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CRITIQUE OF CARBON BASED TREE GROWTH MODELS
Citation:
Bassow, S., E. Ford, AND R. Kiester. CRITIQUE OF CARBON BASED TREE GROWTH MODELS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/D-89/198 (NTIS PB90132960), 1989.
Description:
Simulation models of the processes that control carbohydrate balance in coniferous trees are reviewed, and their appropriateness for assessing pollution effects is considered. Currently such models are at the forefront of attempts to simulate the growth process of trees, but they are not able to predict growth of forest trees immediately under varied environmental conditions such as an increased pollution load. ypically model structures for growth based on carbon balance incorporate such features as constant allocation coefficients or a regulation of foliage amount around a theoretical maximum at canopy closure. t is these features that render such models unable to predict the effects of pollution because the processes of compensation in relation to pollution load are obscured. We present a model, CARBON, that prioritizes allocation between meristems according to functional requirements, but this is still insufficient to predict the effects of pollution. e discuss this problem and that of using a medium foliage amount as a control parameter in canopy development, and propose suggestions for an improved modeling framework for tree growth models. his should include the expression of translocation, storage and utilization of carbohydrates in a spatially well defined system.
