LPJ-WHyMe v1.3.1: Peatland Hydrology and Methane Model

LPJ-WHyMe v1.3.1 is a Fortran 77 Dynamic Global Vegetation Model that simulates peatland hydrology, permafrost dynamics, and methane emissions on a global 0.5 or 1.0 degree grid. The model requires a 1,000-year 'spin-up' from bare ground to establish equilibrium carbon and vegetation structure before transient simulations. It extends the LPJ model with two new plant functional types for wetlands and a methane subroutine, validated against field sites in Sweden, Finland, Canada, Alaska, and Siberia.

Use Cases

• Projecting methane emissions from northern peatlands under climate change scenarios based on the integrated methane subroutine.
• Simulating permafrost thaw and its impact on peatland carbon storage using the model's hydrology and thermal dynamics.
• Comparing modeled vegetation succession (including Sphagnum mosses and flood-tolerant graminoids) against field observations from boreal sites.
• Assessing the global wetland carbon sink using driver data for temperature, precipitation, sunshine, CO2, and soil texture.

Strengths

• Model is validated against field observations from multiple peatland and non-peatland sites across the Northern Hemisphere.
• Includes complete source code, input data, and example output, facilitating reproducibility and modification.
• Simulates processes at flexible spatial (global, regional, site) and temporal (daily, monthly, annual) scales.

Limitations

• Metadata conflict: last update date is listed as both 2010-10-15 and 2026-04 10, suggesting possible archival duplication.
• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific license terms are not provided across any platform.
• The model requires computationally intensive spin-up periods of approximately 1,000 years per simulation.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Model development and simulation; includes synthetic output data for examples.

Time Range

Simulation time steps are daily, monthly, or annual; specific historical or future coverage is not defined.

Freshness

2026-04-10 01:25:31.569287 (datagov); conflicting date of 2010-10-15 also present.

Geography

Global, regional, or site-specific, using a 0.5 or 1.0 degree grid cell basis.