A modelling analysis on dynamics of hilly sandy grassland landscapes using spatial simulation
Academic Article
Overview
Identity
Additional Document Info
Other
View All
Overview
abstract
A one-dimensional spatial simulation model, SLOPE, was developed to simulate the dynamics of soil water and vegetation biomass of semi-arid hilly sandy grasslands. The model stressed interactions between soil water and plant growth for variable geographical locations, slope angle, aspect angle, soil hydraulic properties as well as plant assimilation and transpiration characteristics. Climatic and field-experimental data on plant biomass and transpiration as well as soil water characteristics, conducted in the Erdos Plateau in northern China, were used to parameterize the model. A simulation was run for variable soil hydraulic conductivity and slope and aspect angles to obtain steady state solutions. The results indicated that soil water and biomass production strongly depended on slope and aspect angles, but were not so sensitive to soil hydraulic conductivity. Soil water was, but biomass production was not, sensitive to aspect angle.
