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The forest science community welcomed a new simulation model on August 1, 2012.
The model will help natural resource managers understand the effects of a changing
environment on forests, including carbon dynamics and the availability of dead wood
habitat. Forest Carbon Succession v1.0 (ForCSv1—nicknamed “Forks”) is an extension
within the LANDIS-II family of models. ForCSv1 maintains all the functionality of LAN-
DIS-II, while adding the calculations of forest carbon dynamics. Using the model, forest
managers can explore what-if scenarios, assess management or offset project ideas, and
identify opportunities to reduce risks.
LANDIS-II is a popular forest modelling platform that simulates spatially-explicit for-
est succession, disturbance (including fire, wind, harvesting, and insects), climate change,
and seed dispersal across large landscapes. It tracks the spatial distribution of tree and
shrub species and simulates multi-species and multi-age stands. Its approach to software
development allows for rapid model improvements, easy distribution, and an online user
community. LANDIS-II has been applied worldwide, including in Canada, such as in Nova
Scotia (Steenberg et al. 2011) and Labrador (Sturtevant et al. 2007).
In 2008, Caren Dymond identified a need for a freely available model to simulate cli-
mate change impacts on forest carbon dynamics, including the feedback of
changing vegetation on management and disturbances. She assessed the
available options and realized that there was an opportunity to bring to-
gether the existing forest ecosystem models of LANDIS-II (Scheller and
Mladenoff 2004) and the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sec-
tor v3 (Kurz et al. 2009). The gurus of the two models (Dr. Rob Scheller
and Dr. Werner Kurz) were willing to collaborate with Dymond on the proj-
ect. After obtaining funding from the BC Forest Service, Dymond was able to hire Sarah
Beukema and ESSA Technologies to provide both programming and scientific expertise.
The release of the model did not occur until 2012 as the project required more work than
was anticipated.
The ForCsv1 program includes growth, mortality, decay, and disturbance impacts.
ForCsv1 allows users to track carbon in five pools for each living age-species cohort, plus
nine dead organic matter and soil pools for each species. In addition to the carbon storage
in pools, the extension reports on Total Net Primary Productivity, Heterotrophic Respira-
tion, Net Ecosystem Productivity, Net Biome Productivity, and transfers to the forest prod-
1
A New Model For Simulating Climate Change and
Carbon Dynamics in Forested Landscapes
Dymond, C.C., Scheller, R.M., & Beukema, S. 2012. A New Model For Simulating Climate Change and
Carbon Dynamics in Forested Landscapes. Journal of Ecosystems and Management 13(2):1–2.
Published by FORREX Forum for Research and Extension in Natural Resources.
http://jem.forrex.org/index.php/jem/article/viewFile/209/465
JEM
Vol 13, No 2
J O U RN A L O F
Ecosystem s &
Management
1
Caren Christine Dymond, British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource
Operations; Robert M. Scheller, Portland State University; & Sarah Beukema, ESSA
Technologies Ltd.
LINK
News
ForCSv1 will help forest
managers better understand
the effects of a changing
environment, including
carbon dynamics.
ucts sector caused by harvesting. The extension allows the user considerable flexibility
in adjusting the disturbance impacts on carbon pools.
ForCSv1 has been tested successfully on a site on Vancouver Island, with other sites
in British Columbia currently in progress. The model is freely available for download at
http://www.landis-ii.org.
Websites
http://www.landis-ii.org
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/landis-ii-users
https://sites.google.com/a/pdx.edu/dynamic-ecosystems-landscape-lab/home
References
Kurz, W.A., C.C Dymond, T .M. White, G. Stinson, C. H. Shaw, G. J. Rampley, C. Smyth, B. N. Simpson, E. T.
Neilson, J. A. Trofymow, J. Metsaranta, & M. J. Apps. 2009. CBM-CFS3: A model of carbon-dynamics
in forestry and land-use change implementing IPCC standards. Ecological Modelling 220:480–504.
Scheller, R. M. & D. J. Mladenoff. 2004. A forest growth and biomass module for a landscape simulation
model, LANDIS: Design, validation, and application. Ecological Modelling 180(1):211–229.
Steenberg, J.W.N., P.N. Duinker, & P.G. Bush. 2011. Exploring adaptation to climate change in the forests
of central Nova Scotia, Canada. Forest Ecology and Management 262: 2316–2327.
doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.08.027
Sturtevant, B. R., A. Fall, D. D. Kneeshaw, N. P. P. Simon, M. J. Papaik, K. Berninger, F. Doyon, D. G. Morgan,
& C. Messier. 2007.A toolkit modeling approach for sustainable forest management planning:
Achieving balance between science and local needs.Ecology and Society 12(2):7.
Author information
Caren C. Dymond – Research Scientist, British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource
Operations. Victoria, BC. Email: Caren.Dymond@gov.bc.ca
Robert Scheller – Assistant Professor, Environmental Sciences and Management, Portland State University,
Portland, Oregon. Email: rmschell@pdx.edu
Sarah Beukema – Senior Systems Ecologist, ESSA Technologies Ltd, Vancouver, BC. Email: sbeukema
@essa.com
JEM
Vol 13, No 2
2
A NEW MODEL FOR
SIMULATING
CLIMATE CHANGE
AND CARBON
DYNAMICS IN
FORESTED
LANDSCAPES
Dymond, Scheller,
& Beukema
J O U RN A L O F
Ecosyst ems &
Management