Open AccessLANDIS PRO: a landscape model that predicts forest composition and structure changes at regional scales
Author(s) -
Wang Wen J.,
He Hong S.,
Fraser Jacob S.,
Thompson Frank R.,
Shifley Stephen R.,
Spetich Martin A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
ecography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.973
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1600-0587
pISSN - 0906-7590
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00495.x
Subject(s) - environmental science , ecology , thinning , seed dispersal , biological dispersal , forest dynamics , forest inventory , scale (ratio) , competition (biology) , stand development , climate change , forest structure , disturbance (geology) , forest management , physical geography , geography , agroforestry , biology , canopy , population , paleontology , demography , cartography , sociology
LANDIS PRO predicts forest composition and structure changes incorporating species‐, stand‐, and landscape‐scales processes at regional scales. Species‐scale processes include tree growth, establishment, and mortality. Stand‐scale processes contain density‐ and size‐related resource competition that regulates self‐thinning and seedling establishment. Landscape‐scale processes include seed dispersal and disturbances. LANDIS PRO is designed to be compatible with forest inventory data, thus extensive inventory data can be directly utilized to initialize and calibrate model parameters before predicting future forest changes. LANDIS PRO allows for exploring the effects of disturbances, management, climate change, and modeling the spread of invasive species. We demonstrate that LANDIS PRO successfully predicts forest successional trajectories and stand development patterns in the Central Hardwood Forest region in U.S.