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Evolution of Biome BGC Over the Years

Twenty five years of development turned a daily canopy model into a multi vegetation biogeochemical model.

Biome BGC has evolved over twenty five years from a simple daily canopy photosynthesis model into a multi vegetation model that accurately simulates carbon, water, and nitrogen and the interactions among them, capturing ecosystem development during succession. Biome BGC is a well recognized ecosystem process model that scientists and NASA used to derive global net primary production estimates, as Running and colleagues reported in 2004.

Diagram of the model lineage from daily canopy photosynthesis to multi vegetation Biome BGC
The lineage of the model, with the versions developed in part at the University of Wisconsin Madison highlighted.

The Forest Ecology and Ecosystems Lab at the University of Wisconsin Madison has played a significant role in the development of Forest BGC and Biome BGC. The models highlighted in amber above are the stages the lab helped build. The technical capabilities that were added along the way are described on the ecosystem process models page, and the studies that confirmed the model on real forests are gathered under model outputs.

What each step added

  • The original canopy model simulated daily photosynthesis for a single canopy.
  • Forest BGC generalized that structure to include carbon, water, and nitrogen.
  • Biome BGC extended the same structure to all the major biomes.
  • The multi vegetation form added mixed stands, succession, and wetland dynamics.

See model outputs