Simulations from four process-based ecosystem models describing primary productivity in a tallgrass prairie long-term irrigation experiment

To demonstrate current capabilities in modeling herbaceous ecosystems, we selected four different process-based models that vary in their representation of community change from no community representation to vegetation demographic models. These models were used to simulate a long-term irrigation experiment at a US tallgrass prairie (Konza Prairie Biological Station) following a standardized simulation protocol. Specifically, we were interested in how model output under a monotonic increase in water availability matched up to experimental findings of (1) herbaceous plant community change and (2) aboveground net primary productivity before and after the plant community change. The results of this simulation are included here.