Design, development, and application of LANDIS-II, a spatial landscape simulation model with flexible temporal and spatial resolution

Abstract

We introduce LANDIS-II, a landscape model designed to simulate forest succession and disturbances. LANDIS-II builds upon and preserves the functionality of previous LANDIS forest landscape simulation models. LANDIS-II is distinguished by the inclusion of variable time steps for different ecological processes; our use of a rigorous development and testing process used by software engineers; and an emphasis on collaborative features including a flexible, open architecture. We detail the variable time step logic and provide an overview of the system architecture. Finally, we demonstrate model behavior and sensitivity to variable time steps through application to a large boreal forest landscape. We simulated pre-industrial forest fire regimes in order to establish base-line conditions for future management. Differing model time steps substantially altered our estimates of pre-industrial forest conditions. Where disturbance frequency is relatively high or successional processes long, the variable time steps may be a critical element for successful forest landscape modeling.