Effects of multiple changes in climate and atmospheric composition on terrestrial ecosystem structure and functioning in the Southeastern United States: A regional synthesis.

Auburn University

Effects of multiple changes in climate and atmospheric composition on terrestrial ecosystem structure and functioning in the Southeastern United States: A regional synthesis/

Hanqin Tian, Professor

Forestry & Wildlife Bldg.
602 Duncan Drive
Auburn, AL 36849-5418
(334) 844-1007
(334) 844-1084 FAX

The two research questions will be addressed through synthesis activities by using a combination of process-based ecosystem modeling, satellite-based observations, field studies and Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) data. Specifically, we will (1) extrapolate the daily and monthly temperature and precipitation data from about 1200 weather stations in this region to 8 km spatial resolution from 1901 to present; (2) collect and analyze the historical climate extremes including El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) data, especially with emphases on the Gulf states; (3) reconstruct the tropospheric O3 data of this region with 8 km spatial resolution from 1901 to present; (4) improve the land-cover change data sets by including spatial distribution of plantations with age information; (5) calibrate the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM) and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM) using the FACE and AmeriFlux sites in this region including the Duke FACE (Free Air CO2 Enrichment) site and the recently established eddy flux site on the eastern coastal plain of North Carolina; (6) conduct multi-simulations with single and combined stressors in climate and atmospheric composition to examine their impacts on ecological structure (LAI, forest age structure, biomass) and functioning (carbon and water cycling), and (7) uncertainty analysis associated with input data, spatial resolution, parameter sensitivity and model assumptions.