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JABOWA III FOREST MODEL SOFTWARE
Forests are receiving increasing attention around the world. Controversies include the conservation of old-growth, whether clearcutting is good or bad, what the effects of global warming might be on forests, how forests can help reduce the rate of global warming, what kinds of disturbances, including fires, are natural and should be allowed to continue once started. How can we better understand systems as complicated as forests? One major tool is computer simulation. The first successful computer simulation of forests was the JABOWA model developed in 1970 by Daniel B. Botkin, and James F. Janak and James R. Wallis, then of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. Since this, this kind of model, known among ecologists as "gap models" has spawned more than 50 versions used around the world, from Romania to Kenya to Australia. The simulation grows individual trees on small plots and you can change almost anything about the forest and its environment, with the full model — the location of the forest, it elevation about sea level, its rainfall, its soil, the trees that are there at the beginning. You can try out different logging practices. You can introduce global warming temperature and rainfall changes. You can redefine species or create your own. The program is available directly from CSE. You may download a 30 day free trial version of the program. JABOWA Forest Model pricing: To purchase and run the model (single user) $120 Detailed information about how the JABOWA forest model works can be found
in:
Requests for information and program activation should be addressed to jabowa@naturestudy.org. |
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