Century Model Information

The Century Model had its beginnings in the late 1980s. Century is a general model of plant-soil nutrient cycling which has been used to simulate carbon and nutrient dynamics for different types of ecosystems including grasslands, agricultural lands, forests and savannas.

Since those early days the model has undergone many transformations. The original model was/is a monthly time step model written in Fortran. It was then transformed into a daily time step model, called DayCent, also programmed in Fortran. Many other adaptations have been created since that first model. A C++ version of both the monthly and daily versions was created (Century 5). ForCent is a forest centered model and PhotoCent is a photosynthetic sub-model that has been added. Many other variations have been created in which the Century/DayCent model has been modified or linked to other models from various institutions.

It is a highly adaptable model that is helping researchers, and stake holders understand the environment and its many components to make better decisions going forward into the future.