Global Human Appropriation of NPP, 1700-2000

This project will assess the global human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) as well as human impact on biomass standing crop and turnover for the period 1700-2000 in a spatially explicit manner (GIS with 0.5 grid). HANPP is a measure of human domination of terrestrial ecosystems that simultaneously considers (1) to what extent NPP is changed through human use of the land (e.g., replacement of natural ecosystems with agro- ecosystems, built-up land, etc.) and (2) to what extent energy availability for natural processes in ecosystems is reduced through harvest. The project will explicitly consider uncertainty and will also estimate error ranges of all parameters being evaluated.Evaluations of global HANPP are currently only available for present time and on a global average scale without regional differentiation. Considerable margins of uncertainty have been identified for the available global HANPP calculations. At present, no HANPP calculations based on up-to-date ecosystem models are available.By combining the most recent available long-term regionally disaggregated datasets (BIOME 300 and HYDE databases) as well as all available statistical data (above all, FAO data) with one of the most advanced biosphere models (the LPJ) this project aims at a considerable improvement of our knowledge on global HANPP. Because this would allow a much better representation of human-dominated systems in the LPJ this would be an important contribution to modelling efforts highly relevant to the IPCC. Moreover, a 300 year time series of global HANPP would considerably improve our knowledge of humanity`s role in the biosphere and of socio-economic drivers of Global Environmental Change, and would thus be of high importance to the LUCC project jointly sponsored by IGBP and IHDP.

This project will assess the global human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) as well as human impact on biomass standing crop and turnover for the period 1700-2000 in a spatially explicit manner (GIS with 0.5 grid). HANPP is a measure of human domination of terrestrial ecosystems that simultaneously considers (1) to what extent NPP is changed through human use of the land (e.g., replacement of natural ecosystems with agro- ecosystems, built-up land, etc.) and (2) to what extent energy availability for natural processes in ecosystems is reduced through harvest. The project will explicitly consider uncertainty and will also estimate error ranges of all parameters being evaluated.Evaluations of global HANPP are currently only available for present time and on a global average scale without regional differentiation. Considerable margins of uncertainty have been identified for the available global HANPP calculations. At present, no HANPP calculations based on up-to-date ecosystem models are available.By combining the most recent available long-term regionally disaggregated datasets (BIOME 300 and HYDE databases) as well as all available statistical data (above all, FAO data) with one of the most advanced biosphere models (the LPJ) this project aims at a considerable improvement of our knowledge on global HANPP. Because this would allow a much better representation of human-dominated systems in the LPJ this would be an important contribution to modelling efforts highly relevant to the IPCC. Moreover, a 300 year time series of global HANPP would considerably improve our knowledge of humanity`s role in the biosphere and of socio-economic drivers of Global Environmental Change, and would thus be of high importance to the LUCC project jointly sponsored by IGBP and IHDP.