Articles | Volume 19, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-1-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-1-2026
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

Related authors

Vegetation effects redistribute dust globally
Siqing Xu, Yves Balkanski, Philippe Ciais, and Jean Sciare
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1070,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1070, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary

Cited articles

Allaby, M.: Grasslands, Biomes of the Earth, Chelsea House, New York, 192 pp., ISBN 978-0-8160-5323-0, 2006. 
Balkanski, Y., Bonnet, R., Boucher, O., Checa-Garcia, R., and Servonnat, J.: Better representation of dust can improve climate models with too weak an African monsoon, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11423–11435, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11423-2021, 2021. 
Bartlett, M. K., Scoffoni, C., and Sack, L.: The determinants of leaf turgor loss point and prediction of drought tolerance of species and biomes: a global meta-analysis, Ecol. Lett., 15, 393–405, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01751.x, 2012. 
Bartlett, M. K., Klein, T., Jansen, S., Choat, B., and Sack, L.: The correlations and sequence of plant stomatal, hydraulic, and wilting responses to drought, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 13098–13103, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1604088113, 2016. 
Download
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.
Share