MERGE SP: Holocene plant-cover change in China - climate or land-use driven?

The purpose of this pilot project is to achieve the first steps in the analysis of the first existing pollen-based REVEALS estimates of plant-cover change over the Holocene in China1 and in understanding their main forcing, climate or land use. We will use the experience and knowledge built up by the VR (Vetenskapsrådet) LANDCLIM projects on Europe (PI Marie-José Gaillard) that successfully brought together a multidisciplinary team of researchers from
different member institutions of the MERGE strategic research area. We will use the latest advances in ecosystem modelling, palaeo climate modelling, palaeoecological proxy-based reconstructions and spatial interpolation models developed by the LANDCLIM team to achieve the project purpose2,3,4.
The aims of the project are to:
I) map data availability of:
a) palaeo-proxy vegetation and climate data;
b) global and regional climate-model data; make a first comparison between palaeo-reconstructed and modelled climate parameters in order to select the most suitable dataset of climate data as the input to DEM (Dynamic Ecosystem Model) LPJ-GUESS.
II) test DEM LPJ-GUESS sensitivity to different climate inputs and its ability to capture major land-cover types at a regional scale using a default set of global PFTs and comparison with the pollen-based REVEALS reconstructions of land-cover change.
III) If necessary, make adjustments in PFT parametrization and determine the need for new, region-specific PFTs.
IV) The results of this short project will published in a research paper on comparison of palaeoproxy-based reconstructions with model-simulated climate and vegetation and will be used in a grant application.