Temperate Grassland Responses to Climate Change: an Analysis using the Hurley Pasture Model

The Hurley Pasture Model is process-based and couples the carbon, nitrogen and water cycles in the soil-grass-animal system. It was used to examine the responses of grasslands in southern, lowland and northern, upland climates in Britain. Short-term response to step-wise increases in CO # concentration (350 to 700 mol mol -" ) and temperature (5 mC) were contrasted with long-term equilibrium (the term ' equilibrium ' is equivalent to ' steady state ' throughout this paper) responses and with responses to gradually increasing CO # and temperature. Equilibrium responses to a range of climate variables were also examined.