engleski

Applying the NOTG model to forest sites in Croatia

NOTG is the process- and individual-based model which was designed to predict growth and carbon and water fluxes from the tree to the ecosystem, explicitly accounting for ecosystem spatial structure and multispecific canopies. It already incorporates the main biophysical processes involved in the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles in trees and soil. NOTG was also primarily applied to mediterranean forests, including the effects of drought on plant physiology and soil organic matter decomposition. As a first case study, the model was parameterized for the forest of Font-Blanche, a mixture of Aleppo pine and Holm oak in south-east France. Therefore, the purpose of model application to Croatian Aleppo pine site was: to fill-in knowladge gaps by using process-based modeling at varius spatial and temporal scale, to extend the use of the model in new places, to confirm if they are applicable to experimantal sites. Aleppo pine was planted on three separated blocks (3 repetitions), distributed over the experimental object according to randomized block method. Each block has an area of 0.2 hectares and it is divided longitudinally into 2 sub blocks. Each year during the experiment from 2003 to 2014, after the growing season, seedlings were measured for height increment, and survival rates, with respect to container type and planting method. The objectives was to study climate change impacts on Aleppo pine sustainability and productivity across time. Measurements used: biomass and leanght of 1 year old seadlings, mortality and growth of plants planted in pits and ripped soil, soil profile analyses and meteo data obtained from Croatian Meterological and Hydrological service. We will provide an extensive evaluation of the model for a well documented Aleppo pine site, using measurements at the tree, soil, and ecosystem levels. Our results will bring new insight into the use of ecological model to assess local changes in ecosystem functions in response to climate change.

Aleppo pine, meteo data, NOTG model, soil

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