A harmonized database of European forest simulations under climate change

Area of Science:

• Forestry science
• Climate change ecology
• Computational ecology

Background:

• Process-based forest models simulate ecosystem dynamics, offering insights into climate change effects.
• Numerous local-scale studies assess climate change impacts on forests, but a harmonized dataset is lacking.
• Existing knowledge from local simulations remains underexplored due to data fragmentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compile existing European forest simulations under climate change into a common database.
• To harmonize these simulations to a standardized set of output variables.
• To provide auxiliary environmental data for each simulation location to support further research.

Main Methods:

• Compilation of over 1.1 million local-scale forest simulation runs across Europe.
• Harmonization of data to consistent variables: stand structure, composition, and functioning.
• Inclusion of standardized daily climate and local site condition data.

Main Results:

• Creation of a comprehensive dataset of European forest simulations (1.1M+ runs, 135M+ years).
• Harmonized data includes stand height, species composition, leaf area index, climate, and soil properties.
• Dataset covers over 13,000 unique locations across Europe.

Conclusions:

• The dataset facilitates cross-model and cross-location analyses of forest responses to climate change.
• Enables better utilization of local simulation knowledge for large-scale policy support.
• Aids in deepening the understanding of climate change effects on European forest ecosystems.