Matthes led a new article published in JGR-Biogeosciences that compared plant functional types (PFTs) within the CMIP5 pre-industrial control modeling experiment to reconstructed data just prior to major land-use changes from EuroAmerican settlement. This analysis demonstrated that many CMIP5 models inaccurately map PFTs at the start of the industrial era, which can lead to biases in land-climate feedbacks, particularly in net primary productivity and transpiration. This research used data and data/model products from research represented by Paciorek et al and another paper by Simon Goring, which is currently in press.
New paper comparing CMIP5 models to data on pre-EuroAmerican vegetation
The Matthes Lab at Harvard Forest 