Models4Pastures
Robust models for assessing the effectiveness of technologies and managements to reduce N2O emissions from grazed pastures
Context
Process-based models are needed to test possible mitigation options through developing greater understanding of their efficacy and likely flow-on effects such as changed input needs and productivity. Modelling of perennial systems is more difficult than annual systems because in annual production systems the states are largely ‘reset’ every year. This resetting minimises or eliminates the drift in system states (such as changes in soil organic matter) that can accumulate over long simulation periods. Modelling of grazed systems is further complicated by the selective removal of herbage from pastures and because the animals transfer nutrients consumed from the whole paddock into relatively small dung and urine patches. These combined effects create considerable challenges for modellers. Nevertheless several simulation models exist for grazed temperate pastures – these include APSIM, DayCent, DNDC, and PaSim. Few grassland model comparison studies have been published although this is regarded as an essential step in developing robust tools for assessing potential mitigation options (see priorities of AgMIP and GRA C and N Cycling Group).
Aim
Models4Pastures will test, improve, and then use, simulation models to provide robust assessments of the impact of N2O mitigation options in grassland systems across a large geographic and climatic range. Our models and assessments will take into account the effects of the mitigation option, and its follow-on consequences (e.g. changes in grazing intensity) for other gases to understand the net ecosystem effect, food production and variability of production, and the effects on the ability of the soil to sustain production. This work will be done in the company of current and proposed FACCE-JPI projects and other international activities. The Swiss contribution is centered around an experiment with increased legume cover compared to a control area within the footprint of an eddy-covariance flux tower at Chamau.
Publications
2023
Feigenwinter I, Hörtnagl L, Zeeman MJ, Eugster W, Fuchs K, Merbold L, Buchmann N (2023) Large inter-annual variation in carbon sink strength of a permanent grassland over 16 years: Impacts of management practices and climate. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 340: 109613, doi: external page10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109613call_made
Gomarasca U, Migliavacca M, Kattge J, Nelson JA, Niinemets Ü, Wirth C, Cescatti A, Bahn M, Nair R, Acosta ATR, Arain MA, Beloiu M, Black TA, Bruun HH, Bucher SF, Buchmann N, Carrara A, Chaeho B, Conte A, da Silva AC, Duveiller G, Fares S, Ibrom A, Knohl A, Komac B, Limousin JM, Lusk CH, Mahecha M, Martini D, Minden V, Montagnani L, Mori A, Onoda Y, Peñuelas J, Perez-Priego O, Poschlod P, Powell TL, Reich PB, Šigut L, van Bodegom PM, Walther S, Wohlfahrt G, Wright IJ, Reichstein M (2023) Leaf-level coordination principles propagate to the ecosystem scale. Nature Communications 14: 3948, doi: external page10.1038/s41467-023-39572-5call_made
2022
Rogger J, Hörtnagl L, Buchmann N, Eugster W (2022) Carbon dioxide fluxes of a mountain grassland: drivers, anomalies and annual budgets. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 134: 108801, doi: external page10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108801call_made
