Measurements of gross and net ecosystem productivity and water vapour exchange of a Pinus ponderosa ecosystem, and an evaluation of two generalized models

Net ecosystem productivity (NEP), net primary productivity (NPP), and water vapour exchange of a mature Pinus ponderosa forest (44 degrees 30' N, 121 degrees 37' W) growing in a region subject to summer drought were investiga ted along with canopy assimilation and respiratory fluxes. This paper descr ibes seasonal and annual variation in these factors, and the evaluation of two generalized models of carbon and water balance (PnET-II and 3-PG) with a combination of traditional measurements of NPP, respiration and water str ess, and eddy covariance measurements of above-and below-canopy CO2 and wat er vapour exchange. The objective was to evaluate the models using two year s of traditional and eddy covariance measurements, and to use the models to help interpret the relative importance of processes controlling carbon and water vapour exchange in a water-limited pine ecosystem throughout the yea r. PnET-II is a monthly time-step model that is driven by nitrogen availabi lity through foliar N concentration, and 3-PG is a monthly time-step quantu m-efficiency model constrained by extreme temperatures, drought, and vapour pressure deficits. Both models require few parameters and have the potenti al to be applied at the watershed to regional scale. There was 2/3 less rai nfall in 1997 than in 1996, providing a challenge to modelling the water ba lance, and consequently the carbon balance, when driving the models with th e two years of climate data, sequentially. Soil fertility was not a key fac tor in modelling processes at this site because other environmental factors limited photosynthesis and restricted projected leaf area index to similar to 1.6. Seasonally, GEP and LE were overestimated in early summer and unde restimated through the rest of the year. The model predictions of annual GE P, NEP and water vapour exchange were within 1-39% of flux measurements, wi th greater disparity in 1997 because soil water never fully recharged. The results suggest that generalized models can provide insights to constraints on productivity on an annual basis, using a minimum of site data.