rgroup.in

rgroup.in defines resource group parameters. There are four tables in the file, and each table is delimited by a single line containing the characters [end].

All-Group Parameters

This is the first table in the file. These parameters MUST be defined for all resource groups. The columns, as they appear from left to right, are:

name

A name to give the group.

• Maximum of 12 characters.

space

The proportion of the resource space used by the group.

• The sum of space inputs for all groups must be 1.

density

The number of mature individuals per square-meter.

maxest

The maximum number of species in this group that can establish in a given year.

• Cannot be greater than the number of species assigned to the resource group in the species.in file.

slow

The slow growth rate. Defines when to count years as slow-growth years.

stretch

The maximum number of years that resources can be stretched before low-resource mortality occurs.

xres

A boolean value indicating whether or not to use extra resources.

• Set to 1 to indicate that this group can use other group's resources.
• Set to 0 to indicate that this group cannot use other group's resources.

estann

A boolean value indicating if this group should be established annually or stochastically.

• Set to 1 to force this group to establish every year.
• Set to 0 to establish this species randomly.

A boolean to turn this group on or off.

• Set to 1 to turn the group on.
• Set to 0 to turn the group off.

startyr

Indicates the year at which this group is first allowed to establish.

• This is especially useful for establishing a plant community then introducing an invasive species.

veg_prod_type

The type of vegetation this group represents.

• Input 1 if this group is trees.
• Input 2 if this group is shrubs.
• Input 3 if this group is grasses.
• Input 4 if this group is forbs.
• Further information on veg types can be found in the VegProd.h file in SOILWAT2.

killyr

A year to kill all members of the group.

• Input 0 to turn off killyr.

killfreq_startyr

The start year for killing due to prescribed fires.

Prescribed_killfreq

The frequency of prescribed fires.

• Input 0 to turn off.
• If Prescribed_killfreq is greater than 1 a fire will occur at a fixed interval.
• If Prescribed_killfreq is less than 1 fire will occur randomly with Prescribed_killfreq representing the probability of fire.
• Prescribed_killfreq overrides killyr meaning if Prescribed_killfreq is greater than 0 killyr will be ignored.
• Prescribed_killfreq also overrides the cheatgrass-wildfire table below.

extirp

The year at which all groups all extirpated without recovery.

• Input 0 to turn off extirpation.

mort

A boolean determining the use of age-independent and slow-growth mortality.

• Input 0 to turn off age-independent and slow-growth mortality.
• Input 1 to turn on age-independent and slow-growth mortality.

proportion_killed

The proportion of total biomass removed by fires.

proportion_recovered

The proportion of total biomass (pre-fire) recovered by all members of the group following a fire.

grazing_frq

The frequency of livestock grazing.

• Input 0 to turn off grazing.
• Input a value less than 1 to indicate random grazing where grazing_freq is the probability of grazing.
• Input a value greater than 1 to indicate grazing on a fixed interval.

proportion_grazing

The proportion of total biomass removed due to grazing.

grazingfreq_startyr

The start year for grazing.

biomass

Along with transpiration, biomass constructs a simple linear relationship (grams per centimeter) used to calculate bvt.

transpiration

Along with biomass, transpiration constructs a simple linear relationship (grams per centimeter) used to calculate bvt.

Resource Availability Parameters

The second table in the file. These parameters all relate to resource availability and must be defined for every group defined in the first table. The columns, as they appear from left to right, are:

name

The same names used in the "All-Group Parameters" table.

nslope

The slope of resource availibility in normal years.

nint

The intercept of resource availability in normal years.

wetslope

The slope of resource availability in wet years.

wetint

The intercept of resource availability in wet years.

dryslope

The slope of resource availability in dry years.

dryint

The intercept of resource availability in dry years.

Wet-Year Growth Modifiers

The third table. Only groups that are negatively affected by wet years, mainly succulents, need entries in this table. However, the program expects at least one entry in this table. Therefore, if you are not using succulents as a resource group you MUST choose one other resource group and enter it in this table with all entries, except name, equal to 0. The columns, as they appear from left to right, are:

name

The name of the group.

• Must match the name used in the Resource Availibility and All-Group tables.

gslope

The slope for growth reduction in wet years.

gint

The intercept for growth reduction in wet years.

mslope

The slope for mortality in wet years.

gint

The intercept for mortality in wet years

Cheatgrass-Wildfire Flag

This table is only one entry:

• Input 1 to turn on cheatgrass-driven wildfires.
  • In order for wildfires to occur cheatgrass (brte) must be one of the species in the species input file.
  • Turning on cheatgrass-driven wildfire overrides any fire regime above.
• Input 0 to turn off cheatgrass-driven wildfires.

Click here to see an example rgroup file with references