Lembrechts JJ, …, Buchmann N, ..., Eugster W, …, Feigenwinter I, …, Gharun M, …, Hörtnagl L, ..., Maier R, …, Shekhar A, et al. (2022) Global maps of soil temperature. Global Change Biology 28: 3110-3144, doi: external page10.1111/gcb.16060call_made
2021
Delwiche KB, Knox SH, Malhotra A, Fluet-Chouinard E, McNicol G, Feron S, Ouyang Z, Papale D, Trotta C, Canfora E, Cheah Y-W, Christianson D, Alberto MCR, Alekseychik P, Aurela M, Baldocchi D, Bansal S, Billesbach DP, Bohrer G, Bracho R, Buchmann N, Campbell DI, Celis G, Chen J, Chen W, Chu H, Dalmagro HJ, Dengel S, Desai AR, Detto M, Dolman H, Eichelmann E, Euskirchen E, Famulari D, Friborg T, Fuchs K, Goeckede M, Gogo S, Gondwe MJ, Goodrich JP, Gottschalk P, Graham SL, Heimann M, Helbig M, Helfter C, Hemes KS, Hirano T, Hollinger D, Hörtnagl L, Iwata H, Jacotot A, Jansen J, Jurasinski G, Kang M, Kasak K, King J, Klatt J, Koebsch F, Krauss KW, Lai DYF, Mammarella I, Manca G, Marchesini LB, Matthes JH, Maximon T, Merbold L, Mitra B, Morin TH, Nemitz E, Nilsson MB, Niu S, Oechel WC, Oikawa PY, Ono K, Peichl M, Peltola O, Reba ML, Richardson AD, Riley W, Runkle BRK, Ryu Y, Sachs T, Sakabe A, Sanchez CR, Schuur EA, Schäfer KVR, Sonnentag O, Sparks JP, Stuart-Haëntjens E, Sturtevant C, Sullivan RC, Szutu DJ, Thom JE, Torn MS, Tuittila E-S, Turner J, Ueyama M, Valach AC, Vargas R, Varlagin A, Vazquez-Lule A, Verfaillie JG, Vesala T, Vourlitis GL, Ward EJ, Wille C, Wohlfahrt G, Wong GX, Zhang Z, Zona D, Windham-Myers L, Poulter B, Jackson RB (2021) FLUXNET-CH4: A global, multi-ecosystem dataset and analysis of methane seasonality from freshwater wetlands. Earth System Science Data 13: 3607-3689, doi: external page10.5194/essd-13-3607-2021call_made
Harper AB, Williams KE, McGuire PC, Duran Rojas MC, Hemming D, Verhoef A, Huntingford C, Rowland L, Marthews T, Breder Eller C, Mathison C, Nobrega RLB, Gedney N, Vidale PL, Otu-Larbi F, Pandey D, Garrigues S, Wright A, Slevin D, De Kauwe MG, Blyth E, Ärdo J, Black A, Bonal D, Buchmann N, Burban B, Fuchs K, de Grandcourt A, Mammarella I, Merbold L, Montagnani L, Nouvellon Y, Restrepo-Coupe N, Wohlfahrt G (2021) Improvement of modelling plant responses to low soil moisture in JULESvn4.9 and evaluation against flux tower measurements. Geoscientific Model Development 14: 3269-3294, doi: external page10.5194/gmd-14-3269-2021call_made
Merbold L, Decock C, Eugster W, Fuchs K, Wolf B, Buchmann N, Hörtnagl L (2021) Are there memory effects on greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, N2O and CH4) following grassland restoration? Biogeosciences 18: 1481-1498, doi: external page10.5194/bg-18-1481-2021call_made
2020
Fuchs K, Merbold L, Buchmann N, Bretscher D, Brilli L, Decock C, Fitton N, Topp CFE, Klumpp K, Lieffering M, Martin R, Newton PCD, Rees RM, Rolinski S, Smith P, Snow V (2020) Multi-model evaluation of nitrous oxide emissions from an intensively managed grassland. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 125: e2019JG005261, doi: external page10.1029/2019JG005261call_made
Fuchs K, Merbold L, Buchmann N, Bellocchi G, Bindi M, Brilli L, Conant RT, Dorich CD, Ehrhardt F, Fitton N, Grace P, Klumpp K, Liebig M, Lieffering M, Martin R, McAuliffe R, Newton PCD, Rees RM, Recous S, Smith P, Soussana J-F, Topp CFE, Snow V (2020) Evaluating the potential of legumes to mitigate N2O emissions from permanent grassland using process‐based models. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 34: e2020GB006561, doi: external page10.1029/2020GB006561call_made
Gharun M, Hörtnagl L, Paul-Limoges E, Ghiasi S, Feigenwinter I, Burri S, Marquardt K, Etzold S, Zweifel R, Eugster W, Buchmann N (2020) Summer 2018 drought reduced forest and grassland productivity, but not at higher elevations in Switzerland. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 375: 20190521, doi: external page10.1098/rstb.2019.0521call_made
