Estimation of net primary productivity using Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator - a case study for Hokkaido Island, Japan

This paper describes a method for the estimation of the net primary productivity (NPP) by integrating remotely sensed and GIS data with a process,based ecosystem model (BEPS: Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator) for Hokkaido Island, Japan. Using this method, we calculated the mean and total NPP for the study area in 1998 was 644 g C m/sup -2/ year/sup -1/ and 0.078 Pg C year/sup -1/, respectively. The effect of the quality of the model input requirements on accurate NPP estimation using a process-based model was also checked. The results show that the higher quality input data obtained from GIS data sets for a process-based model improved the NPP estimation accuracy for Hokkaido Island by about 16.6-39.7%.