Representing dynamic grassland density in  the land surface model ORCHIDEE r9010

Xu, Siqing; Luyssaert, Sebastiaan; Balkanski, Yves; Ciais, Philippe; Viovy, Nicolas; Wan, Liang; Sciare, Jean

doi:10.5194/gmd-19-1-2026

Articles | Volume 19, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-1-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-1-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 1

Development and technical paper

|

05 Jan 2026

Development and technical paper |

| 05 Jan 2026

Representing dynamic grassland density in the land surface model ORCHIDEE r9010

Siqing Xu, Sebastiaan Luyssaert, Yves Balkanski, Philippe Ciais, Nicolas Viovy, Liang Wan, and Jean Sciare

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-1-2026-supplement

Data sets

MODIS/Terra+Aqua Leaf Area Index/FPAR 4-Day L4 Global 500 m SIN Grid V061 R. Myneni et al. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD15A3H.061

Global Aridity Index and Potential Evapotranspiration (ET0) Database v3 (Global_AI_PET_v3) R. J. Zomer and A. Trabucco https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.7504448.v5

Fraction of Green Vegetation Cover 2014-present (raster 300 m), global, 10-daily - version 1 Copernicus Land Monitoring Service https://doi.org/10.2909/09578c73-4f5d-4d2c-90ff-4e17fb7dbf69

Model code and software

ORCHIDEE code for the submitted paper: Representing dynamic grass density in the land surface model ORCHIDEE r9010 Siqing Xu https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15723740

Codes for figures in the submitted paper: Representing dynamic grass density in the land surface model ORCHIDEE r9010 Siqing Xu https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15877635

Short summary

Prescribing a fixed grassland density in the ORCHIDEE model limits its ability to capture grassland dynamics, leading to unrealistic mortality, especially in semi-arid grasslands. We proposed a dynamic density approach where a positive density-precipitation relationship emerges. This method improves spatial pattern, significantly reduces mortality, sustains productivity, and raises the aridity threshold above which frequent mortality events occur in grasslands.