Many forest management practices are believed to enhance carbon mitigation, such as the restoration of forested wetlands however there is a lack of long-term field studies.
Forest-DNDC model which runs on a daily time-step, links forest and soil processes and was developed to quantify carbon sequestration in and trace gas emissions from the forest ecosystem. In the core of Forest-DNDC, the PnET and DNDC models were linked together to exchange information on litter production, plant demand for water and N, availability of water and N in soil. DNDC is a soil biogeochemical model that predicts soil organic matter turnover, N emissions and trace gas emissions but lacks the inclusion of detailed vegetation processes. PnET is a forest physiological model that predicts forest photosynthesis, respiration, C allocation and litter production but contained limited representation of soil processes. Forest-DNDC also includes new features such as detailed nitrification processes, soil freezing and thawing, the forest litter layer and soil anaerobic biogeochemistry.
Forest-DNDC requires input data on meteorology, forest type and age, soil properties and forest management practises. For wetland applications water table information is also required. The output includes estimates of model forest growth, net ecosystem C exchange, nitrogen (N) leaching from the root zone, and fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen gas (N2) and ammonia (NH3) emissions on a daily and annual basis. Twenty forest sites in North America, Europe and Oceania have been used for validation
Many forest management practices are believed to enhance carbon mitigation, such as the restoration of forested wetlands. In absence of long-term field study data, Forest-DNDC can be used as an alternative tool to address these issues.