Biosphere Group

Group leader: Wolfgang Lucht

The biosphere group is the primary developer of a leading process-based biosphere dynamics model (LPJ), which is validated against observations from space and the ground. The model and supporting data bases are used to investigate the role of biospheric processes in the overall Earth system, particularly with respect to its stability on the decadal time-scale (cf TOPIK project BIOS-X).

PIK-projects the biosphere group contributes to:

BIOS-X - Scenarios of Expanded Human Use of the Biosphere

PBM - Potsdam Biosphere Module

CLIMBER-3 - Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity

Ph.D. projects of the biosphere group:

Recent publication highlights from the biosphere group:

Schaphoff S, Lucht W, Gerten D, Sitch S, Cramer W & Prentice IC 2006 Terrestrial biosphere carbon storage under alternative climate projections. Clim Chg 74:97-122, doi: 10.1007/s10584-005-9002-5

Lucht W, Schaphoff S, Erbrecht T, Heyder U & Cramer W 2006 Terrestrial vegetation redistribution and carbon balance under climate change. C Bal Mgmt 1:6, doi: 10.1186/1750-0680-1-6 (open access)

Cramer W, Bondeau A, Schaphoff S, Lucht W, Smith B & Sitch S 2004 Tropical forests and the global carbon cycle: Impacts of atmospheric CO₂, climate change and rate of deforestation. Phil Trans Roy Soc B 359:331-343

Sitch S, Smith B, Prentice IC, Arneth A, Bondeau A, Cramer W, Kaplan JO, Levis S, Lucht W, Sykes MT, Thonicke K & Venevsky S 2003 Evaluation of ecosystem dynamics, plant geography and terrestrial carbon cycling in the LPJ Dynamic Global Vegetation Model. Gl Ch Biol 9:161-185