Integrated BIosphere Simulator (IBIS) Data Set

Food, fiber, fresh water, medicines, and forest products are all derived from our terrestrial ecosystems. In addition, terrestrial ecosystems play a central role in regulating the biogeochemical and climate systems of this planet.

To better understand ecological processes, and to evaluate their response to human activity, our research team is developing IBIS (the Integrated Biosphere Simulator) a comprehensive computer model of the Earth's terrestrial ecosystems. IBIS simulates a wide variety of ecosystem processes, including -energy, water, and carbon dioxide exchange between plants, the atmosphere, and the soil -physiological processes of plants and soil organisms, including photosynthesis and respiration -seasonal changes of vegetation, including spring budburst, fall senescence, and winter dormancy -plant growth and plant competition -nutrient cycling and soil processes IBIS is one of the few computer models to incorporate this range of processes in a single framework.