Treegrass: a 3D, process-based model for simulating plant interactions in tree-grass ecosystems

The function and dynamics of savanna ecosystems result from complex interactions and feedbacks between grasses and trees, involving numerous processes (i.e. competition for light, water and nutrients, fire, and herbivory). These interactions are characterised by strong relationships between vegetation structure and function. Given the heterogeneous structure of savannas, modelling appears as a convenient approach to study tree-grass interactions. Most current models that describe carbon and water fluxes are not spatially explicit, which restricts their ability to simulate plant interactions at small scales in heterogeneous ecosystems. We present here a new 3D process-based model called TREEGRASS. The model aims at predicting, in heterogeneous tree-grass systems, plant individual radiation, carbon and water fluxes at a local spatial scale. It is run at a daily time-step over periods ranging from one to a few years. The model includes (i) a 3D mechanistic submodel simulating radiation and energy (i.e. transpiration) budgets; (ii) a soil water balance submodel, and (iii) a physiologically based submodel of primary production and leaf area development. The ability of TREEGRASS to predict the seasonal courses of grass dead and leaf mass, soil water content and light regime as observed in the field has been tested for grassy and shrubby areas of Lamto savannas (Ivory Coast). Simulations showed that the spatial distribution of primary production can be strongly affected by the spatial vegetation structure. Potential applications involve predicting net primary production and water balance from the individual to the ecosystem and from the day to the annual vegetation cycle (e.g. effects of tree spatial patterns on carbon and water fluxes at the ecosystem level). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.