Package medfate is designed to assist forest scientists to simulate forest functioning and dynamics, using cohort-based description of forest stands. The package provides functions to simulate the following processes:
The models are parameterized for species of the Mediterranean region (particularly for Catalonia, NE Spain), but forests with different composition could be modelled with different parameter sets.
Package medfate can be found at CRAN, where it is updated every few months. Installation from CRAN can be done via:
install.packages("medfate")
Users can also download and install the latest stable versions GitHub as follows (required package remotes
should be installed/updated first):
remotes::install_github("emf-creaf/medfate")
A number of vignettes illustrate how to run simulation models in medfate. These, and additional articles regarding parameter estimation and model evaluation can be found at the package website.
A complete documentation of the models included in the package can be found in medfate’s reference book.
During the development of medfate some functions have been originally placed there and then moved to more specialized packages which evolve together with medfate:
The set of R packages are developed and maintained by the Ecosystem Modelling Facility unit at CREAF (in Spain), in close collaboration with researchers from URFM-INRAE (in France).
De Cáceres M, Martínez-Vilalta J, Coll L, Llorens P, Casals P, Poyatos R, Pausas JG, Brotons L. (2015) Coupling a water balance model with forest inventory data to predict drought stress: the role of forest structural changes vs. climate changes. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 213: 77-90 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2015.06.012).
De Cáceres M, Mencuccini M, Martin-StPaul N, Limousin JM, Coll L, Poyatos R, Cabon A, Granda V, Forner A, Valladares F, Martínez-Vilalta J (2021) Unravelling the effect of species mixing on water use and drought stress in holm oak forests: a modelling approach. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 296 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108233).
Ruffault J, Pimont F, Cochard H, Dupuy JL, Martin-StPaul N (2022) SurEau-Ecos v2.0: a trait-based plant hydraulics model for simulations of plant water status and drought-induced mortality at the ecosystem level. Geoscientific Model Development 15, 5593-5626 (https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-5593-2022).
De Cáceres M, Molowny-Horas R, Cabon A, Martínez-Vilalta J, Mencuccini M, García-Valdés R, Nadal-Sala D, Sabaté S, Martin-StPaul N, Morin X, D’Adamo F, Batllori E, Améztegui A (2023) MEDFATE 2.9.3: A trait-enabled model to simulate Mediterranean forest function and dynamics at regional scales. Geoscientific Model Development (https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2022-243).