Releases of the QUINCY terrestrial ecosystem model

The QUINCY model source code is available from the QS open access repository.
 

Release information

QUINCY model - release01

• “A new model of the coupled carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles in the terrestrial biosphere (QUINCY v1.0; revision 1996)”
• https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4781-2019
• Initial release of the QUINCY model.

QUINCY model - release02

• “Whole-plant optimality predicts changes in leaf nitrogen under variable CO₂ and nutrient availability”
• https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16327
• Adds the capacity to calculate variable leaf N content using whole-plant optimality theory, implemented as an alternative to the empirical formulation in the QUINCY model

Jena Soil Model (JSM) - release01

• “Jena Soil Model (JSM v1.0; revision 1934): a microbial soil organic carbon model integrated with nitrogen and phosphorus processes”
• https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-783-2020
• JSM, implemented using the QUINCY model, is a microbial-explicit, vertically resolved soil organic matter model integrated with N and P processes, which represents the microbial explicit decomposition and stabilisation with approaches for microbial adaptation and plant-microbe competition.

QUINCY model - release03

• “Mismatch of N release from the permafrost and vegetative uptake opens pathways of increasing nitrous oxide emissions in the high Arctic”
• https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16345
• Extending QUINCY with processes relevant for high latitudes, e.g., soil freezing, snow and inundation. Aim for better understanding of impacts of increased nutrient availability from permafrost thawing in comparison to other climate-induced effects and CO2 fertilization over 1960 to 2018 across the high Arctic.

QUINCY model - release04

• “Emergence of the physiological effects of elevated CO₂ on land–atmosphere exchange of carbon and water”
• https://doi.org/10.1111/GCB.16397
• Application of the QUINCY model to investigate the emergence of physiological effects of elevated CO2 on various vegetation properties related to carbon and water fluxes. The elevated CO2 effect 1) on GPP emerges at relatively low CO2 increase if the LAI is relatively high, and 2) reduces transpiration water flux only at relatively high levels of CO2 increase.

QUINCY land model - release 05

• “Modelled forest ecosystem carbon–nitrogen dynamics with integrated mycorrhizal processes under elevated CO₂”
• https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1391-2024
• A novel, dynamic plant-mycorrhiza-soil model based on mycorrhizal functional types that either actively mine soil organic matter (SOM) for N or enhance soil microbial activity though increased transfer of labile C into the rhizosphere and thereby (passively) prime SOM decomposition. We show that mycorrhizal fungi can have important effects on projected SOM turnover and plant nutrition under ambient as well as elevated CO2 treatments.

QUINCY model - release 06

• “Dynamic nitrogen resorption improves predictions of nitrogen cycling responses to global change in a next generation ecosystem model”
• https://doi.org/10.1029/2025MS005181
• A novel dynamic nitrogen (N) resorption scheme that first imposes leaf structural constraints on resorption (assuming all metabolic N is mobilizable), and then applies indirect environmental limitation to downregulate this potential by using leaf C:N as a proxy for N status. The new scheme captures the global gradient of N resorption across biomes and plant types, and shows important effects for ecosystem N cycling, plant allocation and production responses.

QUINCY model - release 07

• “Evaluating the carbon and nitrogen cycles of the QUINCY terrestrial biosphere model using space-born optical remotely-sensed data”
• https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6937-2025
• In the paper, we harness an advanced remote sensing leaf chlorophyll product to evaluate the leaf chlorophyll representation of the QUINCY model. The study showcases how remote sensing observations can benefit the modeling of the carbon and nitrogen cycles, and paves way for closer linking of remote sensing and terrestrial biosphere models.

QUINCY model - release 08

• “Modelling decadal trends and the impact of extreme events on carbon fluxes in a temperate deciduous forest using a terrestrial biosphere model”
• https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1781-2025
• We simulate the carbon fluxes at Borden forest, Ontario, Canada, with delay added to development of leaf chlorophyll in spring to assess its additional value in the model parameterization, to study how well the QUINCY model can capture observed trends related to the carbon cycle at the site, and to investigate how well the processes associated with a drought year and its legacy effects are captured by the model.