Future climate change scenarios have been applied to a linked model at
five U.K. sites. Results indicate a decrease in grassland productivit
y under a changed climate, resulting from lower soil water content, wi
th possible large consequences to future U.K. water resource planning.
The effect of running the grassland sub-model in isolation, compared
with running it as part of a linked model showed that linked models sh
ould be used for climate change impacts studies. The location specific
response to climate change was also highlighted. The model is mechani
stic, consists of four sub-models (grassland, water balance, nitrate a
nd evapotranspiration) and is spatially explicit.