How to start
To simulate forest dynamics in FORMIND a set of parameters is required. These include general simulation settings and specific growth parameters for the sites and plant functional types (PFT). The parameters for a FORMIND simulation are stored in a .par-file. To load the settings for a simulation go to the main menu open the .par-file via File – Open Project. After the .par-file has been loaded successfully, the general timing settings for the simulation are displayed in the Settings tab (Fig. 1).
There is an example dataset in preparation.
The full parameter set can be seen in the Biology tab (Fig. 2). To learn about the meaning of each parameter, please refer to the detailed model description (link). All parameters can be edited in the user interface and new parameter settings can be saved to a new .par-file. Alternatively, the .par-file can be edited directly in a text editor software.
Besides the model parameters, the list also contains switches for possible model outputs. FORMIND can produce a wide variety of results. Rarely all results are required. The user can choose which result files should be produced (set switch to 1) and which not (set switch to 0).
FORMIND simulations can be initialized with inventory data of a given forest. If no such data is available, the simulation starts from a plain field and the stand goes through primary succession. Inventory data is stored in .pin-files. The .pin-file contains the stem-diameter distribution per PFT in each 20 by 20 m plot of the whole simulation area. The cumulative stem-diameter distribution for the whole simulation area can be seen in the Inventory tab (Fig. 3).
A simulation run can be started on the Settings tab using the Start Simulation button. During the simulation all desired result files are produced and stored in the result directory.