Lembrechts JJ, …, Gharun M, Buchmann N, et al. (2020) SoilTemp: a global database of near-surface temperature. Global Change Biology 26: 6616-6629, doi: external page10.1111/gcb.15123call_made
Merbold L, Decock C, Eugster W, Fuchs K, Wolf B, Buchmann N, Hörtnagl L (2020) Memory effects on greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, N2O and CH4) following grassland restoration? Biogeosciences Discussions, doi: external page10.5194/bg-2020-141call_made
2018
Fitton N, Bindi M, Newton P, Smith P, Lüscher A, Huguenin-Elie O, Fuchs K, Gongadze K, Newton P C D, Rees R M, Merbold L, Snow V (2018) Modelling biological N fixation and grass-legume dynamics with process-based biogeochemical models of varying complexity. European Journal of Agronomy 106: 58-66 doi: external page10.1016/j.eja.2019.03.008call_made
Fuchs K, Hörtnagl L, Buchmann N, Eugster W, Snow V, Merbold L (2018) Management matters: testing a mitigation strategy for nitrous oxide emissions using legumes on intensively managed grassland. Biogeosciences 15: 5519-5543 doi: external page10.5194/bg-15-5519-2018call_made
Fuchs K, Hörtnagl L, Buchmann N, Eugster W, Snow V, Merbold L (2018) Management matters: Testing a mitigation strategy for nitrous oxide emissions on intensively managed grassland. Biogeosciences Discussions, doi: external page10.5194/bg-2018-192call_made
Sándor R, Ehrhardt F, Brilli L, Carozzi M, Recous S, Smith P, Snow V, Soussana J-F, Dorich C D, Fuchs K, et al. (2018) The use of biogeochemical models to evaluate mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from managed grasslands. Science of The Total Environment, 642, 292–306 doi: external page10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.020call_made
Ehrhardt F, Soussana J-F, Bellocchi G, Grace P, McAuliffe R, Recous S, et al. (2018) Assessing uncertainties in crop and pasture ensemble model simulations of productivity and N2O emissions. Global Change Biology 24:e603–e616 doi: external page10.1111/gcb.13965call_made
2016
Sándor R, Ehrhardt F, Basso B, Bellocchi G, Bhati A5, Brilli L, De Antoni Migliorati M, Doltra J, Dorich C, Doro L, Fitton N, Giacomini SJ, Grace P, Grant B, Harrison MT, Jones S, Kirschbaum MUF, Klumpp K, Laville P, Léonard J, Liebig M, Lieffering M, Martin R, McAuliffe R, Meier E, Merbold L, Moore A, Myrgiotis V, Newton P, Pattey E, Recous S, Rolinski S, Sharp J, Massad RS, Smith P, Smith W, Snow V, Wu L, Zhang Q, Soussana JF (2016) C and N models Intercomparison - benchmark and ensemble model estimates for grassland production. Advances in Animal Biosciences external pagedoi.org/10.1017/S2040470016000297call_made
2015
Wolf B, Merbold L, Decock C, Tuzson B, Harris E, Six J, Emmenegger L, Mohn J (2015) First on-line isotopic characterization of N2O emitted from intensively managed grassland. Biogeosciences 12: 2517-2531 doi:external page10.5194/bg-12-2517-2015call_made
Wolf B, Merbold L, Decock C, Tuzson B, Harris E, Six J, Emmenegger L, Mohn J (2015) First on-line isotopic characterization of N2O emitted from intensively managed grassland. Biogeosciences Discussions 12: 1573-1611, doi:external page10.5194/bgd-12-1573-2015call_made
2014
Merbold L, Eugster W, Stieger J, Zahniser M, Nelson D, Buchmann N (2014) Greenhouse gas budget (CO2, CH4 and N2O) of intensively managed grassland following restoration. Global Change Biology 20: 1918-1928 doi:external page10.1111/gcb.12518call_made