Vegetation-specific model parameters are not required for estimating gross primary production

Models of gross primary production (GPP) based on remote sensing measurements are currentlyparameterized with vegetation-specific parameter sets and therefore require accurate information on the distribution of vegetation to drive them. Can this parameterization scheme be replaced with avegetation-invariant set of parameters that can maintain or increase model applicability by reducingerrors introduced from the uncertainty of land cover classification? Based on the measurements of ecosys-tem carbon fluxes from 168 globally distributed sites in a range of vegetation types, we examined thepredictive capacity of seven light use efficiency (LUE) models. Two model experiments were conducted:(i) a constant set of parameters for various vegetation types and (ii) vegetation-specific parameters. Theresults showed no significant differences in model performance in simulating GPP while using both set ofparameters. These results indicate that a universal of set of parameters, which is independent of vegeta-tion cover type and characteristics can be adopted in prevalent LUE models. Availability of this well testedand universal set of parameters would help to improve the accuracy and applicability of LUE models invarious biomes and geographic regions