Predicting the Distribution and Dynamics of Forest Vegetation in the Central Rocky Mountains; Leaf Area, Sapwood, and Site Water Balance at the Tree, Stand, and Landscape Level

这个项目建议开发一个机械性的和空间上明确的模型，描述落基山脉森林的生长、结构和物种组成。概念模型和具体假设的框架建立在对水关系和碳分配的广泛理论和实证研究的基础上。这个新的模型，叶面积分配模拟(LAASIM)将是一个基于个体树木的模拟模型，它以一种对气候和环境变化敏感的方式对气候和环境变化敏感，这种方式是基于木本植物生物学的基础研究。从这项研究中获得的这些信息将突出我们对环境变异性与基本生物和社区一级生物和生态机制相互作用的理解，并检验有关这些机制的一些假说。

9903947RobertsThis project proposes to develop a mechanistic and spatially explicit model describing the growth, structure and species composition of forests in the Rocky Mountains. The framework for the conceptual model and the specific hypothesis is built on the extensive theoretical and empirical research on water relations and carbon allocation. This new model, the Leaf Area Allocation Simulation (LAASIM) will be an individual tree-based simulation model that is physiologically-mechanistic in a way that is sensitive to climate and environmental variability that is based upon fundamental research in woody plant biology. This information gained from this research will highlight our understanding of the interaction of environmental variability and basic organism- and community-level biological and ecological mechanisms, and test a number of hypotheses concerning these mechanisms.