Mapping of Plant Functional Type from Satellite-Derived Land Cover Datasets for Climate Models

Recent studies show that there are large differences in the dominant plant functional types (PFT) used in the CMIP5 models, which contributes to the large spread in surface albedo and snow albedo feedback strength among these models. While several global land cover datasets are commonly used to derive PFTs for use in climate models, methods for mapping PFTs tend to be subjective and there has been very limited evaluation of the uncertainties in the PFT datasets currently used in the models. In this study, we propose a method to link field observed canopy parameters to land cover categories in a high resolution land cover map over Canada, and attempt to some extent to map PFTs objectively. We present some preliminary results from offline simulations of the latest version Canadian Land Surface Scheme over North America.