Offered Papers Theme B: Grassland and the Environment

Description

Most model studies dealing with the response of grassland dynamics to climate change (e.g. Thornley & Cannell, 1997; Riedo et al., 2000) consider either step changes or a smooth transition in the climatic drivers, therefore neglecting short-term variations. However, the inter-annual variability of the climatic and edaphic elements (Calanca, 2004) can be substantial, with important consequences for the fluxes of nitrogen (N). The objective of this study is to investigate the response of nitrogen fluxes to this type of variability with the help of the Pasture Simulation Model (PaSim), looking at years considerably differing in terms of temperature, radiation and precipitation conditions.

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Nitrogen Fluxes in Grassland in Response to Inter-Annual Climate Variability

Most model studies dealing with the response of grassland dynamics to climate change (e.g. Thornley & Cannell, 1997; Riedo et al., 2000) consider either step changes or a smooth transition in the climatic drivers, therefore neglecting short-term variations. However, the inter-annual variability of the climatic and edaphic elements (Calanca, 2004) can be substantial, with important consequences for the fluxes of nitrogen (N). The objective of this study is to investigate the response of nitrogen fluxes to this type of variability with the help of the Pasture Simulation Model (PaSim), looking at years considerably differing in terms of temperature, radiation and precipitation conditions.