You are here:
OVERVIEW OF CLIMATE INFORMATION NEEDS FOR ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS MODELS
Citation:
Peer, R. OVERVIEW OF CLIMATE INFORMATION NEEDS FOR ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS MODELS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/3-90/089.
Description:
Atmospheric scientists engaged in climate change research require a basic understanding of how ecological effects models incorporate climate. This report provides an overview of existing ecological models that might be used to model climate change effects on vegetation. ome agricultural models and statistical methods are also discussed. he weather input data requirements, weather simulation methods, and other model characteristics relevant to climate change research are described for a selected number of models. he ecological models are classified as biome, ecosystem, or tree models; the ecosystem models are further subdivided into species dynamics or process models. n general, ecological modelers have had to rely on readily available meteorological data such as temperature and rainfall. lthough models are becoming more sophisticated in their treatment of weather and require more kinds of data (such as wind, solar radiation, or potential evapotranspiration), modelers are still hampered by a lack of data for many applications. uture directions of ecological effects models and the climate variables that will be required by the models are discussed.