MAPSS (Mapped Atmosphere-Plant-Soil System)

DESCRIPTION

As described in the MAPSS Model Website maintained by the University Consortium for Atmospheric Research, MAPSS is a global biogeography model which simulates the potential natural vegetation that can be supported at any upland site in the world under a long-term steady-state climate. MAPSS operates on the fundamental principle that ecosystems will tend to maximize the leaf area that can be supported at a site by available soil moisture or energy.

The principal features of the MAPSS model include algorithms for:

• formation and melt of snow;
• interception and evaporation of rainfall;
• infiltration and percolation of rainfall and snowmelt through three soil layers,
• runoff;
• transpiration based on LAI and stomatal conductance, biophysical 'rules' for leaf form and phenology;
• iterative calculation of LAI, and,
• assembly rules for vegetation classification.

A comparison of MAPSS with other biogeographical models is described by Running.   Work on MAPSS model calibration is described at an Oregon State University Web site.

SCALE AND AREAS OF APPLICATION

SURVEY COMMENTS

No survey respondents mentioned using MAPSS.

BENEFITS (PROS)

COSTS (CONS)

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