Biogeochemical models are increasingly used to simulate greenhouse gas (GHG) exchange and carbon (C) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Models enable the integration of processes and can be upscaled from plot to field and regional scale. In addition, such models are becoming increasingly important in the development of GHG accounting systems. There is a need to investigate the applicability of such models to the major ecosystem types in Ireland. A literature review was carried out to evaluate the use of the RothC, CENTURY, DNDC and PaSim models for modelling soil organic carbon (SOC) stock changes in Irish grasslands. RothC, CENTURY and DNDC have simulated SOC stock changes in mineral soils under grassland, arable and forest cover. PaSim has not been used similarly. Based on this review, CENTURY and RothC are the most suitable models for simulating SOC stock changes in grassland soils in Ireland. Where assessments of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are to be carried out in tandem with SOC stock change investigations, the DNDC model should be considered.

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Byrne, K. Kiely, G.   "Evaluation of Models (PaSim, RothC, CENTURY and DNDC) for Simulation of Grassland Carbon Cycling at Plot, Field and Regional Scal". Associated datasets and digitial information objects connected to this resource are available at: Secure Archive For Environmental Research Data (SAFER) managed by Environmental Protection Agency Ireland https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/resource?id=b58963e1-42aa-102c-b381-901ddd016b14 (Last Accessed: 2025-01-24)

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SAFER-Data Display URL	https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/iso19115/display?isoID=103
Resource Keywords	PaSim, RothC, CENTURY DNDC Biogeochemical models greenhouse gas
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Code	2005-FS-32-M1
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Theme	Climate Change
Resource Availability:	Public-Open
Limitations on the use of this Resource	Any use of the report in third party publications, presentations, or other derived products such include a proper citation of the original authors of this work. There is an automatic citation generated by SAFER for use in bibliographies.
Number of Attached Files (Publicly and Openly Available for Download):	2
Project Start Date	Thursday 1st September 2005 (01-09-2005)
Earliest Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects	Thursday 1st September 2005 (01-09-2005)
Most Recent Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects	Monday 1st September 2008 (01-09-2008)
Published on SAFER	Monday 2nd February 2009 (02-02-2009)
Date of Last Edit	Tuesday 3rd February 2009 at 11:18:13 (03-02-2009)
Datasets or Files Updated On	Monday 2nd February 2009 at 18:46:14 (02-02-2009)

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Description of Geographical Characteristics of This Project or Dataset
Two sites were chosen for this study. The first site (Cork) was located in an area of intensively managed grassland 180 m above sea level in County Cork, southern Ireland (51º N, 8º W). The climate is temperate maritime with an average rainfall of 1470 mm yr-1 and an annual daily mean temperature of 6.2ºC in January and 13.7ºC in July. The dominant soil type is gleysol with 39% sand, 44% silt, 17% clay and a bulk density of 1.17 g cm-3. The soil pH is 5.4 and the SOC content (0-10 cm) is 3.9-5.9%. The second site (Wexford) is located at the Teagasc Wexford Castle Research Centre, Wexford Castle, Co. Wexford in south-east Ireland (52º N, 6º W) The mean annual rainfall is 1014 mm and the mean annual temperature is 10ºC. The soil is a gleyic cambisol with 18% sand, 38% silt and 18% clay and a bulk density of 1.23 g cm-3. The soil pH is 5.8 and the C and N content are 3.2% and 0.28% respectively. The pasture is perennial ryegrass

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The following is a list of projects, datasets, and resources on SAFER-Data from which users downloaded attachments from soon after downloading attachments from this resource Evaluation of Models (PaSim, RothC, CENTURY and DNDC) for Simulation of Grassland Carbon Cycling at Plot, Field and Regional Scal. You can view the full description for projects, datasets, and resources by using the links supplied.

• Quantification of the components of the carbon budget at farm scale View Full Metadata Description
• Climate Change in Ireland: Refining the Impacts for Ireland View Full Metadata Description
• Climate Change - Implementationof the Global Climate Observing System in Ireland View Full Metadata Description
• Anaerobic Digestion: Decision Support Software View Full Metadata Description
• Phosphorus, Nitrogen and Suspended Sediment loss from Soil to Water from Agricultural Grassland View Full Metadata Description

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