Summary
This narrative review traces the evolution of land surface models from their origins in climate and weather prediction to their contemporary role informing policy on land and water management. The authors highlight that whilst scientific advances within individual model components are well-documented, the ability to represent interactions between components is equally critical—yet often overlooked—as models address increasingly complex problems across multiple scales. The paper contextualises these developments within technological improvements, data availability, and the urgent range of policy demands.
UK applicability
As a methodological review of global modelling approaches, the findings are relevant to UK climate and water policy development, particularly for integrated land and water management under climate change. UK-based modelling groups and environmental policy makers may benefit from the emphasis on component interactions and multi-scale representation.
Key measures
Model component performance; representation of land–atmosphere feedbacks; model scope and application domains; integration of multiple system interactions
Outcomes reported
The paper examines how land surface models have evolved from weather and climate prediction tools to inform policy on land-use and water-use management. It identifies key advances in modelling components and their interactions across expanding spatial and temporal scales.
Topic tags
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