walker, D. A., Anderson, P. M., Andreev, A. A., Brubaker, L. B., Edwards, M. E., and Lozhkin, A. V. (2003 - in press). Climate change and arctic ecosystems II: Modeling, paleodata-model comparisons, and future projections. Journal of Geophysical Research.
    
    
12. Kubatzki, C., and Claussen, M. (1998). Simulation of the global bio-geophysical interactions during the Last Glacial Maximum. Climate Dynamics 14(7-8), 461-471.
    
    
13. Kutzbach, J. E., Bonan, G., Foley, J., and Harrison, S. P. (1996). Vegetation and soil feedbacks on the response of the African monsoon to orbital forcing in the early to middle Holocene. Nature 384(6610), 623-626.
    
    
14. Kutzbach, J. E., Gallimore, R., Harrison, S. P., Behling, P., Selin, R., and Laarif, F. (1998). Climate and biome simulations for the past 21,000 years. Quaternary Science Reviews 17(6-7), 473-506.
    
    
15. Mahowald, N., Kohfeld, K. E., Hansson, M., Balkanski, Y., Harrison, S. P., Prentice, I. C., Schulz, M., and Rodhe, H. (1999). Dust sources and deposition during the Last Glacial Maximum and current climate: A comparison of model results with paleodata from ice cores and marine sediments. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres 104(D13), 15895-15916.
    
    
16. Prentice, I. C., Harrison, S. P., Jolly, D., and Guiot, J. (1998). The climate and biomes of Europe at 6000 yr BP: comparison of model simulations and pollen-based reconstructions. Quaternary Science Reviews 17(6-7), 659-668.
    
    
17. Prentice, I. C., Sykes, M. T., Lautenschlager, M., Harrison, S. P., Denissenko, O., and Bartlein, P. J. (1993). Modelling global vegetation patterns and terrestrial carbon storage at the Last Glacial Maximum. Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters 3, 67-76.
    
    
18. Sitch, S., Smith, B., Prentice, I. C., Arneth, A., Bondeau, A., Cramer, W., Kaplan, J. O., Levis, S., Lucht, W., Sykes, M. T., Thonicke, K., and Venevsky, S. (2003). Evaluation of ecosystem dynamics, plant geography and terrestrial carbon cycling in the LPJ dynamic global vegetation model. Global Change Biology 9, 161-185.
    
    
19. TEMPO Members (J.E. Kutzbach, P.J. Bartlein, J.A. Foley, S.P. Harrison, S.W. Hostetler, Z. Liu, I.C. Prentice, T. Webb III). (1996). Potential role of vegetation feedback in the climate sensitivity of high-latitude regions: a case study at 6000 years before present. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 10(4), 727-736.
    
    
20. Texier, D., de Noblet, N., Harrison, S. P., Haxeltine, A., Jolly, D., Joussaume, S., Laarif, F., Prentice, I. C., and Tarasov, P. (1997). Quantifying the role of biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks in climate change: coupled model simulation for 6000 years BP and comparison with palaeodata for northern Eurasia and northern Africa. Climate Dynamics 13(12), 865-882.
    
    
21. Vavrus, S., and Harrison, S. P. (2003). The impact of sea ice dynamics on the Arctic climate system. Climate Dynamics, 20, 741-757, doi:10.1007/s00382-003-0309-5.