2025 – A NEW STRUCTURE
When the LEMONTREE project began, it was initially organised into 4 challenge areas which the group aimed to address:
Challenge 1 – Optimality at the leaf and plant levels
Challenge 2 – Biophysical coupling of atmosphere, water and land
Challenge 3 – Ecosystem properties and biogeochemical cycling
Challenge 4 – From plant function, biophysics and biogeochemistry to land-surface and climate modelling
For more information on these challenges please see the Challenges – Implementation page.
As a part of the Virtual Earth Systems Research Institute (VESRI) it is essential to work transdisciplinary and cross-institutionally to address some of the crucial scientific challenges needed to achieve advanced climate modelling capabilities. At the mid-term review in year three the project was restructured into seven teams which cut across the original LEMONTREE challenges, but also across institutions, to facilitate greater collaboration and cutting-edge science. At our last annual team meeting in August 2025, we revised these working groups again to reflect new priorities, emerging opportunities, and lessons learned from the project so far.
“Continual re-focusing is essential. The more enlightened funding bodies, like Schmidt Sciences, don’t expect scientists to map out all the steps in a project years in advance—serious science doesn’t work like that. We are doing new science, not building a power station…. In LEMONTREE we have repeatedly found that tasks that once seemed important are not, while new priorities have emerged.”
Colin Prentice, Imperial College London
Our Canopy Temperature working group has now finished its work and concluded. We have also divided the previous Vegetation Dynamics and Functional Diversity working group into two focused groups, and introduced a new Working Group to support our collaboration with the CONCERTO project.
The revised eight working groups aim to enhance the impact and relevance of the LEMONTREE project and will be led by one PI and one early career researcher. This will also further the career development of our ECR’s by providing them with leadership opportunities.
THE (REVISED) WORKING GROUPS
Working Group A: Leaf Area Dynamics and Carbon Allocation
Working Group A aims to build on the previous work of the phenology working group to develop a scheme to represent the seasonal dynamics of leaf area based on a universal optimality principle and to account for the effects of different resource availabilities on the fractional allocation of fixed carbon to leaves, stems and roots. The group is being led by Professor Colin Prentice (Imperial College London) and Wenjia (Shirley) Cai (Imperial College London) is the ECR lead.
Working Group C: C,N and P Cycles Synthesis
This working group aims to re-assess the way in which N, P and C cycling are currently modelled. A particular focus of the group will be assessing the way phosphorus data is implemented in current models as well as distinguishing between the land carbon sink trends in different models. The group is being led by Professor Beni Stocker (University of Bern) with Jan Lankhorst (Utrecht University) and Evan Perkowski (Texas Tech) as ECR leads.
Working Group E: Ecohydrology
The Ecohydrology working group aims to address linkages between vegetation and water at the ecosystem level with an eco-evolutionary optimality framework. They are exploring links between water and plants at the ecosystem level and exploring ways to model the temporal behaviour of the water-plant continuum in response to prolonged drought. The group is being led by Professor Xu Liang (University of Pittsburgh) and Amin Hassan (University of Pittsburgh) is the ECR lead.
Working Group F: Fire-Vegetation Interactions
The Fire-Vegetation interactions working group is aiming to develop a new fire model using eco-evolutionary optimality principles of fire and vegetation interactions to design a new fire regime framework that can simulate different aspects of the fire regime. Firstly, the group aims to understand which plant traits, if any, can be used to improve predictions of burnt area, fire size and fire intensity. Secondly, the group will incorporate these traits into our current working model of fire to better predict elements of the fire regime. The model will then be coupled to the P model to better improve climate predictions. The group is being led by Professor Sandy Harrison (University of Reading) and Dr. Olivia Haas (University of Reading).
Working Group DT: Functional Diversity Theory and Modelling
Working Group DT focuses on developing and testing eco-evolutionary optimality (EEO) theories to explain functional diversity, building on the data analyses previously carried out by the former Canopy Temperature working group. The group aims to link observed trait variation to optimality principles in order to improve trait-based modelling approaches. The group is being led by Associate Professor Han Wang (Tsinghua University) and Yuzhi Zhu (Tsinghua University) will be ECR lead.
Working Group VD: Vegetation Dynamics
A key aspect of this work is to characterise leaf and hydraulic trait variability and to understand how these traits impact vegetation dynamics. The group is using both fieldwork, to understand how traits are related to environmental variables, and modelling, to see if observed relationships can improve representations in land surface models. The group is being led by Associate Professor Han Wang (Tsinghua University).
Working Group LC: LEMONTREE- CONCERTO Integrated Implementation
Working Group LC will strengthen the synergies between LEMONTREE and the EU-funded CONCERTO project (improved CarbOn cycle represeNtation through multi-sCale models and Earth obseRvation for Terrestrial ecOsystems). This group focuses on the coordinated testing of EEO prototypes within land-surface modelling frameworks and supports the move toward fully coupled simulations within CONCERTO. It serves as a technical integration group, ensuring consistent model forcings, sharing validation challenges (e.g., flux-site issues), and aligning implementation strategies across both projects. The group is being led by Professor Pier Luigi Vidale (University of Reading).
Working Group IC: Implementation Working Group
This group aims to implement components of the P++ model in hydrological and land surface model frameworks to demonstrate feasibility of using the full P++ model to improve current predictions. The initial focus will be on acclimation of GPP, prediction of fAPAR/LAI, and, incorporation of soil moisture stress. This group is being led by Professor Sandy Harrison (University of Reading).
Working across the eight working groups will allows us to address the initial four challenges that LEMONTREE set out to address whilst facilitating greater collaboration and innovative science. Ultimately, the group aims to generate a next-generation land surface model that can improve current climate predictions. Achieving our science goals by developing the novel science outlined above will be crucial in producing this new model. We hope to achieve all this by our project end of June 2027.