In this project, we develop, parameterise and apply various vegetation models including ED2, FATES, ORCHIDEE and LPJ-GUESS. We integrate vegetation models with multiscale observational data from leaf level gas-exchange, over plot-scale inventories and eddy covariance fluxes to remote sensing data. The focus is both on tropical and temperate forest. We use these models to  gain insights in (1) the relation between vegetation dynamics and the carbon cycle, (2) forest structure and functioning, (3) carbon, water and energy balances. The funding will be used code deleopment, extra data collection, model parematerisation and simulation studies.