AMAP Seminar - Results & Programs

Inferring forest structure and forest dynamics with individual-and trait-based modelling approaches

22/01/2020 de 11h00 à 12h00PS 2 salle 201

The presentation will provide an overview over the results from my recently completed PhD on forest structure and dynamics, centred around the individual- and trait-based forest growth model TROLL. It will include insights into evolutionary and ecological patterns of wood density based on an update of a global wood density database as well as the presentation of a TROLL-derived modelling approach, called the Canopy Constructor. The latter uses a combination of field inventory data and Airborne Lidar scans to create individual-based 3D-representations of forest stands. An application to two tropical rain forests will be presented, one in French Guiana and one in Gabon, where we used the Canopy Constructor to infer forest structure, created high resolution maps of above-ground biomass, and validated both steps against ground data. Furthermore, it will be shown how these 3D-reconstructions have been passed on to the dynamic forest growth model TROLL for calibration, initialisation and predictive purposes. In particular, making use of the newly calibrated TROLL model, we will examine how intra-specific variation in plant functional traits and plasticity in carbon allocation impacts on forest structure and ecosystem functioning.