QUERCC addresses land surface processes over timescales from days to centuries, with particular emphasis on the carbon cycle. Some processes are already well represented and validated in Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs), while others that are known to impact on the carbon cycle are not. Independent carbon and vegetation data sets are being compared against DVGMs to assess their current state, and further key modules will be developed for nutrient cycling, which exerts a major feedback on carbon exchange, and for a greater resolution of plant processes.

This dataset contains a global map of plant functional types that exert significant impacts on the carbon cycle as modelled by the Rothamsted Research institute based on the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) soil properties.