loading page

Nutrient Dynamics in a Coupled Terrestrial Biosphere and Land Model (ELM-FATES)
  • +12
  • Ryan G Knox,
  • Charles D. Koven,
  • William J. Riley,
  • Anthony P. Walker,
  • Stuart Joseph Wright,
  • Jennifer A. Holm,
  • Xinyuan Wei,
  • Rosie A. Fisher,
  • Qing Zhu,
  • Jinyun Tang,
  • Daniel M. Ricciuto,
  • Jacquelyn Shuman,
  • Xiaojuan Yang,
  • Lara M Kueppers,
  • Jeffrey Chambers
Ryan G Knox
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Charles D. Koven
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
William J. Riley
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Anthony P. Walker
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Stuart Joseph Wright
Smithonian Tropical Research Institute
Author Profile
Jennifer A. Holm
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Xinyuan Wei
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Rosie A. Fisher
CICERO Center for International Climate Research
Author Profile
Qing Zhu
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Jinyun Tang
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Daniel M. Ricciuto
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Jacquelyn Shuman
National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
Author Profile
Xiaojuan Yang
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Lara M Kueppers
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile
Jeffrey Chambers
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DOE)
Author Profile

Abstract

We present a representation of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in the vegetation demography model the Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator (FATES), within the Energy Exascale Earth System (E3SM) land model. This representation is modular, and designed to allow testing of multiple hypothetical approaches for carbon-nutrient coupling in plants. The model tracks nutrient uptake, losses via turnover from both live plants and mortality into soil decomposition, and allocation during tissue growth for a large number of size- and functional-type-resolved plant cohorts within a time-since-disturbance-resolved ecosystem. Root uptake is governed by fine root biomass, and plants vary in their fine root carbon allocation in order to balance carbon and nutrient limitations to growth. We test the sensitivity of the model to a wide range of parameter variations and structural representations, and in the context of observations at Barro Colorado Island, Panama. A key model prediction is that plants in the high-light-availability canopy positions allocate more carbon to fine roots than plants in low-light understory environments, given the widely different carbon versus nutrient constraints of these two niches within a given ecosystem. This model provides a basis for exploring carbon-nutrient coupling with vegetation demography within Earth System Models (ESMs).
03 Mar 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
06 Mar 2023Published in ESS Open Archive