LPJmL builds on the Lund–Potsdam–Jena (LPJ) dynamic global vegetation model, originally created to study terrestrial carbon dynamics and climate responses. Carbon and water cycles were coupled early, and agricultural land use was added to capture the Anthropocene biosphere in one framework.

Key milestones

  • LPJ foundation: global vegetation, carbon cycling, fire, and climate sensitivity.
  • LPJmL extension: irrigation, crops, and river routing integrated with natural vegetation.
  • Managed land focus: dynamic land use, bioenergy plantations, and explicit carbon–nitrogen–water coupling at global 0.5° resolution.
  • Recent releases: methane and wetland dynamics (6.0.x), irrigation and phenology refinements (5.10.x), richer NetCDF inputs and restart handling (5.9.x).

Model grid cells are mosaics of natural and agricultural stands; daily and monthly inputs drive vegetation structure, hydrology, and land-atmosphere fluxes. Outputs span PFT-level pools/fluxes, land-use classes, and aggregated diagnostics for scenarios and benchmarks.

Backward Model Versions