LUCAS experiments

The LUCAS project is designed in three phases:

Phase 1
Idealized experiments at continental scale
In LUCAS phase 1, idealized experiments are performed for the European continent in order to investigate and inter-compare model sensitivities to extreme land use change (LUC) forcing. In the FOREST experiment, we maximize the forest fraction in those model grid cells where trees can realistically grow. In the GRASS experiment, we turn trees into grassland with the ratio of C3 and C4 grasses based on present day distribution.

Phase 2
Historical experiments and future scenarios at sub-/continental scale
In LUCAS phase 2, evaluation simulations driven by re-analyses data and observed dynamic land use change are performed. Further plans include GCM driven climate experiments for past and future including LUC forcing based on past re-constructions and future projections.

Phase 3
High resolution experiments in spatially refined pilot regions
The high resolution experiments in phase 3 shall be conducted over multiple gridded nests to refine the continental simulations down to resolutions below 5 km, in order to investigate feedbacks of local scale land use dynamics on climate.

For more Information on past or currently conducted experiments please contact Diana Rechid.