The Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM): A Coupled Model of Biogeochemical and Hydrological Cycles in An Earth System Context.

Each process in the Earth system is connected to other processes, which makes a unified whole.  The purpose of models, however, is to simplify the complexity of whole system so that we have to decouple the interrelated processes.  To make model more mechanistic and predictive, ecosystem/biogeochemical modeling needs to couple various processes that drive ecosystem dynamics. Due to accumulating data and increasing understanding on how ecosystem works, it is possible to make our models more mechanistic. Based on our improved knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms, from molecular systems to the planetary ecosystem, and supported by the rapidly developing technology from high speed computer systems to the high resolution remote sensing sources of global coverage, the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM) represents the state-of-the-art in terrestrial ecosystem modeling, which couples biophysical, hydrological, major biogeochemical processes (C, N,  and P cycling) including trace gases emissions such as CO₂, N₂O, CH₄ , vegetation dynamics, disturbances including natural and anthropogenic aspects (e.g. land-use/land-cover change, intensive management on crops and forests, wild fire, insect and disease etc.) ,  and works at multiple scales in time from daily to yearly and space from meters to kilometers, from region to globe across Earth’s land surface and in adjacent ocean regions.  Several case studies with DLEM at various scales from region to continental and global are provided in this presentation.