A model component for simulating the seasonal cycle of heterotrophic respiration

Session G1: Using Simulation Models to Improve Understanding of Environmental Systems

Heterotrophic respiration, an important item in ecosystem carbon balance, is the process which is addressed in the global carbon cycle models and Earth system models. The seasonal cycle of the het- erotrophic respiration is determined by seasonal changes in climatic conditions and in the storage of litter (i.e., in the amount of organic substrate available as a food source for organisms composing the heterotrophic community). The model component presented in this paper is focussing at effects produced by seasonal depletion in litter storage. The seasonal changes in litter storage are modelled by ordinary differential equa- tions, which are solved analytically to make model spin-up runs unnecessary. The steady seasonal cycle is calculated by using solutions of the differential equations expressed in functional form.