This work evaluates the state-of-the-art of the simulation of carbon fixation rates, or net primary production (NPP) by tropical ecosystems in two diagnostic configurations (simulation at micrometeorological sites and simulation forced by climate datasets and remote sensing products) and one prognostic (simulation by a coupled climate-biosphere model). The results indicate that the NPP simulation models are capable of unbiased estimates of average regional values of NPP, both in diagnostic and in prognostic mode, with errors smaller than 5%, while the expected value of the error in each site is smaller than 10% in the diagnostic mode and smaller than 20% in the prognostic mode. State-of-the-art models are capable of routinely monitoring the net primary production of tropical ecosystems, with low errors expected for these estimates.
Net Primary Production; Modeling; Tropical Forests
