The PnET-CN model simulates carbon, water, and nitrogen interactions in forest ecosystems on a monthly time step. Developed by SCIOPS and validated at Hubbard Brook and Harvard Forest sites, it predicts transient responses to land use and nitrogen deposition changes. Model outputs include predictions for maximum sustainable nitrogen cycling rates across 14 sites in the northeastern USA.
Use Cases
- Predicting maximum sustainable nitrogen cycling rates for a given site, climate, and species combination using model parameters.
- Analyzing the legacy effect of land use history on nitrogen recovery timelines, such as the multi-century recovery predicted for harvested sites.
- Mapping regional nitrogen saturation indicators by regressing model-predicted maximum N cycling rates against summary climatic variables.
- Validating model outputs against measured site data for annual net primary productivity, monthly carbon/water balances, and annual net N mineralization.
- Investigating the relationship between the ratio of measured net N mineralization and the fraction of N mineralization nitrified as an indicator of nitrogen saturation.
Strengths
- Model validated against empirical data from two long-term ecological research sites: Hubbard Brook and Harvard Forest.
- Provides predictions for maximum sustainable nitrogen cycling across 14 distinct sites in the northeastern USA.
- Simulates ecosystem interactions across carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles on a monthly temporal resolution.
Limitations
- Model scope is geographically limited to forest ecosystems in the northeastern United States.
- The underlying dataset size, specific row count, and temporal coverage for validation data are not provided.
- Model structure includes only one 'active' soil organic matter pool, which may simplify complex soil processes.
Provenance
- Source
- SCIOPS, via NASA Earthdata.
- Collection Method
- Outputs from the PnET-CN biogeochemical model, validated against site measurement data.
- Geography
- Northeastern USA, with specific validation at Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire and Harvard Forest, Massachusetts.