Teng et al. (2025) Incorporating heat and water stress into BIOME-BGC to simulate the impact of extreme climate events on subtropical coniferous forest NEP

Identification

• Journal: Environmental Modelling & Software
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-20
• Authors: Xianfeng Teng, Fangjie Mao, Huaqiang Du, Xuejian Li, Fengfeng Ye, Zhaodong Zheng, Ningxin Yang, Yinyin Zhao, Jiacong Yu, Meixuan Song
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106784

Research Groups

• Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Carbon Sequestration and Emission Reduction in Agriculture and Forestry, Zhejiang A&F University
• College of Environment and Resources, College of Carbon Neutrality, Zhejiang A&F University

Short Summary

This study enhances the BIOME-BGC model by incorporating dynamic heat and water stress mechanisms to better simulate the impact of extreme climate events on subtropical coniferous forest Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP). The improved model demonstrates significantly higher accuracy in NEP simulation and reveals an increasing NEP trend from 1981 to 2019, with drought identified as the strongest negative driver.

Objective

• To enhance the BIOME-BGC model's performance by implementing dynamic heat and water stress mechanisms to improve the simulation of Net Ecosystem Productivity (NEP) in subtropical coniferous forests under extreme climate events.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Subtropical coniferous forests in China, with specific mentions of eastern subtropical regions and high-altitude western areas.
• Temporal Scale: Model validation against observational data from 2003 to 2010; analysis of NEP patterns from 1981 to 2019.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: BIOME-BGC model (enhanced with dynamic heat and water stress mechanisms).
• Data sources: Observational data (2003–2010) used for model validation.

Main Results

• The enhanced BIOME-BGC model showed substantial improvements in performance, with correlation increasing by 51.32 % and root mean square error decreasing by 15.16 % during validation.
• Analysis of NEP patterns from 1981 to 2019 revealed an increase from 92.28 gC⋅m⁻²⋅yr⁻¹ (1981–2000) to 129.55 gC⋅m⁻²⋅yr⁻¹ (2001–2019), particularly in eastern subtropical regions.
• Extreme drought events were responsible for 79.45 % of low-NEP years.
• Extreme heat positively affected NEP in 42.97 % of high-altitude western areas.
• The model demonstrated enhanced sensitivity to extreme climate events, with drought showing the strongest negative impact (sensitivity: 0.43).
• Wet conditions promoted NEP in 63.71 % of the study area.

Contributions

• Developed and implemented dynamic heat and water stress mechanisms into the BIOME-BGC model, significantly improving its ability to simulate NEP under extreme climate events.
• Addressed existing gaps in ecosystem models by providing a more mechanistic representation of compound extreme events and their impacts on carbon flux.
• Provided robust tools for forest management and carbon dynamics assessment, particularly relevant for subtropical coniferous forests under changing climatic conditions.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Teng2025Incorporating,
  author = {Teng, Xianfeng and Mao, Fangjie and Du, Huaqiang and Li, Xuejian and Ye, Fengfeng and Zheng, Zhaodong and Yang, Ningxin and Zhao, Yinyin and Yu, Jiacong and Song, Meixuan},
  title = {Incorporating heat and water stress into BIOME-BGC to simulate the impact of extreme climate events on subtropical coniferous forest NEP},
  journal = {Environmental Modelling & Software},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106784},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106784}
}