A process model for simulating net primary productivity (NPP) based on the interaction of water-heat process and nitrogen: a case study in Lantsang valley

Terrestrial carbon cycle and the global atmospheric CO₂ budget are important foci in global climate change research. Simulating net primary productivity (NPP) of terrestrial ecosystems is important for carbon cycle research. In this study, a plant-atmosphere-soil continuum nitrogen (N) cycling model was developed and incorporated into the Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator (BEPS) model. With the established database (leaf area index, land cover, daily meteorology data, vegetation and soil) at a 1 km resolution, daily maps of NPP for Lantsang valley in 2007 were produced, and the spatial-temporal patterns of NPP and mechanisms of its responses to soil N level were further explored. The total NPP and mean NPP of Lantsang valley in 2007 were 66.5 Tg C and 416 g·m⁻²·a⁻¹ C, respectively. In addition, statistical analysis of NPP of different land cover types was conducted and investigated. Compared with BEPS model (without considering nitrogen effect), it was inferred that the plant carbon fixing for the upstream of Lantsang valley was also limited by soil available nitrogen besides temperature and precipitation. However, nitrogen has no evident limitation to NPP accumulation of broadleaf forest, which mainly distributed in the downstream of Lantsang valley.