Conceptual and technical integration of land system model components

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Various drivers affect the dynamics of land systems at the regional level and have therefore to be captured in land system modelling. Climate factors affect biophysical processes directly (for example, the atmospheric CO2 level changes the rate of photosynthesis) and indirectly (for example, increasing temperature changes the environmental conditions for soil resources, pests, diseases, weeds etc., which affect crop and livestock production). Non-climate factors affect socioeconomic processes through changes in policies and institutions and, most importantly, through the adjustments and adaptations of land users. Unfortunately, these drivers and impacts cannot easily be disentangled because they work interdependently and certain processes, such as crop growth during flowering and fruiting, show strongly nonlinear responses. Moreover, land users may succeed in compensating for some negative impacts on their livelihoods, while in other cases even exploiting and thereby increasing the positive impacts. This project links model components for the various biophysical and socioeconomic processes at high resolution, which is paramount to assess the vulnerability and sensitivity of land systems and to explore suitable adaptation strategies.